Saturday, May 30, 2009

Whitby, Ontario teen to compete in World Transplant Olympics

Katie Sutherland wants to go to the World Transplant Games
Let's help Katie Sutherland get to the World Transplant Games in Australia this August. She needs $9,000 in total. Donations can be made at her donor page.

Read my post about Katie Sutherland's Lung Transplant after she was kept alive for an entire month with an external artificial lung system, the German-made Novalung device. She was in desperate need of a lung transplant but there was no matching donor lungs available and the external device kept her alive until a suitable donor lung was found.


BY PARVANEH PESSIAN Newsdurhamregion.com

WHITBY -- It's been only a year since Katie Sutherland lay in a hospital bed clinging to life, but the Whitby teen is getting ready to compete in an international sports competition.

Katie, 16, underwent a double lung transplant last year and since then has been building her strength back up to take part in the World Transplant Olympics being held in Australia this summer.

"Some people think that once you have an (organ transplant), you might just be in bed or not doing anything but we're trying to show that organ donation actually works so people are aware of that," said Katie, who is an avid soccer player.

Katie was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a rare lung disorder that constricts veins and arteries in the lungs and forces the heart to work harder than usual to pump blood to the lungs.

Surgeons at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children fought to save her life in a three-hour emergency operation that involved attaching Katie's heart to an external artificial lung* that kept her alive for 30 days until a double lung transplant could be performed.

The World Transplant Games promote the high levels of health and vitality that can be achieved after transplantation. Starting out with only about 100 competitors back when the Games were established more than 30 years ago, the event now draws up to 3,000 participants from up to 70 countries.

To support Katie's participation in the Games, where she'll be competing in the 100-meter track, ping pong, badminton and other categories, staff at Valentino's Hair Salon in Whitby are rallying around the teen to raise money to send her to Australia.

"We do fundraisers all year round but we usually pick one big one so this year we decided to support Katie," salon manager Teresa Abbatangelo said.

"She is one of our own clients and she has quite a great demeanor after what she's been through while continuing to do very well in school so we wanted to help out."

Valentino's will host a cut-a-thon at Katie's school, Sinclair Secondary at 380 Taunton Rd. E. in Whitby, offering students, faculty and all members of the public haircuts for $20 each.

Fundraising efforts have already helped Katie raise just over half her goal of $9,000 but she hopes to see even more success with the assistance of the community.

To book an appointment for the cut-a-thon, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, call Sinclair Secondary School at 905-666-5400.

To make a donation toward Katie's fundraising efforts to join Team SickKids in the competition, visit her donor page.

*About the Novalung
The $5,000 device, about the size of a CD case, is connected to an artery in the patient’s leg. Blood flows through it, across a thin membrane attached to an oxygen supply. Carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen, and the blood flows back into a vein in the leg. Merv.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Friday, May 29, 2009

How Did Natalie Cole Find That Kidney So Fast?

As of May 22nd 110,158 people were waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S. and 84,868 of these were waiting for a kidney. Many have been waiting up to seven years or more for a kidney transplant because of a donor shortage and questions about how Natalie Cole got her's so quickly are beginning to arise. E-online gives an excellent explanation here.

From E-Online

What is up with Natalie Cole? I just read she's had a kidney transplant. Do celebrities get preferential treatment for organ replacements? from Christine via the Answer B!tch Inbox

I would love to tell you there's a secret stack of kidneys reserved just for celebrities behind a velvet rope at Cedars-Sinai, but I can't.

The United Network for Organ Sharing tells me it uses a strict set of non-box-office-related criteria to make sure that the nationwide donation database stays fair: stuff like length of time spent on the waiting list, blood type and whether the candidate is a child.

"This is a very controlled set of lists," says Dr. Luca Cicalese, chair and director of the Texas Transplant Center and Professor of Surgery.

But are there loopholes? Of course. Where there's a celebrity, there's a way, and 30 Rock's fake Kidney Now! benefit—with Mary J. Blige and Cindy Lauper crooning for Alan Alda's organ—isn't that farfetched:

There's this thing called a direct donation. It means that a donor—usually a family member—designates a particular recipient to receive a needed organ. U.S. law says donors or their families can indicate a specific person to receive an organ; if the organ is a match, those wishes must be honored.

In the case of Cole, a family that did not know her—but who obviously had read of her kidney problems—specifically broached Cole's name and asked if they could donate a kidney to the singer. I am told this by a rep for OneLegacy, a nonprofit that arranges this donation.

Without her fame, would this family ever have thought to bring up Cole as a recipient?

I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and say no.

So does that mean that celebrities have a leg—or a kidney—up on regular folks in the race for an organ?

Consider: When basketball star Alonzo Mourning announced he needed a kidney, "600 people called saying they wanted to give him a kidney," OneLegacy rep Bryan Stewart tells me. The donation ended up coming from a family member, but you get the picture.

"There is something inherent in fame that is going to at least interest people in your plight," Stewart mulls. "Is that fair or unfair? I am not one to make a judgment on that."

So let's hold an experiment here: If Robert Pattinson needed a kidney, would you volunteer one of yours?
______
Twitter with me @answerbitch

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Thursday, May 28, 2009

END THE WAIT! A Multi-Faceted Collaborative Initiative to End the Wait for a Kidney Transplant

From Medscape Pulmonary Medicine

From The National Kidney Foundation > NKF In The Spotlight

There is an ongoing and urgent need to increase the number of donated organs and improve transplant outcomes in the United States. To address this complex problem, the National Kidney Foundation has developed a comprehensive action plan to increase the number of transplants for kidney patients—and to END THE WAIT!

This groundbreaking program will serve as a roadmap to implementing tested and proven strategies that will effectively end the wait for kidney transplants in 10 years. By collaborating with many organizations, government agencies and individuals, NKF's END THE WAIT! recommendations will eliminate barriers, institute best practices across the nation, improve the transplant system, cover the cost of donating an organ, reduce regional and ethnic disparities and increase living and deceased donation throughout the United States.

This initiative will end the long wait for a transplant that has subjected too many patients to deteriorating health, poor quality of life and even premature death. Our efforts will begin immediately and will continue for years. By working together and focusing on the big picture and real needs of our patients, we will have a dramatic impact on the health of kidney patients across the country.

The END THE WAIT! recommendations focus on four key areas, including:

  • Improving outcomes of first transplants, therefore reducing the need for second transplants through measures such as covering the cost of needed immunosuppressive drugs for life; educating chronic kidney disease stage 4 patients about early transplantation and treatment options; and implementing the new KDIGO Guideline on the Care of the Kidney Transplant Recipient;

  • Increasing deceased donation through training of hospital personnel about the optimal care for potential donor families and by recovering and utilizing organs from Extended Criteria Donors (such as donors who were older or sick) and from donors who have experienced cardiac death in addition to those who were brain dead;

  • Increasing the number of living donors by ensuring that they are reimbursed for all expenses involved in the donation, including lost wages, by providing access to health care and life insurance coverage and by offering them state-of-the-art medical care that ensures the quickest post-surgical recovery time;

  • Improving the system of donation and transplantation throughout the U.S. by eliminating regional variations in access to transplantation and follow-up care and racial disparities in donating, getting on the waiting list and receiving a transplant.

This initiative was developed in consultation with national experts in the field and NKF's constituents, including kidney patients, potential donors, living donors and family members of deceased donors.

For more information, visit http://www.kidney.org/endthewait

The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is the major voluntary health organization dedicated to preventing kidney disease, improving the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by kidney disease and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Gold Coast, Australia Cystic Fibrosis defies medical opinion

Kate Green and dog Zeena

Kate Green and her good friend, loyal dog Zeena

By Renae Dyer Goldcoast.com.au

GOLD Coast Cystic Fibrosis sufferer Kate Green was told she wouldn't live to the age of 10. She's now 29.

Despite living with the deteriorating disease since birth, the Burleigh Waters resident has survived a double lung transplant in 2007, travelled Europe, juggles three jobs and is about to compete in the 2009 World Transplant Games on the Coast.

She also plans to return to the UK for six months of travel and is saving to buy a house.

"Just because you have this disease doesn't mean you can't live your life and achieve your dreams," says Green.

She tells CoastConfidential her strength comes from her mum and her loyal dog Zeena.

While she was on the waiting list for a lung transplant her mum took 12 months off work to look after her.

"Before my transplant I couldn't move," says Green. "I couldn't even brush my teeth or brush my hair.

"Mum lived off $250 a fortnight on the parent's pension from the government so she could look after me."

Her puppy also never left her side: "When I was sick she would jump on me and wouldn't leave me."

Green is an ambassador for Friday's 65 Roses Day an annual awareness day for Cystic Fibrosis Australia.

"Cystic Fibrosis is a life-long disease. I forever need treatment and will need it for the rest of my life or until they find a cure. That's why I'm encouraging people to donate to research."

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Oshkosh, Wisconsin mom sees renewed energy thanks to heart transplant

Kelly Clough

Kelly Clough watches her daughter Ciana color on a Saturday morning earlier this month. Clough, now 34, is the recipient of a heart transplant. (Megan Sheridan/ of The Norhtwestern)

BY PATRICIA WOLFF • OF THE NORTHWESTERN

Kelly Clough’s bad heart at the age of 31 was one of those situations the greatest medical minds can’t really figure out.

One day, she was an apparently healthy young woman working a somewhat physically taxing job and anticipating the birth of her first child. The next, she was struggling for each breath she took. She had a heart attack on July 28, 2006. Her baby was born by emergency Cesarean section the next day.

She was stunned. “It boggles your brain, especially when you are so young. We had no history of heart trouble in my family, on either side.”

The heart attack was just the beginning of a harrowing journey that included a second heart attack and eventually a heart transplant at St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee.

Today, at 34, the Oshkosh woman has a new heart and is enjoying being a mother to Ciana, nearly 3, in a way she wondered if she’d ever be able to.

She credits the heart transplant, the generosity of organ donors and the fine care at St. Luke’s as well as the attention she has received from AnnMarie Swanson, a nurse practitioner at Aurora Medical Center’s cardiology department in Oshkosh.

Swanson is in an elite group of women nurse practitioners in the field of cardiology in the Oshkosh area. “I’m pretty much the only one,” she said. It’s a demanding field but one for which Swanson has always held a deep fascination. About 75 percent of her patients are women.

Swanson has great confidence in male cardiologists in the area, but said sometimes a woman can relate better to other women, she said.

From day one Clough appreciated the way Swanson spoke to her and helped her understand her condition and treatment. She entered Clough’s life following her second heart attack when Ciana was just 15 months old. The first heart attack left her with no residual heart damage, but that wasn’t the case for the second attack. Clough underwent a triple-bypass surgery and was sent home with an arsenal of medications. That episode marked the time when Clough’s life began to deteriorate rapidly.

“It took me quite a while to come to terms with the fact that I’d had a massive heart attack. I was weak and it was difficult for me to connect with my baby.

“She was 15 months old, that age when they want to constantly be on your hip. I could not lift her, carry her or play with her the way a normal mom would,” Clough said.

Her friend Melanie was like a sister to Clough, taking over care of Ciana. Other family members were very helpful. But Clough said Swanson has a special place in her heart for her determination to get her well. Clough was on a regimen of medicine and rehabilitation after the surgery but she wasn’t improving. She suffered from congestive heart failure and was in and out of the hospital often.

“A big portion of her illness was physical and psychological. It globally affected her life. She missed her baby’s birthdays, couldn’t work at all and struggled to get through daily life,” Swanson said.

Despite the fact that her color was bad and she could not walk across a room without getting winded, the evaluation team at the Milwaukee hospital determined Clough wasn’t in bad enough shape to qualify for a new heart. Swanson went to bat for her, insisting she be evaluated again. This time she was put on the waiting list. That was in February 2008. She received the transplant on May 26, 2008.

Her life changed dramatically for the better. She was able to walk immediately and without the shortness of breath that had plagued her earlier. “I felt better immediately. I knew it had gone really well.”

The contrast between before and after is remarkable.
“She looks like a million bucks. It’s amazing to realize she was close to death. When I see her come in vibrant and smiling it’s amazing to realize I could assist with that,” Swanson said.

Clough’s life expectancy has been significantly improved. She has had to give up her job as a certified nursing assistant due to the physical nature of the job. She is taking classes to begin a new career as a paralegal.

She is grateful to Swanson and the rest of the medical team, and her family and friends. She is especially thankful for the donor’s heart that beats in her chest. Clough was an organ donor before her medical emergency arose. Now, she understands why.

“Everyone pretty much takes their health for granted. I know I did,” she said. “I still have friends who don’t want to be organ donors and I do understand that everyone has a right to make their own decision. But waiting for a transplant might change their minds.”

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Monday, May 25, 2009

30-year-old CF patient doing well post lung transplant

Allison Wilson

“There’s no point in focusing on the negative,” says Alison Wilson, recent double lung transplant recipient. She now has her whole life ahead of her she says, thanks to the support of her family, her friends and her community. Photo by Roxanne Delage

Seaway News

Cornwall, Ontario - Although she was born with the genetic disease, Alison Wilson-Proulx, says that cystic fibrosis did not seem to affect her much as a child, even though at birth doctors said she would probably not live past 5 years of age. With therapy and plenty of physical activity, her condition seemed well controlled. It appeared as though she’d beat the odds.

It wasn’t until her late twenties when the rigors of work and less than healthful living took its toll. “That was my own fault,” says Alison. By the time she was listed as a candidate for transplant, she lived on oxygen. Her lungs—the worse affliction for the disease—were operating at only 10 percent. Without a transplant she would only have months to live.

The now 30-year-old considers herself very lucky indeed that within a month, a perfect match was found on Feb. 16 of this year. “Some people are on the waiting list for up to three years and some die waiting,” she says thoughtfully.

Still recovering, and not without CF still affecting her digestive system—although controlled with medication—Alison feels like a new person now, she says, comparing her new lungs to hot air balloons that have been unrolled and inflated. “So much air, so much freedom.”

Alison is very grateful to her wonderful support system—family, friends and especially her mother, she says. She is indebted to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and particularly to the Kinsmen and Kinettes of Cornwall for their work. “They (Kinsmen and Kinettes) do so much,” she says, remembering their first annual Pizza Party fundraiser, which financed her therapy vest. She is also grateful to the community for attending the fundraisers and participating in the events. “Without all of these people I would not be here,” says Alison. “There are no words to express...thank you for saving my life.”

Now the newly-wed has big plans for her future. The key to her continued good health is plenty of activity and general healthy living, she says. She wants to remain active in awareness and fundraising toward a cure for CF, and is also planning a volleyball tournament later this summer in support of organ and tissue donations. She says she can now do things that she couldn’t before, like run or fly (as in airplane). She would love to travel and go back to school, perhaps in journalism or counselling.

In closing, Alison, who was recently named the first ever Great Strides Walk “Adult Super Strider”—an honorary title for the event—says that she believes that she was meant to be sick for a reason, to tell people about her journey, and to be a testament to positive thinking and to living life to its fullest.

The Great Strides Walk 2009 in support of cystic fibrosis will be held in Lamoureux Park on Sunday, May 31, beginning at 11 a.m. Registration starts at 10. A barbecue hosted by the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs will be served after the event. Everyone is welcome to come out, make a donation, and walk for a good cause. There is still time to pick up a pledge form at Scotiabank, who will also be matching funds and volunteering at the event.

Dear Journal;

It’s not something you can describe in one sitting, but I am going to try. Having cystic fibrosis (CF) was never the answer for my bad days and it was never the answer for the good ones either. But having this illness sure has made me the person I am today. Well, also my parents. Talk about not letting me give up or use CF as a crutch.

My experience with CF has far outnumbered any medal I won in track, swimming or gymnastics. I got the only gift you can’t thank God enough for. I have had the experience of a lifetime, and a second chance at life. I got a double lung transplant, and I can’t imagine how I was living my life with the ones I had. The past five or so years, have been without a doubt some of the more trying times of my life. In and out of hospitals, four of them to be exact, but the last visit to the hospital is what changed my whole perspective on life, and how I choose to live in it.

Not everyone can say they have had a second chance at life, but I can say I have. A double lung transplant on Family Day (in Ontario), Feb. 16, 2009 is my new birthday. This is the day that made me realize how strong I am, how strong my family is, and most importantly, how strong the relationship is between my husband and me. Never had the vows “In sickness and in health” meant so much to us, to me, that when I had to say them on our wedding day, I couldn’t hold back the tears.

The whole transplant experience is something I will never forget, and I try as hard as I can to help others with CF make the right decision for them. It wasn’t a choice I took lightly. I knew the risks, and the chances were slim to none. But when it’s a perfect match, you know God’s guardian angels, my grandfather, were watching over me that day, and every day I thank them, and my donor for the deep breaths I take each morning. If only I could explain it better, I would. But my eyes are misty right now, remembering the road I travelled to get where I am today. So for now, Journal, I must say good night. Because it’s 4 in the morning, and I should be sleeping!

Good night. Ali

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Newfoundland fundraiser to help 13-year-old with lung transplant expenses

Dee Stubbs-Lee and Jeff Lee, owners of Sebastian, where a benefit will be held Monday to raise funds for the family of Elspeth Arbow, a 13-year-old waiting for a double-lung transplant.
Photo: Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal


By Jeff Ducharme Telegraph-Journal

SAINT JOHN - As a young girl and her mother wait in Toronto for a life-saving procedure, local residents are being asked to come out to Sebastian, an uptown restaurant, on Monday and help raise funds to lighten what has become a heavy financial burden.

Judith Arbow's daughter, 13-year-old Elspeth, needs a double-lung transplant. Elspeth is battling cystic fibrosis and the disease has progressed to the point that the pair now spend their days waiting for the phone to ring with news that a suitable donor has been found.

Beyond the cost of staying far away from home in one of the most expensive cities in the country is the cost of the drugs and oxygen that helps Elspeth breathe. The province doesn't pay for the oxygen or offer much in the way of travel or accommodation subsidies.

Elspeth has been readmitted to the Hospital for Sick Children after a picking up a minor infection, but Arbow said from Toronto Friday that Elspeth is doing well. Beyond the financial support, she said, the emotional support means the world and lightens the load a little.

"That's why I love living in Atlantic Canada, people are just so wonderful," Arbow said. "If you've got nothing, you'll share the little bit you've got."

Dee and Jeff Lee are organizing the benefit at their restaurant at 43 Princess St. There will be a silent auction throughout the evening and a live auction beginning at 7 p.m. All the items have been donated by area merchants.

"It's very heartwarming and it's very welcome," Arbow said.

Dee Lee knows Arbow and her daughter. They all live on Germain Street in the city's uptown.

"The two of us were pretty depressed to hear that she had deteriorated to the point of needing a double-lung transplant," Lee said. "That's a pretty big thing for a 13-year-old to face, for anybody for that matter."

Lee said the original plan was just to host a small fundraiser, but it has been steadily growing.

'We're happy to raise whatever money we can."

The auction items are varied, but they include such things as gift certificates, furniture and a wine-tasting party for 10 people. Lee said donations are welcome, financial, goods or services.

"We'd like to do whatever we can so that her mom and dad can focus their efforts and attention on Elspeth rather than trying to pay for the cost of living," Lee said.

Another fundraiser is scheduled for June 12 at the Masonic Hall on Germain Street.

"We're very grateful to feel that we're in that safety net back at home," Arbow said. "We're getting all these positive vibes."

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Natalie Cole Recovering From Kidney Transplant

Natalie+Cole+recovers+from+kidney+transplant

Photo: Lisa O'Connor/ZUMAPress.com

By Gina Serpe eonline.com

Natalie Cole will be hard-pressed to live through a more unforgettable experience.

The Grammy-winning singer, who has been undergoing dialysis since last fall, successfully underwent kidney transplant surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center yesterday and is currently "resting comfortably," her publicist, Maureen O'Connor, tells E! News.

The kidney was procured from a deceased organ donor and made its way to the 59-year-old Cole with help from One Legacy, a transplant donor network in Southern California.

"Ms. Cole's physicians have advised her to postpone her summer tour dates as she recuperates for the next three to four months," her rep said.

The singer, who just last month proved in peak form belting out "Something's Gotta Give" on an American Idol results show, has been undergoing kidney dialysis three times a week, for roughly three hours each time, since last September.

She began receiving the treatment in New York last fall when she was hospitalized after suffering a setback in her chemotherapy, which she had been receiving for hepatitis C. Four months after beginning the aggressive treatment, both her kidneys failed.

The singer's recovery will force the postponement of the remaining dates on her world tour.

Last week, Cole canceled a string of dates scheduled to take place in South Korea, though she did not give a reason why.

Appearing on Larry King Live last month, Cole admitted that without a transplant, she would be on dialysis for the rest of her life. During her appearance, dozens of viewers wrote in offering to test as possible donors.

"There are some great human beings out there," she said at the time. "That's all I can say."

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Friday, May 22, 2009

Organ transplant series airs on CBS beginning this fall

This new CBS series should be of interest to our transplant community. I certainly plan to watch for it. The CBS fall Sunday evening schedule is shown at the end of this post.

Three-Riverscast

"Three Rivers," a medical drama set in a Pittsburgh transplant hospital, will premiere this fall on CBS. The cast includes Alex O'Loughlin and Katherine Moennig.
Photo: John P. Filo/CBS

By Bob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tuned In: CBS schedule -- 'Three Rivers' runs through it

Five years after CBS canceled its last Pittsburgh-set series, "The Guardian," the network returns to the 'Burgh for the aptly titled "Three Rivers," a medical drama that will air at 9 p.m. Sundays beginning this fall.

"Three Rivers" is set in the world of transplant surgery among organ donors, recipients and surgeons at a Pittsburgh hospital.

The series stars Alex O'Loughlin ("Moonlight") as Dr. Andy Yablonski, described as "the highly skilled workaholic lead organ transplant surgeon, whose good-natured personality and sarcastic wit makes him popular with his patients and colleagues."

Other characters include:
  • Dr. Miranda Foster (Katherine Moennig, "The L Word"), a rebel surgeon with a temper who lives in the shadow of her surgeon father's reputation.


  • Dr. David Lee (Daniel Henney, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), a womanizing surgical resident.


  • Ryan Abbott (Christopher J. Hanke), an inexperienced transplant coordinator who schedules the organ transplants.


  • Dr. Sophia Jordan (Julia Ormond, "Sabrina"), the head of surgery.


  • Pam Acosta (Justina Machado, "Six Feet Under"), Andy's no-nonsense operating assistant and best friend.

The "Three Rivers" pilot filmed in Pittsburgh in late March and early April using the closed Brownsville Tri-County Hospital as its primary location. Other locations included, but were not limited to, Allegheny County Airport, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center, where members of the Point Park men's basketball team filmed a scene involving a player who faces a medical emergency during a practice session.

A CBS publicist did not know where subsequent episodes of the series will film, but the Pittsburgh Film Office has gotten no confirmation that "Three Rivers" is returning to Pittsburgh to film additional episodes. A likely scenario is that the series will shoot primarily on the West Coast, like "The Guardian," returning to Pittsburgh on occasion for pick-up shots. Although Pennsylvania tax incentives make filming locally attractive to filmmakers, actors often have contracts that limit series filming locations to film industry centers (e.g. Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York).

"Three Rivers" is executive produced by director Curtis Hanson, who shot the film "Wonder Boys" in Pittsburgh, and the showrunner is Carol Barbee, a veteran of CBS dramas "Jericho" and "Swingtown." Barbee wrote the "Three Rivers" pilot.

"Three Rivers" will face stiff competition for attention opposite ABC's female-skewing "Desperate Housewives," NBC's male-skewing "Sunday Night Football" and Fox's youth-skewing animation block.

In its most aggressive programming move, CBS will shift freshman hit "The Mentalist" to 10 p.m. Thursday, where it is likely to win the time slot over ABC's "Private Practice" and NBC's "The Jay Leno Show."

CBS also picked up "Medium," which NBC canceled this week, and paired it with similarly themed "Ghost Whisperer" on Fridays.

CBS canceled "The Unit," "Worst Week," "Eleventh Hour" and "Without a Trace." Ratings for "Trace" have not been terrible, but the show is expensive to produce and it's owned by Warner Bros., not CBS.

"Rules of Engagement" will return at midseason. Canadian co-production "Flashpoint" will also return.

Here's CBS's fall schedule, with new series in bold:

    SUNDAY
  • 7 p.m.: "60 Minutes."


  • 8 p.m.: "The Amazing Race."


  • 9 p.m.: "Three Rivers": Pittsburgh-set medical drama.


  • 10 p.m.: "Cold Case."
Read the full article at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Matching Donors web site successfully links donor and recipient

By Monifa Thomas Chicago Sun-Times

May 19, 2009
Chris Bergman decided to donate one of his kidneys to Bonnie Rosman several months before he met her in person.

The pair found each other on http://www.MatchingDonors.com, a site linking people in need of organ transplants with living donors.

Both are recovering well after a transplant Thursday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, just days after the two met on Mother's Day.

Bergman, a Wyoming father of three, said a period of turmoil in his life -- including a job transfer and the anniversary of his father's death -- made him want to help others.

He said he chose Rosman, a nurse from Riverwoods, because he saw similarities between her close-knit family and his. They also shared the same blood and tissue types, making a transplant possible.

Though donors aren't paid, MatchingDonors has drawn criticism from transplant groups and doctors who worry that it could subvert existing waiting lists and lead to illegal selling of organs.

Bergman and Rosman, 65, are the 100th donor-recipient pair to find each other through the site, MatchingDonors says.

The transplant means that Rosman, who had been waiting for a new kidney since 2007, won't have to get dialysis three times a week anymore.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Four lives saved by New Zealand accident victim

I don't know who the donor of my lung was and I haven't met their family. But if I ever do meet them, I would tell them how thankful and grateful I am for the gift of life they gave me and that their loved one is now part of me and I say silent thanks to them every single day. The family of Barry MacIntyre can take comfort in knowing that he his living on in four other people whose lives he has saved.


LIFE SAVER: Barry Mac Intyre's kidneys and liver were transplanted into two 60-year-old men and a 56-year-old woman. His heart went to a 21-year-old woman.

By Giles Brown The Press

A West Coast man killed in a road accident has helped save four people via organ transplants.

Barry MacIntyre, 39, died after being hit by a campervan in his home town of Harihari on April 13.

His kidneys and liver were transplanted into two 60-year-old men and a 56-year-old woman, while his heart was given to a 21-year-old woman.

Rural nurse specialist Gayle Lindley said the donations meant MacIntrye "lives on".

"Although he isn't here any more, part of him lives on. He has made a huge impact on four lives," she said.

MacIntyre's father, Clyde, 64, said it was some solace to him and wife Jill, 61, that their son's organs had been able to help so many people.

Barry MacIntyre, a goldminer and sawmiller, died the day after the accident, and a medical team from Auckland flew to Grey Base Hospital to take the organs north with them.

By 4.30pm the next day Organ Donation New Zealand had informed the MacIntyres that their son's precious donations had been successfully transplanted.

Clyde MacIntyre, who lives in Queenstown, believed his son would have been pleased to help others. "It's a wee bit of compensation," he said.

MacIntyre said he shared the O Rh-negative blood type with his son, which meant their organs were compatible with "virtually anyone".

"It was his wish and we were quite happy to go along with it, especially because of his blood type," he said.

Lindley said Barry MacIntyre had played a big part in fundraising for a HeartStart MRx monitoring and defibrillating machine for the Harihari community.

The machine had been vital in enabling the transplants.

MacIntyre and a friend had been the first in the community to donate money for the machine, and he had made lamps to be sold in a fundraising auction.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Monday, May 18, 2009

Disgraced psychiatrist arrested - swindles dying patients waiting for organ transplants

BULLETIN - Jerome Feldman was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May, 2010. Read all about it.

This is a follow-up on my previous post about Jerome Feldman, the disgraced psychiatrist (license revoked) who swindled dying patients and their families out of thousands of dollars for deposits on organ transplants abroad that were phony from the start. My hat is off to the DeWitt, N.Y. police department and investigator Scott Kapral who went to bat for the family that had been scammed out of $70,000.

Map shows the trail that led to Feldman's arrest.

Click on map for larger view


By Sue Weibezahl Porter on Syracuse.com


It all started with a phone call to a small Onondaga County police station -- an unlikely beginning for what became an international criminal investigation.

A woman from Canada called to report that her husband was dying in the Philippines while waiting for a liver transplant.

She had wired $70,000 to a DeWitt bank for the transplant surgery.

"I can't tell you how many departments I called before I tried DeWitt," said the woman, who asked that her name not be used because she fears for her safety. "I had the door slammed in my face by everyone."

The Edmonton police department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were among those that turned down the case because it involved so many jurisdictions, she said.

The woman had never been to DeWitt and didn't know its department has just 38 employees, she said.

That one call led to a nine-month investigation involving a half-dozen law enforcement agencies, three countries and hundreds of thousands of dollars scammed from victims in a bogus organ transplant scheme.

It led to a "war room" being set up in the Federal Building in downtown Syracuse; a DeWitt investigator being deputized by the FBI; and a weeklong trip to the Philippines to track down the suspect.

Jerome Feldman was arrested in Manila, transported to Guam and extradited to Syracuse April 1 to face the federal charges.

Here's how it unfolded:

The DeWitt police department, which handles about 22,000 cases a year, received the call in June from the Canadian who believed she had been swindled.

She told police she had wired $70,000 to a DeWitt bank to pay for a liver transplant in the Philippines. Her husband later died waiting for the transplant. The doctor whom they had hired on the Internet did not exist, she told police.

From there, said DeWitt Investigator Scott Kapral, "We just followed the paper trail and followed the money and it all snowballed."

The first week, managers at DeWitt's Chase Bank helped police determine that the account had been opened in 2001 by an "Alberto Gomez."

Checking the activity from that account, they learned that more than $400,000 had been wired into it, with most transfers ranging between $35,000 and $45,000.

They also tentatively identified the real account holder as Jerome Feldman because of transfers of money to his children and his estranged wife.

DeWitt investigators "googled" Feldman on the Internet and learned that he was wanted in Florida on felony charges. They also saw his mug shot. Chase bank officials confirmed that the mug shot was of the same man who opened the account there using a fake ID: a Mozambique international driver's permit, with his photo on it.

The Canadian woman told them how she had discovered the bogus doctor -- through an Internet Web site advertising help in securing fast and safe organ transplants.

Feldman's Web site account also listed its creator as Gomez, who lived on East Genesee Street in DeWitt. That address came back to a mailbox in a UPS store.

Authorities said Feldman was using that post office box and another one in Fayetteville to funnel money from the Chase account to relatives, to another account in Texas and a third account in the Philippines.

He used a bogus international driver's permit from England as identification to open the postal boxes, according to the criminal complaint.

Within two weeks, DeWitt investigators determined Feldman was using at least nine different aliases.

"The task then became tracking him down," DeWitt police Chief Eugene Conway said.

The department turned to the Syracuse field office of the FBI.

FBI officials deputized Kapral and streamlined his passport application, so he could go to Manila, more than 8,300 miles away.

Through bank wire transfers from DeWitt to Feldman's estranged wife, his children and to an account in Texas, listed under Michael Adams -- one of his aliases, which then wired money to a bank in the Philippines -- detectives confirmed his identity and pinpointed his location.

The farthest Kapral had been before on an investigation was New York City.

The farthest anyone in the department had traveled before was to Florida, and that was 20 years earlier, Conway said.

The FBI set up an office in the Federal Building where investigators could work full time. The bureau paid for Kapral's airline tickets, accommodations and overtime costs, Conway said. It would likely have totaled more than $20,000 if the department had tried to continue on its own, he said.

Investigators worked with the state police, the Florida state attorney general's office, the U.S. embassy in Manila, the Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, and Filipino authorities, sifting through thousands of pages of bank statements and paperwork.

They accessed Feldman's e-mail accounts and his wife's phone records, which made them realize that Feldman was continuing to court new victims while they were trying to close in on him, Kapral said.

"That was truly a nauseating thought," he said.

Poring over the e-mails, investigators saw Feldman teach another man how to hide his Internet service provider address to make it harder to trace him.

He wrote his estranged wife, Bonnie Feldman, of Baldwinsville, about having to think seriously about what countries he could live in because some had extradition treaties with the United States, listing England, Canada, Australia and Switzerland as being particularly risky.

Feldman boasted to one son about his 34-year-old Filipino girlfriend who "cleans my apartment spotless." He waited to tell her his true identity, he wrote his son.

"I told her my real first name, which was a shock since my travel passport has a different name and nationality than she knew," he e-mailed Albert Feldman.

Investigators put themselves in victims' shoes -- and by then they had identified four more victims -- who saw the potential of a life-saving operation, only to have their hopes dashed and their money gone.

"We felt that urgency of 'We've gotta get this guy right away,' but you have to do it methodically and do it right," Kapral said.

Feldman cast the net wide, using the computer Web site* to reel in prospective victims, court documents said. He'd promise the amount they paid -- usually around $75,000 -- would cover all their medical expenses. They would arrive in the Philippines and realize no surgeries had been scheduled and the doctor who was to perform the operation didn't exist.

Four of the five victims died without getting their kidney or liver transplant surgeries. The fifth had the surgery done on his own after Feldman's sham fell through, and he later died.

"What really drove us was the fact that we not only had a fraud, but a fraud where there was the death of a loved one, and that took it to a whole new level," Kapral said. "The way this guy exploited his victims really set the tone for the level of passion we had for this."

Some of Feldman's e-mails to prospective clients were rife with spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors, but prosecutor Carla Freedman said she could understand why that might not have been a warning to them.

"They were sort of blinded by their desperation to get an organ," she said.

The Canadian victim said she was leery, particularly after learning her husband had not been met at the Manila airport and days after his arrival, had still not had an appointment with the bogus doctor.

"Don't think for a minute that we didn't know we were getting screwed," she said, "but we had absolutely no choice. My husband's life was on the line."

Sue Weibezahl Porter can be reached at sweibezahl@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3039.

*I deleted the URL from this post - he doesn't deserve more publicity. Merv.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Transplant Patients Have Worse Cancer Outcomes, Analysis Shows

ScienceDaily (May 17, 2009) — After comparing two patient cancer registries—one featuring transplant patients and the other the general population—researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that transplant patients experience worse outcomes from cancer.

These results will be published in the May 15, 2009, edition of the journal Transplantation, which is currently in press.

Yun Miao, MD, PhD, Jason Everly, PharmD, Steve Woodle, MD, and colleagues at UC compared lung, colon, breast, prostate, bladder, kidney and skin cancer data in 635 adult transplant recipients from the Israel Penn International Transplant Tumor Registry with that of about 1.2 million adults from the general population in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

"It has been known for some time that transplant recipients are at an increased risk of developing cancer, but the outcomes of cancers that arise in organ transplant recipients have not been defined," says Woodle, professor and chief of transplant surgery and co-author of the study.

"In this study, we wanted to examine the influence of transplantation on the outcomes of individual types of cancers arising in organ transplant recipients," adds Miao, co-author and research fellow in the division.

The Israel Penn International Transplant Tumor Registry is the largest and most comprehensive transplant tumor registry in the world and was created by doctors at the UC College of Medicine.

The SEER registry collects information on cancer incidence, survival and prevalence for roughly 26 percent of the United States population and compiles reports and statistics based on this information along with cancer mortality rates for the entire nation.

A comparison of results in transplant recipients to the general population also demonstrated that transplant patients were more likely to have early stage renal cell (kidney) cancer and more advanced colon, breast, bladder and skin cancer at the time of diagnosis.

Disease-specific survival was worse in the transplant population for each of these seven cancers analyzed and was a negative risk factor for survival.

Now, researchers want to conduct further studies to find out why this may be the case.

"Transplant patients receive immunosuppressive therapies to prevent them from rejecting transplanted organs," says Woodle. "We want to see if immunosuppressive therapies contribute to the poorer outcomes in transplant recipients."

He says the worse outcomes in transplant recipients may have occurred because this population is not as healthy as the general population or because their cancers may be more aggressive as a result of their immunosuppression treatments.

"Some of our data supports this premise, as the extent of the cancers at diagnosis were greater in the transplant recipients," Woodle continues. "This was surprising since transplant recipients are generally followed more closely than the general population."

Everly, co-author and board-certified oncology pharmacist in the division, says that this data may change the way physicians screen transplant patients for cancer.

"We found that most cancers developed within five years following transplantation," he says, noting that more frequent and detailed checks should be made in order to catch the cancer in its earliest stages. "This may alter the way doctors should screen these patients for cancer."

This study was investigator-initiated and supported by research grants from Astellas Pharmaceuticals.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Friday, May 15, 2009

Kidney Transplant Surgery to be Broadcast Live via Twitter

I heard of Twitter about 2 years ago and joined up right away. It has become a huge success and I wonder if this live organ transplant broadcast portends of things to come. The world wide web has changed society and social networks such as Twitter are changing it even further.

East Valley Living

Children’s Medical Center in Dallas will be the first hospital to Twitter live from a transplant surgery

Dallas, TX - On Monday, May 18, 2009, Children’s Medical Center will Twitter live from the operating room while three-year-old John Gilbreath receives a life-saving kidney transplant from his hero of a dad. When Chris Gilbreath isn’t saving his son’s life, he’s busy saving others’ lives as a firefighter in Bonham, TX. This will be the first time any hospital has Twittered from a transplant surgery.
Children’s will be Twittering from both Chris’s operating room at UT Southwestern University Hospital and John’s operating room at Children’s in an effort to educate the public and raise awareness of living organ donations.

Currently in the United States, nearly 85,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney. Last year, Children’s performed the most pediatric kidney transplants in Texas.

Submitted on behalf of Children’s Medical Center
One of the largest pediatric healthcare providers in the nation, Children’s Medical Center is private, not-for-profit, and is one of the largest pediatric healthcare providers in the nation. As the only academic healthcare facility in North Texas dedicated exclusively to the comprehensive care of children from birth to age 18, Children’s provides patient care ranging from simple eye exams to specialized treatment in areas such as heart disease, hematology-oncology and cystic fibrosis. For more information, visit http://www.childrens.com.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Organ Donation to Get Easier in South Korea

Congratulations to South Korea for taking steps to prevent the trade in human organs by allowing only medical institutions to procure and allocate organs for transplantation. They've also changed the consent rules for family members of potential organ donors.

english.chosun.com

People who wish to donate their organs will be able to do so even if their surviving family object to the decision. The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs on Tuesday unveiled a bill aiming to promote organ donation which will be finalized this month and submitted to the National Assembly in September.

To allow a person who did not consent to donating their organs before death to do so, the consent of two people -- a spouse, immediate family members, lineal descendants or siblings -- is required. But following the revision, the consent of just one will be enough.

At present, between six to 10 people including three doctors are required to sit on hospital committees that determine whether a patient is brain dead. Following the changes, only four to six including two doctors will be required. Mentally or physically disabled people were not allowed to donate their organs if they did not offer their personal consent, but the changes will allow organ donations from such people based on consent from their surviving family.

To prevent the trade in human organs and other negative effects, only medical institutions authorized to handle organ transplants will be allowed to register and manage lists of recipients. At present, the central government and local governments, the Red Cross and non-profit organizations are also allowed to do this.

Last year, 256 people donated organs, a near two-fold rise from 2007, but more donors are needed since the waiting list has risen sharply to 10,717 in 2008, compared to 7,614 in 2007.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Organ Donation Policies Vary Among Children's Hospitals

More research, better adherence to recommendations needed, study suggests

-- Robert Preidt MSN Health & Fitness

(HealthDay News) -- Children's hospitals have widely varying policies on organ donation after cardiac death (DCD), according to researchers, who asked 124 hospitals in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada about their policies in 2007 and 2008.

The study authors received responses from 105 hospitals, and found that 72 percent of them had DCD policies, while policies were being developed in 19 percent, and 7 percent did not have and were not developing policies.

Of the 73 hospitals with DCD policies that were analyzed, 61 (84 percent) specified criteria or tests for declaring death, including electrocardiogram (ECG) findings, no pulse, no breathing, and unresponsiveness. Four policies required total waiting periods prior to organ removal that conflict with professional guidelines: One policy had a waiting period of less than 2 minutes, and three policies had waiting periods of longer than 5 minutes.

The researchers also found that 64 policies (88 percent) didn't allow transplant personnel to declare death, and 51 percent prohibited them from being involved in premortem (taking place immediately before death) management.

The importance of palliative care was noted in 65 policies (89 percent), but only 7 percent recommended or required palliative care consultation. The use of medications with the intention to hasten death was prohibited in 32 policies (44 percent), the researchers found.

The location of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment was specified in 68 policies (93 percent), with the majority (54 percent) requiring withdrawal to occur in the operating room. Other locations specified in policies included areas adjacent to the operating room (19 percent), the emergency department (4 percent), or the intensive care unit (4 percent).

"This study demonstrates that, consistent with a national emphasis on increasing the supply of transplantable organs, a large number of children's hospitals have developed or are developing DCD policies," wrote Dr. Armand H. Matheny Antommaria, of the University of Utah School of Medicine, in Salt Lake City, and colleagues.

"The policies exhibit notable variation both within those we studied and compared with authoritative reports and statements. Further research will be required to determine the importance of variation in the tests for declaring death or the processes for withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. In the long run, public policy may need to address strategies to promote adherence to recommendations for DCD processes based on sufficient clinical evidence and/or ethical justification," they concluded.

The study appears in the May 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More information

The United Network for Organ Sharing has more about pediatric transplants.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, news release, May 12, 2009

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Wales urged to follow Belgium on organ donation

The issue of an opt-out system of organ donation continues to be the focus of discussion whenever various countries officially discuss what to do about the lack of available organs for transplantation. This opt-out proposal by an advocacy group in Wales differs from some other jurisdictions in that relatives would still be consulted at the time of death.

by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to increase the number of organ donors have urged Wales to follow Belgium’s lead.

The Kidney Wales Foundation believes Belgium’s decision to introduce an opt-out organ donation scheme shows how changing the law can increase the number of donors.

And it has said Wales should heed the Belgian example.

The calls come as the Welsh Assembly Government prepares to publish a range of options for organ donation in Wales.

It is thought that one of these will be the introduction of an opt-out system.

Wales, like the rest of the UK, currently has an opt-in organ donation system – people who want to donate their organs after their death must sign up to the Organ Donor Register.

But there is growing support for a “soft” opt-out system – also known as “presumed consent”.

Under this system people who do not want to donate their organs would have to register but relatives would still be consulted at the time of death.

Roy J Thomas, chair of the Kidney Wales Foundation, said, on the eve of the first anniversary of the Donate Wales campaign: “The brutal reality is that people in Wales waiting for a transplant are dying because of the shortage of donors – statistically, it’s one person every 11 days.

“We stand at a crossroads where the urgency for change has never been greater.

“Kidney Wales has looked carefully at the way in which other countries in Europe have benefited from the introduction of an opt-out system.

“In the 23 years since this system of organ donation was adopted in Belgium, for example, many more hundreds of lives have been saved in comparison to Wales.

“A responsible and factual debate on this health issue is needed.

“A change to an opt-out system of organ donation, coupled with the introduction of more donor co-ordinators in Welsh hospitals, would lead to hundreds more lives in Wales being saved by the gift of organ donation.”

Belgium introduced its “soft” opt-out system in 1986 and increased the number of transplant co-ordinators at the same time.

Just 2% of the population has opted out of organ donation – by registering at their local town hall – and the national rate of organ donation rose by 55% within five years.

The latest figures show that in Belgium there were 291 deceased organ donors in 2007 compared to only 51 in Wales – Belgium has one of the highest rates of donors per million people in the world.

There were 488 kidney transplants carried out in Belgium in 2007 from deceased organ donors. During 2007-08 in Wales there were only 84 kidney transplants using cadaveric organs.

Sara Griffiths, 46, who has had a kidney and a pancreatic transplant and lives in Raglan, Monmouthshire, said: “Being on the waiting list for a transplant is gruelling – you’re alive but you’re not living.

“People on the waiting list need hope, they need to know that something proactive is being done to lessen their burden.

“To hear that an opt-out system is being considered would give people on dialysis something to hope for because with more organs available there is a better chance for a life.”

An Assembly Government spokesman said: “Health Minister Edwina Hart is committed to increasing organ donation in Wales and has taken action to achieve this.

“She has worked closely with Kidney Wales Foundation and funded the Donate Wales: Tell a Loved One campaign which aims to encourage people to sign up to the organ donation register and, importantly, to explain their wishes to relatives.

“In addition, a series of public debates were held across Wales to gauge people’s views on organ donation and the issue of presumed consent.”

A summary report of the responses to the debates is due to be published today, along with a consultation document which sets out some specific options for changes to the organ donation system in Wales.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Monday, May 11, 2009

Jobless Spaniards sell kidneys to transplant tourists

Desperate times cause normally law-abiding citizens to resort to desperate measures to provide for their families during economic hardships. It seems that transplant tourism is now becoming a target for those willing to sell their organs.

By Matthew Campbell TimesOnline (U.K.)

A MACABRE traffic associated with poor countries in Asia and Latin America has sprung up for the first time in western Europe as the credit crunch reduces Spaniards to selling organs to “transplant tourists”.

Spanish “kidney for sale” advertisements have proliferated recently on the internet as people struggle to make ends meet in a country whose 17% unemployment rate is the highest in Europe.

Sergio, a 42-year-old welder and father of four, said he had received an offer of £20,000 (U.S. $30,434) from a German couple who needed his kidney for their five-year-old son. If tests showed them to be compatible, an operation would be performed in a “third country” since such transactions are illegal in Europe.

“Apparently, there’s a waiting list of at least five years for a kidney in Germany,” he told a television programme, “but in five years the kid will be dead.”

Just to advertise a human organ for sale is illegal in Spain and other sellers sounded nervous when contacted last week on the telephone by The Sunday Times.

Alberto, an unemployed construction worker in Valencia with two small children, said he was afraid of ending up on the street because he could no longer pay his mortgage.

“The bank is on my back,” he said. “If I could think of some other way of raising the money, believe me, I would.”

His biggest fear was that he might fall into the hands of professional traffickers who might operate on him without paying.

He said the price of £150,000 (U.S. $228,255) was negotiable but he wanted at least half of the money up-front before going under the knife. He said he had not yet received any offers.

Spanish medical experts said that prices in Spain were much higher than in countries outside Europe. For instance, a kidney can be acquired in Pakistan or Brazil for £1,000. Transplant tourism has been thriving in many Asian and South American countries for years.

Some buyers might prefer a kidney from Europe in the belief that it is healthier than one from the Third World. However, a doctor in a hospital outside Europe would have to perform the operation, said Rafael Matesanz, director of Spain’s national transplant office.

“In general, transplant tourists prefer a complete package,” he added.

This did not stop Edgar, a 44-year-old mechanic who lost his job in August last year, from placing an advertisement for his kidney on the internet in the hope of paying off debts of £90,000.

Kidney problems affect about 10% of the global adult population and there are 2m new cases of renal failure each year. Sufferers can die within a few weeks unless they receive a kidney transplant or undergo dialysis, an expensive procedure for cleansing the blood.

The World Health Organisation estimates that about 70,000 kidney transplants are performed each year, of which 20% are carried out on the black market in countries including China, Pakistan, Egypt and Colombia.

Facua, a Spanish consumers’ association, has recently reported dozens of internet organ advertisements to the police and an investigation has been opened in Seville into a man who offered a kidney for sale. The practice is likely to grow, however.

“The explanation most often given is economic necessity,” said Ruben Sanchez, a spokesman for the association.

“In a time of economic crisis such as the one we are living through, we think it will be a growing phenomenon.”

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Woman Thankful for Double Lung Transplant

Cheyenne, Wyoming

NewsChannel Five spoke to a lucky transplant recipient who hopes the list gets smaller in the future.

Jennifer Winters desperately needed a lung transplant, but the news was bleak. "They said the life expectancy when waiting for a lung transplant is twelve months. I waited almost two years," Winters said.

She knows how precious each breath can be. "I was up to six liters of oxygen, down to about 10 percent of my lung capacity on both lungs when I received the gift of life and I've been able to do so many wonderful things."

So many wonderful things like the abilty to watch her baby grow and taking family vacations.

"A lot of people say when they get sick, 'why me'? I was twenty-seven years old when I got listed with a six month old baby."

That 6-month old has since grown in to a 5th grader and Winters hasn't taken any moment of that for granted. "You can think your glass is half full or half empty, but I'm just glad I have a glass."

The community raised over $7,000 to help Winters get her double lung transplant. "Every day there are people out there helping, paying it forward and that's what it's all about," Winters says.

And after being on the receiving end of such a generous gift, Winters realizes the importance of giving. "Make sure you sit around family dinners or whatever. It's a hard subject but you have to tell your family what your wishes are."

Winters knows how easy it is to put off the little things, like registering to become an organ donor, but it was someone else's small efforts to do so, that gave her the gift of life.

"The little things in life are the big things."

Watch the video interview with Jennifer Winters.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network
For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves