Saturday, August 21, 2010

Pioneer heart patient now needs a kidney transplant

Living heart donation is extremely rare as you can imagine. When a patient receives a heart-lung transplant from a deceased donor, his or her healthy heart may be given to an individual waiting for a heart transplant.

from this is Derbyshire
A PATIENT who underwent pioneering heart transplant surgery 23 years ago is now in need of a kidney.

Paul Taylor took part in the UK's first "domino" heart transplant, receiving the donation from a patient who, in turn, underwent a heart and lungs transplant.

Now Mr Taylor has been diagnosed with kidney failure and placed on the transplant waiting list.

But he remains optimistic and is delighted to be celebrating the anniversary of the 1987 operation this weekend.

The 50-year-old, of Stenson Road, Sunnyhill, said: "I look forward to the anniversary of my transplant more than my birthday.

"It feels like an achievement to get to another year.

"I set myself goals. I've seen my 50th birthday and now my next target is to watch the 2012 Olympics.

"When I first had the operation, surviving for five to ten years would have been great."

Mr Taylor takes medication to stop his body rejecting the transplant.

He says it is possible this has affected his kidneys over the years, causing them to fail.

Since May, he has been visiting Royal Derby Hospital three times a week for dialysis to remove toxins from his blood.

He said: "I might have developed this problem anyway but the drugs haven't helped. It's not uncommon for heart transplant patients to develop problems with their kidneys over time, due to the medication."

Mr Taylor was only 27 when he was told he urgently needed a transplant.

At that time he had been married to his wife Karen for just five years and had only recently become a father to son Gareth. He became ill in April 1987, when he was struck down by a virus which caused one side of his heart to fail.

Doctors warned him that his heart was dying and that, without a new organ, he would not live to see the end of the year.

Fortunately, a donor was found in time and the operation was a success.

His new heart came from Mark Dolby, of Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, who suffered from cystic fibrosis and needed a lung transplant.

In the 1980s, it was not possible to give a lung transplant without replacing the heart as well, so Mr Dolby's healthy heart was able to save Mr Taylor's life. The pair are still in contact.

The first UK heart transplant took place in 1968.

To sign the national organ donor register, visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 2323.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be an organ and tissue donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”
Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! 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 (see allotransplantation). One tissue donor can help 75 to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Organs can save lives, corneas renew vision, and tissue may help to restore someone's ability to walk, run or move freely without pain. Life Begins with You

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