tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82976742024-03-09T21:46:39.436-05:00Merv Sheppard's Transplant NetworkMission: To be a resource for transplant information; to be an advocate for organ & tissue donation awareness; to promote funding for transplant research.Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.comBlogger1808125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-13081987990972667762014-04-03T14:42:00.004-04:002014-04-03T15:03:39.908-04:00Donor organs kept viable for transplant longer<br />
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'Cold' Carriers to up travel time for transplant hearts</h1>
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You cannot blame transplant surgeons for having high BP. After all, speeding in an ambulance across the city, removing a beating heart (or liver or lung) from a brain-dead patient, putting it in a box of saline and rushing back before the organ gets infected or stops beating... and then operating for 6-12 hours, cannot be good for the nerves.</div>
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The heart transplant team at Global Health City may be able to breathe a little easier soon, when they procure new organ transportation cases that are equipped with cold perfusion technology. “Right now, the organs are carried in sterilized boxes with ice and saline, which keep the organ usable for up to four hours. But the battle against time is a constant worry,” said Dr R Ravi Kumar, senior interventional cardiologist at the hospital.</div>
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Despite its having the best organ transplant programme in the country, at least a 100 harvested organs go to waste every year, rued cardiologist Dr Nandkishore Kapadia at the inauguration of Global’s Heart Failure Clinic on Wednesday. Most of it is because the organ gets infected before it reaches the recipient.</div>
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In contrast, the cold perfusion boxes will keep feeding the heart cold nutrients that circulate inside the blood-pumping organ, allowing it to stay alive and fresh for longer. “Studies have indicated that these cases will be able to keep harvested cadaver hearts alive for up to nine hours,” he added about the boxes which have been procured at a cost of `60 lakh. (more than $100,000 U.S.)</div>
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While the additional time will make it easier for ambulance drivers who battle the city’s traffic every day, what it really does is open up the possibility of procuring organs from further south. “At the moment, we struggle to procure organs from Tiruchy, which is about three hours away through our ‘green corridor’. With the advantage of these boxes, we may be able to receive organs from places like Coimbatore soon,” said Dr Ravi.</div>
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Global’s Heart Failure Clinic brings together the whole gamut of heart services from elective surgeries to emergencies in one department and is among the few of its kind in the country.</div>
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Source: <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Cold-Carriers-to-up-travel-time-for-transplant-hearts/2014/04/03/article2145761.ece1#.Uz2rGYldXh4"><span style="color: #062e51; font-size: 12px; line-height: 12px;">By </span><span class="authorName" style="color: #062e51; font-size: 12px; line-height: 12px;">Express News Service - CHENNAI</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">April is Organ Donor Month</span></b></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #666699;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Donor Registration Links</a> in your home country</b></em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-27435487613737733002014-03-12T11:54:00.000-04:002014-03-12T11:55:29.724-04:00New Smaller SynCardia Artificial Heart waiting FDA approval<h1 style="background-color: white; color: #8e0066; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 28px; margin: 45px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; z-index: 0;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Press Release</span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: large;">New Smaller SynCardia Total Artificial Heart</span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Will Expand Life-Saving Therapy to<br />All Adults & Many Adolescents</span></h1>
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Once Results of Studies Are Approved by the FDA, the Smaller 50cc SynCardia Heart and<br />New Permanent Use Indication Will Triple the Number of Heart Failure Patients Who Can Get a 2nd Chance at Life</h6>
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<span class="easy_img_caption" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; display: inline-block; line-height: 0.5; margin: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 418px;"><a href="http://www.syncardia.com/captioned-images/SynCardia_Update.html" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="Enlarge Image"><img alt="The 70cc SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, left, has been implanted in nearly 1,300 patients world-wide. The smaller 50cc SynCardia Heart, right, which could go to clinical trials this year pending FDA approval, is designed to fit in heart failure patients of smaller stature, including most women and many adolescents." src="http://www.syncardia.com/images/stories/50_70cchearts_410x367.jpg" height="367" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px;" title="The 70cc SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, left, has been implanted in nearly 1,300 patients world-wide. The smaller 50cc SynCardia Heart, right, which could go to clinical trials this year pending FDA approval, is designed to fit in heart failure patients of smaller stature, including most women and many adolescents." width="410" /></a><span class="easy_img_caption_inner" style="display: inline-block; font-size: 8pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 4px 8px;">The 70cc SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, left, has been implanted in nearly 1,300 patients world-wide. The smaller 50cc SynCardia Heart, right, which could go to clinical trials this year pending FDA approval, is designed to fit in heart failure patients of smaller stature, including most women and many adolescents.</span></span></div>
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<strong>TUCSON</strong><strong>, Ariz. – March 11, 2014 –</strong>Recent developments surrounding the <a href="http://www.syncardia.com/total-facts/total-artificial-heart-facts.html" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart">SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart</a> will make the life-saving device available to three times the number of people suffering from end-stage biventricular heart failure. Over 300 SynCardia Hearts have been implanted worldwide since 2012.</div>
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Clinical trials awaiting FDA approval will document the use of a new smaller 50cc version of the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, making it available to people of smaller size, including most women, men and many adolescents.</div>
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The current 70cc SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart, is approved as a bridge to transplant. It has been implanted in nearly 1,300 people worldwide.</div>
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Once approved by the FDA, the studies are expected to launch later this year. They will also investigate using the SynCardia Heart for permanent use (also known as destination therapy). This allows patients who do not qualify for a donor heart transplant — because of other health conditions or age — to receive a SynCardia Heart.</div>
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About 3,800 people wait for a heart transplant on any given day, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The need for donor hearts is increasing, however. For over 20 years, the supply of approximately 2,300 donor hearts annually has been flat in the U.S. and the supply has generally been <a href="http://www.syncardia.com/medical-professionals/eliminates-heart-failure/itemid-1660.html" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="Donor heart facts">declining in Europe</a>. Approximately 16% of people on the heart transplant list become too ill or die each year.</div>
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Many patients have lived with the SynCardia Heart for months or years while waiting for a matching donor heart. The<a href="http://www.syncardia.com/2010-press-release/italian-man-surpasses-1000-days-of-support-with-syncardias-total-artificial-heart.html" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="The longest a patient has lived with a SynCardia Heart">longest a patient has lived with a SynCardia Heart</a> was nearly four years before receiving a successful donor heart transplant. The SynCardia Total Artificial Heart is one of the most reliable approved heart devices. The valves in the heart have never failed and the diaphragms that pump the blood have a failure rate of less than 1% for nearly 1,300 implanted hearts, accounting for 2,600 ventricles.</div>
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Once the clinical trials are underway, both the <a href="http://www.syncardia.com/medical-professionals/small-to-large-patients.html" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="50cc and 70cc SynCardia Total Artificial Heart">50cc and 70cc SynCardia Total Artificial Heart</a> will be available as both destination therapy and bridge to transplant at study sites. The 70cc SynCardia Heart as a bridge to transplant is available at all SynCardia Certified Centers. Like a human heart transplant, the SynCardia Heart eliminates the symptoms and source of end-stage biventricular heart failure, when the left and right ventricles can no longer pump enough blood for the patient to survive.</div>
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<a href="http://www.syncardia.com/news/arizona-illustrated/itemid-1685.html" style="color: #8e0062; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Watch the Arizona Illustrated video on SynCardia Total Artificial Heart developments"><strong><img alt="Watch the Arizona Illustrated video on SynCardia Total Artificial Heart developments" src="http://www.syncardia.com/images/stories/watchazillutrattedvideo.jpg" height="100" style="border: 0px;" width="160" /><br /><br />Watch the Arizona Illustrated video on SynCardia Total Artificial Heart developments</strong></a></div>
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SynCardia CEO and President Michael P. Garippa and Chief Technology Officer Rich Smith detailed these developments in a March 4, 2014 segment of “AZ Illustrated Science,” a Tucson Arizona news and public affairs show that airs on Public Broadcasting. They also provided an update about the Freedom® portable driver, which powers the SynCardia Heart.<br />
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The Freedom® portable driver, at only 13.5 pounds, provides patients with almost unlimited mobility. It is pending FDA approval and is approved by Health Canada and the CE Mark for Europe. A majority of clinically stable patients are discharged with the Freedom portable driver to recover at home and in their communities. At home, patients are able to sleep in their own beds, eat out, socialize and be part of their communities. Most patients exercise, helping them become stronger for their donor heart transplant.</div>
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“Freedom patients have proven that many activities and daily living are possible, including activities that we don’t necessarily endorse,” Garippa says of some patients. “We’ve had people go four-wheeling. We’ve had people doing tai chi. We’ve had people cycle, run, take driving vacations through many states and countries and do everything but swim.”</div>
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<em>The 50cc Total Artificial Heart is designed for use as a bridge to transplant in patients of smaller stature, including women and adolescents. It has been designated as a Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) by the FDA for destination therapy in adults and as a bridge to transplant in pediatric patients. Prior to clinical study, an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application that includes each indication must be approved by the FDA.</em></div>
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<em>CAUTION – The Freedom portable driver is an investigational device, limited by United States law to investigational use.</em></div>
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<strong>About the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart</strong>SynCardia Systems, Inc. (Tucson, AZ) is the privately-held manufacturer of the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart. Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to transplant for people suffering from end stage heart failure affecting both sides of the heart (biventricular failure). There have been more than 1,250 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accounting for more than 350 patient years of life on the device.</div>
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Similar to a heart transplant, the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart ventricles and the four heart valves. It is the only device that eliminates the symptoms and source of end stage biventricular failure. Unlike a donor heart, the Total Artificial Heart is immediately available at 97 <a href="http://www.syncardia.com/medical-professionals/syncardia-certified-centers.html" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="SynCardia Certified Centers">SynCardia Certified Centers</a> worldwide with 39 others in the process of certification.</div>
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The Total Artificial Heart provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 liters per minute through each ventricle. This high volume of blood flow helps speed the recovery of vital organs, helping make the patient a better transplant candidate.</div>
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For up-to-date information, please visit: <a href="http://www.syncardia.com/undefined/" style="color: #8e0066;"></a><a href="http://www.syncardia.com/" style="color: #8e0066;">http://www.syncardia.com</a><br />
Like SynCardia on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/SynCardia-Systems-Inc/191245900926019" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="Like SynCardia">Facebook</a><br />
Follow SynCardia on Twitter – <a href="http://twitter.com/SynCardia" style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="Follow SynCardia">@SynCardia</a><br />
Connect with SynCardia on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/syncardia-systems-inc." style="color: #8e0066;" target="_blank" title="Connect with SynCardia">LinkedIn</a></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”</b></span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #666699;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Donor Registration Links</a> in your home country</b></em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-43124790219471283542014-03-12T11:39:00.002-04:002014-03-12T11:40:35.358-04:00Cystic Fibrosis patient runs marathon after double lung transplant<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.5714em; line-height: 1.4545em; margin: 0px 0px 18px;">
Brighton jewellery designer runs marathon </h3>
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A jewellery designer born with cystic fibrosis will run a marathon less than two years after undergoing a double lung transplant.</div>
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Amanda Chalmers, 26, could hardly walk up the stairs and was reliant on oxygen therapy 24 hours a day before her life-saving operation in September 2012.</div>
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The <a href="http://www.brighton.ac.uk/" style="color: #3f86ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">University of Brighton</a> graduate will run the <a href="http://www.brightonmarathon.co.uk/" style="color: #3f86ae; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Brighton Marathon</a> with six of her friends next month, raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.</div>
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Miss Chalmers, who won gold for archery in the British Transplant Games, said: “I initially signed up for the marathon in 2011 after seeing my friends complete it.</div>
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“I had just come out of hospital and for the first time needed to use oxygen therapy at home, but I was determined that by the following year, I would get myself back on track and healthy enough to run the marathon.</div>
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“That didn’t happen as I became completely reliant on oxygen 24/7 and my health deteriorated.</div>
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“By May 2012, I was on the list for a life-saving double-lung transplant and in September that year I was lucky enough to receive one.”</div>
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She said that after her surgery she knew she no longer had an excuse not to run the marathon and that completing it will be a huge achievement.</div>
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“Going from hardly being able to walk up my stairs to being able to run – and a bit of walking – in a marathon is something I’m so glad to have the chance to do,” she said.</div>
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Miss Chalmers, from Brighton, said that basic care for cystic fibrosis sufferers to maintain life and keep as healthy as possible was improving, but that many people are not lucky enough to receive a transplant.</div>
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She said: “Thanks to the Trust putting money into care and gene therapy research, a major trial of new drugs is now under way.</div>
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“This work is only possible through the generosity and support of very kind people, so when it came to picking a charity to run for it was an easy choice.”</div>
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Ed Bending, the university’s environmental communications officer, who is running the marathon with his friend, said: “Amanda’s life-saving operation and her amazing recovery are just fantastic and we are all so proud of the resilience she has shown and the can-do attitude that has led her to this point.”</div>
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Jennifer Westmoreland, head of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s community and fundraising events, said: “Amanda is a brilliant example of what people with cystic fibrosis can achieve when they are given the opportunity. I’m sure her story will inspire others waiting for organ transplants.”</div>
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To sponsor Amanda go to: <a href="http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/justbreathe.">www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/justbreathe.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11068793.Brighton_jewellery_designer_runs_marathon_after_double_lung_transplant/"><span style="color: #3f86ae; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.000585556030273px;">By Siobhan Ryan</span></span><span style="font-size: 14px;">, The Argus News</span></a></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #666699;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Donor Registration Links</a> in your home country</b></em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-75497376752172078072014-03-12T11:23:00.001-04:002014-03-12T11:24:29.155-04:00Poor immigrants targeted in illegal organ sale<strong style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Police have arrested five people in Spain after a wealthy Lebanese man in need of a liver offered up to €40,000 ($55,000) to whoever was willing to undergo an illegal organ transplant.</strong><br />
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According to the police report, the suspects were caught while they were trying their luck with impoverished immigrants in Spain's eastern region of Valencia.</div>
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An NGO worker working with migrants in the region was the one who took the matter to local police.</div>
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The Lebanese man and his four associates had already covered the cost of several candidates’ medical check-ups to determine their organ compatibility.</div>
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Spain has been the world leader in organ transplants for the past 22 years, with 35 out of every million people donating their organs.</div>
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A national record was set last February, when 45 organ transplants were performed in a single day.</div>
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According to several Spanish media sources, this was the first attempt to carry out an unregulated organ transplant on Spanish soil.</div>
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<a href="http://www.thelocal.es/20140312/police-thwart-first-illegal-organ-sale-in-spain">Source: Alex Dunham, The Local, Spain's News in English</a></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #666699;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Donor Registration Links</a> in your home country</b></em></div>
Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-83927629824469998962014-02-02T18:38:00.000-05:002014-02-02T18:41:46.214-05:00Couple pulling out all the stops in search for a kidney<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; width: auto;">
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Jeff Vanderveen and wife Kathy McIntee discuss kidney donation at home in Abbotsford, Feb. 1, 2014.</h1>
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<b>Photograph by: </b>Nick Procaylo, Nick Procaylo</h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.theprovince.com/health/Couple+pulling+stops+search+kidney/9459089/story.html">BY GLENDA LUYMES, THE PROVINCE</a></span></div>
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Jeff Vanderveen calls Kathy McIntee “the woman who saved my life.”</div>
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Two years ago, a few months after the Abbotsford couple began dating, Vanderveen received shocking news: His kidneys were failing due to undiagnosed high blood pressure.</div>
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Since then, McIntee has helped her partner through some difficult times. One of his kidneys had to be removed, and he goes to the hospital for dialysis three days a week.</div>
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But in McIntee’s mind, her life-saving work is far from over.</div>
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“I’m doing everything I can think of to find him a kidney donor,” she said. “We’re trying to keep our faith and hope up.”</div>
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B.C. leads the country with the highest rate of living kidney donations, said B.C. Transplant spokeswoman Peggy John. Last year was a record year for kidney transplants, although official numbers were not available by The Province’s deadline.</div>
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But for Vanderveen and McIntee, the only kidney that really matters is the one that’s a match for him. They’ve been told he could wait up to eight years. As of mid-December, there were 384 people on the B.C. kidney transplant list, and the median wait time was more than four years.</div>
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To cut Vanderveen’s time, McIntee has been trying everything she can think of to find a living donor. Both herself and family have been ruled out for various reasons, causing her to rely on the kindness of strangers.</div>
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I’ve posted Craigslist ads across North America and Canada. I’ve joined Facebook groups. I’ve followed up on everything I can think of,” she said.</div>
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Recently, she began posting signs in gas station windows, telling the couple’s story and providing a contact email address. She also has a poster on her vehicle, an idea she saw online.</div>
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“I know there is somebody out there who can help,” she said. “It’s like a spiderweb, we just have to make the right connections.”</div>
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The next idea she plans to try is a sandwich board.</div>
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McIntee’s tactics are not recommended by B.C. Transplant, said John.</div>
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“We would advise people not to take that approach because it opens you up to a lot of risk,” she said. “Of course, it is illegal to buy or sell organs in Canada ... Advertising isn’t recommended because you’re never sure about the intent of the person stepping forward.”</div>
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McIntee can relate to that. She posted an ad in an online forum in the United States. Someone offered to give her a kidney for $300,000. She promptly told him to keep it.</div>
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But she said one bad experience hasn’t kept her from believing there might be a truly good-hearted person out there.</div>
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In fact, Vanderveen was contacted by B.C. Transplant about a possible anonymous donor last week. It’s unclear if the person will be a match, but he’s hopeful, while trying to remain realistic. There have been times when he’s thought there was a match in the past.</div>
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“We’re not giving up the search until I actually receive a kidney,” he said. “For everyone on the transplant list, this is their only chance.”</div>
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John said most live donations come from people in the patient’s family or community. There is, however, a living anonymous donor program that has resulted in six transplants, according to the B.C. Transplant website. B.C. also participates in a living donor paired exchange program, which runs three times a year and allows patients with a willing donor who is not a blood match to be part of a circle of donors and recipients.</div>
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It’s like a domino effect,” said John.</div>
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In all cases, donors must go through a rigorous testing process, including physical and psychological exams.</div>
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Vanderveen said kidney disease has limited his ability to work. He once pulled 12 to 14 hour days, operating a garbage bin business and helping with field work on his parents’ farm. Now, he’s only able to work four to six hours. He is often tired. His sleeping patterns and appetite have changed, and his legs swell if he consumes too much water. He must also avoid certain foods, like starfruit and Brussels sprouts, which contain enough potassium to kill him.</div>
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“I just want to encourage all Canadians to get on the list,” he said of the organ donation list. “It is possible to make a difference and save someone’s life.”</div>
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- Visit <a href="http://www.transplant.bc.ca/" style="border: none; color: #035a91; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.transplant.bc.ca</a> to register to become an organ donor. To learn more about the living anonymous donor program, visit<a href="http://www.transplant.bc.ca/living_donation.htm" style="border: none; color: #035a91; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.transplant.bc.ca/living_donation.htm</a></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”</b></span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="color: #666699;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;">Donor Registration Links</a> in your home country</b></em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-67307468835359777182013-12-29T17:15:00.001-05:002013-12-29T17:17:25.669-05:00World's longest surviving heart transplant at 31 years<a href="http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2013-12-28/heart-transplant-patient-becomes-record-breaker/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Reem, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1.125em;">ITV.com </a><br />
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Heart transplant patient is a record breaker</span></h1>
<time class="time-edited" datetime="2013-12-28" pubdate="" style="color: #8d8c8c; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.833em; margin: 0px 4px 0px 0px;">Last updated Sat 28 Dec 2013</time><ul class="tags fl-list" style="font-size: 15px; list-style: none none; margin: 6px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; width: 400px;"><br />
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A man from Newport Pagnell near Milton Keynes has become the world's longest surviving heart transplant patient.</div>
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When he had the operation in 1982, John McCafferty was told that if the transplant was successful he could survive for five more years.</div>
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Thirty one years on, he says he's forever grateful to the doctors and the donor who saved his life.</div>
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<strong>Click below to watch Olivia Paterson's report.</strong></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-12642668185597044812013-12-09T16:49:00.001-05:002013-12-09T16:51:22.175-05:00Killer "T" cells “learn” to hunt down and attack cancer cells, researchers claim.<img alt="New wonder drug matches and kills all kinds of cancer — human testing starts 2014" src="http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/shutterstock_88169086115129-300x300.jpg?w=300&h=300&crop=1" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">New wonder drug matches and kills all kinds of cancer — human testing starts 2014</span></h1>
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By Michael Blaustein<span style="color: #2e2e2f; font-family: pt-serif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><a href="http://nypost.com/2013/07/11/new-wonder-drug-matches-and-kills-all-kinds-of-cancer-human-testing-starts-2014/" style="font-family: pt-serif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Newyorkpost.com</a></div>
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Stanford researchers are on track to begin human trials of a potentially potent new weapon against cancer, and would-be participants are flooding in following the <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/every_cancer_kills_tumor_them_kind_L9lppJmy9gCoS848cSzqbP" style="border: 0px; color: #345cc6; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Post’s initial report </a>on the discovery.</div>
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The progress comes just two months after the <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2013/may/cd47.html" style="border: 0px; color: #345cc6; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="med.stanford.edu">groundbreaking study</a> by Dr Irv Weissman, who developed an antibody that breaks down a cancer’s defense mechanisms in the body.</div>
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A protein called CD47 tells the body not to “eat” the cancer, but the antibody developed by Dr Weissman blocks CD47 and frees up immune cells called macrophages — which can then engulf the deadly cells.</div>
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The new research shows the miraculous macrophages effectively act as intelligence gatherers for the body, pointing out cancerous cells to cancer-fighting “killer T” cells.</div>
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The T cells then “learn” to hunt down and attack the cancer, the researchers claim.</div>
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“It was completely unexpected that CD8+ T (killer T) cells would be mobilized when macrophages engulfed the cancer cells in the presence of CD47-blocking antibodies,” said MD/PhD student Diane Tseng, who works with Dr. Weissman.</div>
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The clinical implications of the process could be profound in the war on cancer.</div>
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When macrophages present “killer T” cells with a patient’s cancer, the T cells become attuned to the unique molecular markers on the cancer.</div>
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This turns them into a personalized cancer vaccine.</div>
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“Because T cells are sensitized to attack a patient’s particular cancer, the administration of CD47-blocking antibodies in a sense could act as a personalized vaccination against that cancer,” Tseng said.</div>
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The team of researchers at Stanford plan on starting a small 10-100 person phase I clinical human trial of the cancer therapy in 2014.</div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-86590601833327535422013-12-06T11:47:00.002-05:002013-12-06T11:49:14.009-05:00Scientists used human stem cells for lung tissue<h1 style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.6); font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://med.news.am/eng/news/174/scientists-used-human-stem-cells-for-lung-tissue.html" style="font-family: 'Open Sans', Tahoma, Arial; font-size: small;">Mywebhealthreport.com</a></h1>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scientists had previously converted stem cells into cells of the heart, intestine, liver, nerves and pancreas, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #91ad55; text-decoration: none;">Fox News </a>reports.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Now, we are finally able to make lung and airway cells," study leader Dr. Hans-Willem Snoeck, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University in New York, said in a statement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Patients who receive lung transplants today have a poor prognosis. But future approaches involving transplants that use the patient's own stem cells to generate lung tissue could reduce the chances that a patient's immune system would reject the transplant, the researchers said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the new study, Snoeck's team found evidence suggesting the cells could develop into six types of lung and airway epithelial cells.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The technology could enable researchers to model certain lung diseases.</span></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-10659653668187858282013-12-04T12:00:00.000-05:002013-12-04T12:00:03.878-05:00Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and an association with substantial morbidity and mortality.<h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Increased rates of LVAD pump thrombosis reported at 3 centers</h2>
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<a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1313385" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #527091; line-height: 1.2; margin: 8px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Starling RC. <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">N Engl J Med. </em>2013;doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1313385.</a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.healio.com/cardiology/hf-transplantation/news/online/%7B82ec3909-f7f3-44ee-b331-c1f4c902d732%7D/increased-rates-of-lvad-pump-thrombosis-reported-at-3-centers">Healio.com/Cardiology Today</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Three US centers report increasing rates of pump thrombosis related to the use of the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device and an association with substantial morbidity and mortality.</span></div>
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“Pivotal trials and postmarketing approval studies of the HeartMate II provide a reference occurrence of thrombosis of 2% to 4%; however, an unexpected abrupt increase in the incidence of pump thrombosis was observed in a single-center quality review,”<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Randall C. Starling, MD, MPH, </strong>of Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues wrote in<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The New England Journal of Medicine</em>. “To confirm that this finding was not an isolate phenomenon, two additional experienced centers pooled data to investigate the incidence of pump thrombosis and of elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels as its clinical biomarker (indicating hemolysis), LDH levels that may presage thrombosis and outcomes of thrombosis-management strategies.”</div>
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The analysis included data on 837 patients and 895 <a href="http://www.healio.com/cardiology/search?q=HeartMate%20II&requiredfields=specialty:Cardiology" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #527091; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">HeartMate II</a> devices (Thoratec) that were implanted from 2004 to mid-2013 at Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Washington University Barnes-Jewish Hospital.</div>
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Confirmed pump thrombosis served as the primary endpoint. According to results, 72 pump thromboses were confirmed in 66 patients. Thirty-six additional thromboses of unique devices were suspected.</div>
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From March 2011 to January 2013, the occurrence of confirmed pump thrombosis at 3 months post-implantation increased from 2.2% to 8.4%. The median time from implantation to thrombosis decreased, from 18.6 months before March 2011 to 2.7 months after March 2011.</div>
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An increased occurrence of elevated LDH levels at 3 months post-implantation also increased during the study period. Thrombosis was presaged by LDH levels that increased from 540 IU/L to 1,490 IU/L in the weeks before diagnosis, according to the study results.</div>
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Eleven patients had their pump thrombosis managed by <a href="http://www.healio.com/cardiology/search?q=heart%20transplantation&requiredfields=specialty:Cardiology" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #527091; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">heart transplantation</a>; one patient died 31 days after transplantation. Twenty-one patients had their thrombosis managed by pump replacement. In this group, mortality was similar to that of patients with no thrombosis. The researchers also reported data on 40 thromboses in 40 patients not managed by transplantation or pump replacement; in the 6 months after pump thrombosis, the actuarial mortality was 48.2%.</div>
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“Further investigation of predisposing patient and device factors and preventive and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed to resolve this important safety issue,” the researchers concluded. “We recognize that LVADs provide life-sustaining treatment for many patients with advanced heart failure. However, recommendations for LVAD therapy should account for this updated risk-benefit profile.”</div>
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Disclosure: </strong>See the full study for a list of the researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.</div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-54650915080718499032013-12-03T15:21:00.000-05:002013-12-03T15:21:01.059-05:00Rehospitalization after kidney transplant caused by complexity of the condition, not poor quality of care<h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #245091; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.7em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 9px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Most early rehospitalization after kidney transplant caused by complexity of the condition, not poor quality of care</h2>
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A study of over 750 kidney transplant patients over a five-year period conducted by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found that 90% of early rehospitalizations (within 30 days of surgery) were caused by complex medical factors related to the transplantation process. Only nine percent of rehospitalizations – which occurred among only three percent of the entire group of patients – were categorised as potentially preventable.</div>
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The study, published online this week in the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">American Journal of Transplantation</em>, found that 237 patients (nearly one-third) were rehospitalized early following surgery, with a median of nine days to rehospitalization after discharge from kidney transplant. In most of these cases, the readmissions were unplanned and occurred as a result of common postsurgical complications. Deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), post-operative pain, organ rejection, fluid imbalances including volume overload (too much fluid in the blood) or volume depletion (decrease in volume of blood plasma, potentially leading to shock), and wound infections were key complicating factors leading to early rehospitalisation.</div>
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“Nationally, high rates of early rehospitalization after kidney transplantation have been reported, but little information is available about what caused these events and whether they could be prevented,” said lead study author Meera Nair Harhay, MD, MSCE, instructor of Medicine in the Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division at Penn. “Early rehospitalization has also been examined by Medicare as a hospital quality of care indicator, with financial penalties for early rehospitalization after certain medical conditions. However, our findings indicate that transplant recipients are a particularly vulnerable group that often requires additional care after undergoing surgery and being exposed to new medications.”</div>
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In the study, which is the first to use intensive chart review to assess preventability of early rehospitalization, two physicians independently examined the medical charts of the 237 readmitted transplant patients. Only 19 cases were found to be preventable readmissions by the reviewing physicians. Preventable causes of readmission identified by the study include 1) patients not having had an outpatient physician/nurse practitioner assessment before being admitted, 2) an alternative medical regimen not having been prescribed at discharge, 3) patients not having been compliant with their medication regimen, and 4) inadequate outpatient diagnostic or therapeutic procedures having been available.</div>
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The study also found that 30% of rehospitalized patients were originally discharged after their transplant on the weekend, versus 23% of patients who were not readmitted –a statistically significant finding highlighting the need for careful transitions of care when staffing is variable and more limited, such as occurs on the weekends. “If further multicenter studies confirm these findings, transplant centers should consider augmenting staffing and the oversight related to weekend discharges,” said senior author Peter Reese MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Penn.</div>
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The study also revealed how long waiting times for transplantation increase the risk of post-transplant complications. For every year of additional waiting time prior to kidney transplantation, recipients were 10% more likely to experience early rehospitalization. Kidney transplant recipients who were rehospitalized within 30 days of transplant were 55% more likely to die within a six-year follow-up period than those who were not rehospitalized. “These findings indicate that early rehospitalization may be a strong signal of patient vulnerability, and such patients may benefit from more careful clinical monitoring post-transplant,” said Harhay.</div>
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<a href="http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/news/most-early-rehospitalisation-after-kidney-transplant-caused-by-complexity-of-the-condition-not-poor-quality-of-care/18881">virtualmedicalcentre.com</a></div>
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(Source: <a href="http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2013/10/harhay/" style="border: 0px; color: #0f34bb; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="University of Pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a>, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">American Journal of Transplantation</em>) </div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-38880195292266672902013-11-29T13:59:00.003-05:002013-11-29T13:59:55.108-05:00Happy Thanksgiving Weekend<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gyjK4rzlbMuXt5FTuFI_o0gbw75NXvUc9bRUh097YJWIg7L6msw9a-zBNMtT5QYm7Nbc3AW0vGsoCVrYGfttTvI-CLdk_2ziYK7gTrj2YMZIn3J_-UD7bD_3QBEK0T9R0amlaA/s1600-h/thanksgiving.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135636291255684754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gyjK4rzlbMuXt5FTuFI_o0gbw75NXvUc9bRUh097YJWIg7L6msw9a-zBNMtT5QYm7Nbc3AW0vGsoCVrYGfttTvI-CLdk_2ziYK7gTrj2YMZIn3J_-UD7bD_3QBEK0T9R0amlaA/s400/thanksgiving.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
My very best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving weekend to my American friends. For us in the transplant community Thanksgiving takes on a very special meaning. Transplant recipients, their families and friends have much to be thankful for. Those of us who received transplants, such as myself, have been given a "second chance" at life and we will always be thankful and grateful to our donors and donor families for the extra time we've been given.<br />
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In the U.S. 18 people die every day while on the waiting list for a transplant. Here are the latest statistics<br />
on waiting list numbers and transplants year to date:<br />
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<a href="http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/">The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)</a></h2>
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<span class="callout" style="font-weight: bold;">Waiting list candidates</span> 120,965 as of today 1:56pm</div>
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<span class="callout" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/resources/glossary.asp" style="color: blue;" title="This table shows the total number of registered candidates on the waiting list, as well as the current number of active candidates eligible to be considered for organ offers. Some transplant candidates are temporarily classified as 'inactive' by their transplant center because they are medically unsuitable for transplantation or need to complete other eligibility requirements.">Active</a> waiting list candidates</span> 77,586 as of today 1:56pm</div>
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<span class="callout" style="font-weight: bold;">Transplants January - August 2013</span> 19,262 as of 11/22/2013</div>
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<span class="callout" style="font-weight: bold;">Donors January - August 2013</span> 9,446 as of 11/22/2013</div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-17840831299034912162013-11-22T10:33:00.000-05:002013-11-22T10:33:17.306-05:00Lungs that live on after donor's death give hope to transplant patients <h1 style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
Pair of lungs that live on after donor's death give hope to transplant patients</h1>
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<li><b>University of North Carolina found lungs kept alive by air for up to 4 hours</b></li>
<li><b>Surgeons could now recover organs from people who die suddenly at home</b></li>
<li><b>Experts predict the procedure could see thousands more transplants a year</b></li>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><img alt="Breakthrough: Though organ donors are still few, the new procedure could significantly boost transplant numbers" height="359" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/11/17/article-2508886-0E36824000000578-215_634x570.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10px;">Breakthrough: Though organ donors are still few, the new procedure could significantly boost transplant numbers</span><span style="font-size: 10px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">By </span><a class="author" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Mia+De+Graaf" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">MIA DE GRAAF</a>, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2508886/Pair-lungs-live-donors-death-hope-transplant-patients.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490">Daily Mail online</a></div>
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<span id="ext-gen186" style="font-family: inherit;">A pair of lungs that survive a donor's death have been hailed as a breakthrough for transplant patients.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scientists found the organs can live for up to four hours after someone dies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike other organs, the air left inside keeps them from deteriorating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a groundbreaking $4million experiment, researchers at the University of North Carolina managed to recover lungs from people who died suddenly at home by pumping air into them within an hour of death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Experts predict the procedure could see tens of thousands more transplants a year in America and the UK - and has paved the way for tests on other parts of the body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Before, surgeons believed organs could not be retrieved from people who died unexpectedly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As just two to three per cent of people die in circumstances appropriate for organ donation, lung transplants are rare and doctors often tell patients not to hold out hope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But the new procedure could ease waiting lists which fail to save thousand each year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the on-going, three-year study, researchers used a pump to inject a small amount of air into the lungs of someone that died at home before transporting the body to hospital.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When it reached the theatre, the lungs were still 'breathing'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">'There aren't enough lungs. We're burying them,' said Dr. Thomas Egan of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who is leading the project. 'It turns out your lungs don't die when you do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">'There are huge logistical hurdles,' he said. 'But if we're right, this would have a profound impact on the number of lungs that are available for transplant.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lung cells don't depend on blood flow for oxygen, Dr Egan explained. When the heart stops beating, they use what oxygen is left in the air sacs and airways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a series of experiments with animals, Dr Egan showed lungs stay viable for an hour, or four hours if they are ventilated, before they're cooled to await transplant. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Currently, only 15 per cent to 20 per cent of donated lungs are usable, often because complications during the donor's hospitalization damaged them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just 1,700 lungs transplants are performed each year, compared with nearly 11,000 kidney transplants from deceased donors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dr Egan, a cardiothoracic surgeon, said doctors don't even suggest the possibility of a lung transplant to thousands who might benefit because there aren't enough donors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, surgeons don't know if nontraditional organs work as well, cautioned Dr. Bryan Meyers of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And critics warn even an hour is a limited amount of time to get hold of families to get consent for the procedure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dr Egan blasts ethical gripes with his project, claiming the ventilation process is merely an extension of CPR.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Typically, paramedics leave the breathing tube inserted in the person's throat. That makes it simple to restart ventilation to preserve the lungs, Egan said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">'If we can get the lungs ventilated within an hour, and then removed within an hour or two and cooled, we think they'll work just fine,' he said.</span></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a></em></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /></span>Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-86154042100610514612013-11-18T22:00:00.001-05:002013-11-18T22:01:56.683-05:00Cleveland Clinic creates transplant ethics fellowship<a href="http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local/article_150d3496-4c78-11e3-8e3f-001a4bcf887a.html">By Michael C. Butz, Cleveland Jewish News</a><br />
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A fellowship focused on developing physician expertise on the ethical issues involved in organ transplantation has been created by Cleveland Clinic, the medical center recently announced.</div>
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“Organ shortages, allocation issues and informed consent policies for living donors are among the many ethical issues that confront the transplant field,” said Dr. Eric Kodish, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Ethics, Humanities and Spiritual Care, in a Nov. 7 statement. “By establishing the nation’s only current transplant ethics fellowship, we will develop experts in an area of medicine that will only become more complex in terms of ethics.”</div>
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<img alt="Dr. Eric Kodish" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/clevelandjewishnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/9b/29b1c722-4c78-11e3-9038-001a4bcf887a/52839ac289dff.preview-300.jpg" /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Dr. Eric Kodish</span></div>
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Dr. David Shafran is the program’s first fellow. Shafran graduated from the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel; completed his pediatrics residency at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y.; and is currently a pediatric nephrology fellow at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.</div>
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Shafran and Dr. Kathryn Weise, the program’s director, are developing a curriculum that will effectively familiarize fellows with the core ethical issues surrounding organ transplantation and provide ample material and opportunity for independent research, according to the Clinic. Once adequately established, the curriculum and program in general could potentially serve as a model for similar projects at other health care institutions.</div>
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“The goal and challenge in bioethics is to keep the conversation about the emerging issues on pace with rapid advances in medical technology,” Shafran said. “Similarly, as our medical capabilities in organ transplantation progress, it behooves us to address the commensurate ethical issues methodically and comprehensively. This fellowship represents an acknowledgement of that responsibility.”</div>
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A donation from former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin and his wife, Judith, helped create the fellowship. The program’s steering committee includes Dr. David Goldfarb, director of the renal transplant program; Dr. Charles Miller, director of the liver transplant program; and Martin Smith, director of clinical ethics. Weise also directs the Cleveland Fellowship of Advanced Bioethics.</div>
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More than 120,000 people are awaiting organ transplants in the United States. In 2012, 28,051 people received organ transplants, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.</div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”</b></span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a></em></div>
Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-7066295742089685352013-11-16T12:40:00.000-05:002013-11-16T12:40:00.332-05:00Alberta, Canada makes it easier to donate tissue and organs<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Nantonnew<a href="http://www.nantonnews.com/2013/11/11/alberta-makes-it-easier-to-donate-tissue-and-organs">nantonnews.com</a>s.com</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">The province is making it easier for Albertans to register as organ donors.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Albertans will soon see wait times reduced for life-changing transplants with the proclamation of Bill 207, the Human Tissue and Organ Donation Amendment Act. The Act was originally introduced as a private member’s bill by MLA Len Webber.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">“Organ and tissue donation saves lives and we need to make sure Albertans know how important it is. An online registry will make it easy for Albertans to provide their consent to donate, ensuring all Albertans who wish to donate make it known,” said MLA Calgary Foothills Len Webber. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">The Act establishes a single agency to co-ordinate organ and tissue donations in Alberta, and creates a consent-to-donate registry. Albertans who are willing to donate their organs and/or tissue will be able to do so either online or at their local registry when they go to renew their driver’s licence or other identification. </span><br />
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Alberta Premier Alison Redford<br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">“I want to thank MLA Len Webber for putting this vitally important legislation forward. Our government is eager to do everything we can to reduce wait times for transplants and give Albertans in need access to the treatment that will save or drastically improve a life,” said Premier Alison Redford .</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">“We want to take aggressive action to increase tissue and organ donation rates in Alberta. By making it easier for Albertans to register their intent to donate and raise awareness of the need for donors, we can increase the number of organ donations in Alberta,” said Fred Horne Minister of Health.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Up until the new Act was proclaimed, consent to donate needed to be provided in writing, dated, signed and witnessed, to be legally binding. Albertans could also sign the “Universal Donor Card” on the back of the government issued Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan card.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Under the new Act, Albertans renewing their driver’s licences or other pieces of identification will be asked if they consent the donation of his or her tissue, organs or body. They then provide written consent, and the registry agent transmits that information to the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Agency for inclusion in the online registry. The applicant will then receive a sticker than can be put on the driver’s licence or other identification to indicate he is a donor. Albertans will also be able to directly register online.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">“We are so pleased that the Government of Alberta listened to our concerns. The sad fact is that many Albertans on organ donation wait lists die before a donor is found. This Bill will make a big difference in the lives of many Albertans waiting for transplants,” saiud Nancy MacDonald, Alberta Donates LIFE Coalition </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Alberta used to have 17 donors per one million of the population, but that has fallen over the past decade to less than 10. Ontario and British Columbia both outperformed Alberta with a donor rate of 16.3 donors per million and 11.8 donors per million, respectively, in 2011. Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba have implemented online registries. While donor rates fluctuate, these provinces have successfully raised the public profile of the need to donate.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">The donation co-ordination agency is scheduled to be operational by 2015, with full IT system integration across the province within three to five years.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Under the Building Alberta Plan, our government is investing in families and communities, living within our means, and opening new markets for Alberta’s resources to ensure we’re able to fund the services Albertans told us matter most to them. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for.</span><br />
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”</b></span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a></em></div>
Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-2045199619462215062013-11-15T12:06:00.001-05:002013-11-15T18:08:56.558-05:00Organ donation in Australia in 21st place worldwide<div class="abstract" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Organ donation in Australia is way behind the world leaders, according to international rankings that put the country in 21st place.</span></div>
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<img alt="Australia ranks 21st for organ donation" src="http://l.yimg.com/ea/img/-/131113/photo_1372760676476_4_0_18t6mrj_19852cn-19852cr.jpg" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19801653/australia-ranks-21st-for-organ-donation/">Au.news.yahoo.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Spain is the world leader, and France, the US, UK, Belgium and Norway are among the countries with higher proportions of donors than Australia. (see world rankings below).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The figures compiled by Sharelife Australia draw on international donor data published by the Council of Europe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The data shows hundreds of Australians are missing out on life-saving transplants every year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is because a $151 million, four-year package announced by the federal government in 2008 has failed to achieve its goal of establishing Australia as a world leader.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There has been an improvement, says ShareLife spokesperson Sara Irvine, but Australia's progress is slower than many other countries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Australia's rate of organ donation is half that of the leading countries, and 1000 more transplants could be performed a year if it reaches the level of the top five countries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"We are still not in the top 20 nations and have long way to go," says ShareLife director Professor Allan Glanville, medical director of lung transplantation at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Organ donation saves lives, saves money and improves quality of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"You only need to talk to people who have been on kidney dialysis to see how well and productive they are after a kidney transplant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"The Spanish model is very compassionate. It is supportive of families."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Family consent is needed, even if a person has opted in as a donor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In Spain, skilled organ donation specialists speak to family members, which improves the chances of donation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"They support families through what is an awful process."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Prof Glanville says there are good people doing good work in Australia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"But we need to tweak the system so we are consistent from state to state."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He questions why South Australia and Victoria have 20 deceased organ donors per million of the population and NSW has 14.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Australia needs to increase to 30 per million to be in line with the top four or five countries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Change takes time, but unless we improve we are failing in our duty of care to our patients.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I have patients who are waiting for transplants and if they don't get a transplant they may well die."</span><br />
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<b><i>According to the National Transplant Organization in Spain this is how countries rank in organ donation per million people</i></b></div>
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Spain: 35.3</div>
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Croatia: 34.4</div>
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Portugal: 28.1</div>
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United States: 26</div>
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France: 25</div>
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Norway: 24.5</div>
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United Kingdom: 17</div>
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Sweden: 15.5</div>
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Canada: 15.4</div>
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Australia: 14.9</div>
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Israel: 10.8<br />
Ecuador 2.0</div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”</b></span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a></em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-65300138838910387862013-11-12T08:00:00.000-05:002013-11-12T08:00:06.987-05:00Scientists discover experimental drug that protects from fibrosis of the liver, lung and kidneys.<h1 class="article-title" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; width: 355px;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Wow!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a lung transplant recipient who was in end-stage respiratory failure due to pulmonary fibrosis this story caught my immediate attention. IPF, or Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, is one of he major causes of the need for lung transplants and a medical breakthrough such as this has the potential to save thousands of lives around the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://heraldscotland.com/">Heraldscotland.com</a></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Edinburgh scientists lead pioneering research with scar tissue to help cut organ transplants</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">A discovery about how tissues scar could help cut the number of patients needing organ transplants, scientists have said.</span></div>
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New drugs could be developed to treat fibrotic diseases that attack organs such as the liver, lung or kidneys, a study published in Nature Medicine suggests.</div>
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Experts have discovered that a molecule on certain specialised cells known as myofibroblasts acts as a "switch", regulating the production of scar tissue.</div>
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The team studied specially bred mice with fibrosis and found that removing the molecule - called alpha v integrin - from the cells protected the animals from fibrosis of the liver, lung and kidneys.</div>
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They also discovered that when the mice were treated with a new experimental drug designed to block the molecule, they were protected from liver and lung fibrosis.</div>
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Dr Neil Henderson, a Wellcome Trust clinical scientist and consultant hepatologist at the University of Edinburgh/Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research, said: "When tissue scarring becomes severe, affected organs do not work properly and currently the only treatment for end-stage organ failure is transplantation.</div>
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"However the shortage of donor organs means that many patients die while waiting for surgery.</div>
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"Therefore, the development of new therapies to treat fibrosis and reduce the need for organ transplantation would potentially be a major step forward in the treatment of patients with these devastating diseases."</div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-90740545597503184732013-11-11T12:16:00.001-05:002013-11-11T13:29:54.495-05:00Rembrance Day/Veterans Day November 11th<b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">Veterans Day</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> is an official </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="United States">United States</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> holiday which honors people who have served in armed service, also known as </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Veterans">veterans</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">. It is a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holiday" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Federal holiday">federal holiday</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Armistice Day">Armistice Day</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Remembrance Day">Remembrance Day</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="World War I">World War I</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_with_Germany" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Armistice with Germany">Armistice with Germany</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> went into effect.)</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">Remembrance Day</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> (also known as </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">Poppy Day</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> or </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Armistice Day">Armistice Day</a></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">) is a memorial day observed in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Commonwealth of Nations">Commonwealth</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> countries since the end of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="World War I">World War I</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_with_Germany_(Compi%C3%A8gne)" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)">Armistice</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">, </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_with_Germany_(Compi%C3%A8gne)#Negotiation_process" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)">signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">passing</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am) World War I officially ended with the signing of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> on 28 June 1919.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;">Remembrance - I like this Canadian teacher's powerful message!<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />Back in September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Bobcaygeon (north of <u></u><u></u>Peterborough<u></u>, <u></u>Ontario<u></u><u></u>) public</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">school, did something not to be forgotten. </span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">On the first day of school, with</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.<br /><br />When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">no desks.<br /><br />'Ms.. Cothren, where're our desks?'<br /><br />She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /><br />They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'<br /><br />No,' she said.<br /><br />'Maybe it's our behavior.'<br /><br />She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'<br /><br />And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. By early afternoon television news crews</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">had started gathering in</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">teacher who had taken all</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">the desks out of her room.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">the floor of the desk-less classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the<br />day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I<br />am going to tell you.'<br /><br />At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.<br /><br />Twenty-seven (27) War Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom,</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">placing the school desks in</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">rows, and then they would walk over and </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">stand alongside the wall. By the</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">time the last soldier had set the final </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">desk in place, those kids started to </span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">understand, perhaps for the first time</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">in their lives, just how the right to</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">sit at those desks had been earned.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br />Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">an education.</span></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Don't ever forget it.'<br /><br /><b><u>By the way, this is a true story.</u></b></span></span> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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" 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<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">LEST WE FORGET - WEAR A POPPY TO SHOW YOUR RESPECT ON REMEMBERANCE<br />(VETERANS') DAY (ON THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SHIRT ABOVE YOUR HEART- NEVER ON<br />YOUR HAT OR ANYWHERE ELSE- SHOW RESPECT! )</span></span></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a></em></div>
Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-29465441683908223362013-11-08T15:32:00.001-05:002013-11-08T15:32:59.361-05:00U.S. Transplant Games 2014 - July 11-15<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Are you a transplant recipient, a donor family member, or a living donor who is interested in competing in the 2014 Transplant Games of America? Mark your calendar! The 2014 games will be held in Houston, Texas on July 11-15! Not sure what we're talking about or want more information? Check out this video clip, then run on over to </span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><a class="ot-anchor" href="http://www.transplantgamesofamerica.org/" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.218s; color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.218s;">www.transplantgamesofamerica.org</a></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">.</span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><a class="ot-anchor" href="http://ow.ly/plSKA" rel="nofollow" style="color: #2793e6; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">http://ow.ly/plSKA</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The games will be held at BBVA Compass Stadium, the George R. Brown Convention Center and various other facilities throughout the City of Houston.</span><br />
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Expecting in excess of 2,000 athletes, sports events include a 5k run, badminton, basketball, bowling, cycling, golf, racquetball, swimming, table tennis and track and field. "I can't wait for Houston to host the Games," said Brian Gilliam, a Houston transplant recipient and athlete. "We will have a large number of living donors and donor families attend since the Games are in Houston and they are a reason that we compete!"</div>
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Aside from the sporting competition. which will take place over four days, the event will include spectacular opening and closing ceremonies and a series of tributes to many of the heroes of organ donation. Athletes and their families, donor families and thousands of supporters will gather at Athletes Village to help deliver the important message that organ, eye and tissue donation saves lives.</div>
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According to Donate Life America, as of July 2012, there are 114,712 individuals in the United States awaiting a lifesaving organ and 1,737 are pediatric patients. Last year, there were 28,535 organs transplanted from 14,144 donors.</div>
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In Texas alone, 11,000 men, women and children are waiting for a lifesaving transplant; more than 3,000 are from the greater Houston area. Donate Life Texas, which is the official database of Texans authorized to be organ, eye and tissue donors upon their deaths, reports that the number stands at approximately 3 million registrations. The more registered donors there are, the greater the chance of finding matches for people in need.</div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-35923002614693221742013-11-05T10:00:00.000-05:002013-11-05T10:00:07.114-05:00Record-setting transplant patient still feels healthy after 25 years<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/record-setting-transplant-patient-still-feels-healthy-after-25-years/article15007726/">The Globe & Mail</a></div>
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When Colleen Kohse woke in a hospital room with a new heart and lungs, she tried not to think about how short her salvaged life might be and instead focused on the fact she could breathe.</div>
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On Tuesday (Oct 29), Canada’s longest surviving heart and double-lung recipient celebrated the 25th anniversary of her surgery, which came at the forefront of a wave of transplants that gave new hope to patients who were suffering from cystic fibrosis.</div>
<img alt="Colleen Kohse (middle), Canada's longest-surviving heart/lung recipient, marks the 25th anniversary of her transplant at the BC Transplant offices in Vancouver, Oct. 22, 2013. (Rafal Gerszak for The Globe and Mail)" height="223" src="http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/571/news/british-columbia/article15007725.ece/ALTERNATES/w220/bc-heart23nw1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Colleen Kohse (middle) at B.C. Transplant offices</span><br />
Photo: Rafal Gerzsak for Globe & Mail<br />
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“I’m really happy to be here and to be able to breathe deeply, though I’m hyperventilating a bit right now,” said Ms. Kohse, 54, who seemed healthy and vibrant, if a bit nervous facing television cameras at a news conference in Vancouver.</div>
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“After all these years when I look back I still find it amazing,” she said, thanking organ donors for giving people like her a second chance at life. “It’s not just a donation; it’s a living legacy the families and their donors leave behind. As you can see, people can go on for a long and healthy life, so people are giving that to other people, which I think is tremendous.”</div>
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In 1988, Ms. Kohse was sent to England for the surgery, which wasn’t yet being performed in British Columbia.</div>
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She waited two months for someone to donate a heart and lungs. Her own heart was healthy, but at the time surgeons liked to do the two organs “as a block,” she said. Her heart went to another transplant patient, a man who went on to live for 17 years and have two children.</div>
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“It was sort of like being Frankenstein because I had so many tubes and stuff coming out of me,” she said of waking up after the surgery. “But very shortly I was able to breathe and that was a big thing. My fingers were pink, my lips were pink and it was just a tremendous feeling. To go for all my young life not being able to breathe and suddenly to be able to get up and move around and walk – it was just unbelievable.”</div>
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Asked how long she thought she was going to live at that moment, Ms. Kohse said people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and other organs, live so close to death they try not to think about that.</div>
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“I tried never to look at dying. I mean, people with cystic fibrosis, it’s always in the back of our mind because we have that short lifespan and we don’t plan for the future. We don’t plan ahead a lot of time because of that,” she said.</div>
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Dr. Robert Levy, director of the Vancouver General Hospital lung transplant program, said Ms. Kohse’s anniversary is a remarkable milestone.</div>
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“It’s a huge event … it really spans almost the whole history of lung transplantation,” he said. “People like Colleen Kohse were pioneers and at the very forefront of what was happening in clinical transplantation at the time. People like Colleen were explorers, going out, not sure whether they’d return. Like an astronaut, going to the moon and hopefully coming back.”</div>
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He said about 100,000 lung transplants have been performed worldwide since the early 1980s and in B.C. there have been 255 since the first in 1989.</div>
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Dr. Greg Grant, executive director of BC Transplant, the provincial agency that handles all transplants in B.C., said operations such as the one that saved Ms. Kohse’s life couldn’t take place without the donation of healthy organs.</div>
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“When we have to ask a family for permission to consider organ donation it’s a really tough time,” he said. “We see families reach out – and that’s what I find incredibly exciting, that at the time of their worst disaster, people look forward, they look forward for something good to happen out of this event.”</div>
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Ms. Kohse celebrated the anniversary by having cake with friends, family and medical staff at BC Transplant.</div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-73349806139926220882013-11-04T12:43:00.001-05:002013-11-04T12:44:33.016-05:00Organ transplants and other therapies condemned on religious groundsThis article offers a thoughtful discussion on the refusal of parents to deny their children life-saving medical treatment because of their religious beliefs. Readers can make up their own minds about the rights of parents when it comes to their children's health.<br />
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<a href="http://cavalierdaily.com/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Cavalierdaily.com</a></h1>
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YAHANDA: Don't stop believing</span></h1>
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Pediatricians are right to intervene when parents try to prevent their children from receiving life-saving medical treatment for religious reasons</h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Children, however, should not let their parents’ spiritual beliefs shorten or adversely affect the rest of their lives.</span></blockquote>
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The field of bioethics constantly addresses medical situations in which disagreements arise based on religious beliefs. Organ transplants, stem cell therapies and ending life support or artificial nutrition and hydration are commonly condemned on religious grounds. Moreover, people of certain religious faiths may even refuse potentially life-saving treatments like blood transfusions, abortions and — in this instance — <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/08/us-usa-amish-chemotherapy-idUSBRE99702X20131008" style="color: #00007a; text-decoration: none;">chemotherapy</a>.</div>
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When patients are mentally competent and legally adults, patient autonomy typically prevails, and physicians respect their patients’ wishes to forgo treatment — even if that treatment is lifesaving. That doesn’t mean that the physician must conclude that a patient is making the right choice or agree with the ways in which the patient justifies his decision. Rather, this practice accords with the commonly held view that medical professionals should not administer treatments against their patients’ wills. Practicing medicine paternalistically — that is, acting in a way that is contrary to a patient’s competent and voluntary decisions — is usually deemed unethical. But what if the patient is not an adult? A new bioethics decision seeks to address this.</div>
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On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/parents-religious-beliefs-shouldnt-hinder-childrens-treatment-pediatricians-urge-261198" style="color: #00007a; text-decoration: none;">issued an advisory statement</a> regarding how parents’ religious beliefs may affect their children. Currently, most states have clauses in their child-abuse legislation that exempt parents from prosecution if they fail to obtain medical care for their children for religious reasons.</div>
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According to the committee, pediatricians should feel obligated to intervene when parents’ religious beliefs lead to children not receiving necessary medical treatment. If parents do not acquiesce to doctors’ wishes, child abuse agencies can step in. The committee further recommended that states close loopholes in child abuse and neglect laws that may result in children being denied necessary care because of parents’ religious beliefs.</div>
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The committee’s statement is no doubt going to face backlash from religious communities who will view the decision as oppressive to religious freedom, perhaps much in the same way as Christians rebelled to the idea of health insurance providers covering contraceptives. And, if the ruling applied to adults as well as children, those opponents would be vindicated. Competent adults are free to make autonomous medical decisions regardless of how they justify those choices. But when children are concerned, the distinction between paternalism and autonomy becomes less clear. I believe the committee made the right choice. A child in need of medical care should not be bound by his parents’ religious beliefs.</div>
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To be sure, the consequences of the committee’s ruling are difficult to ascertain since it is hard to tell when a child’s wishes are based on his own thinking and when they are derived merely from his parents’ beliefs. Based upon their obligations as medical professionals to provide the best care possible, however, pediatricians should always seek to give children life-saving treatments. Regardless of the child’s situation, that seems like the most beneficial option.</div>
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Take, for instance, the simplest case, where a child’s desires are different than his parents’. Maybe the child is not religious, or his personal spiritual beliefs do not preclude him from wanting a necessary medical treatment. It would, and should, be considered unethical for a doctor to allow the parents to control their child’s health based upon their religious beliefs. It is irrelevant what the parents believe in that situation. The child, whose health is actually in jeopardy, should not be denied care simply because he is not of legal consenting age. Admittedly, this situation is more clear-cut, and the committee probably would not have to sway many people to adopt this stance.</div>
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What if, though, the child mimics the parents’ beliefs and refuses a lifesaving treatment on religious grounds? Here, the committee’s ruling still promotes the best decision. A young child may not be competent enough to truly know what he wants. He may mindlessly mirror his parent’s beliefs because that is all he knows. Or, he cannot fully comprehend all his options, in which case he cannot be considered entirely autonomous. A necessary treatment, then, may be permissibly administered to the child.</div>
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This decision could be justified in a couple of ways. It may very well turn out that the child grows up to have different beliefs than his parents. In that situation, the child’s life would have been saved or prolonged by his pediatrician’s decision to go against the parents’ beliefs. Additionally, a person’s religious beliefs are largely influenced by where he was born. That is why, for example, those in predominantly Arab or Christian countries tend to be Muslim or Christian. One’s religion is heavily influenced — though not necessarily determined — by one’s upbringing, family, ethnicity, educational exposure and other circumstances. There is nothing that proves that a person is of a particular faith because that faith is objectively right. Indeed, sheer chance plays a large role in predisposing people toward some particular religion. So why should a child be denied a treatment simply because he happened to be born in a family with certain religious beliefs? He shouldn’t. The doctors have an obligation to provide those under the legal age of consent with the most beneficial care, which means giving necessary treatments even if they clash with a child’s religious beliefs.</div>
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Denying a child required medical care would be much harder to justify in our society if it were on non-religious grounds. If, when I was 8 years old, my parents refused to let me have a needed blood transfusion simply because they didn’t want me to have it, it would be viewed as irrational and parent negligence. But, if a child is denied that same treatment because his parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is permitted under the law. The decision is also more acceptable in society because the rationale is bolstered by religious ideology. Such thinking should be altered. Religious beliefs have very little grounding, and should not be used to alter how children are treated. In the end, the committee’s ruling provides more benefit than harm. Those above the legal age of consent can still follow their religious beliefs without opposition. Children, however, should not let their parents’ spiritual beliefs shorten or adversely affect the rest of their lives.</div>
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<em>Alex Yahanda is a senior associate editor for The Cavalier Daily. His columns run Wednesdays.</em></div>
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<br />Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-59274566882914832342013-11-01T10:00:00.000-04:002013-11-04T12:09:37.927-05:00Tales From The Organ Trade - HBO series starts Nov 4th<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">This HBO documentary series promises to shed new light on the illegal organ black-market. </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Transplant Tourism can subject patients to very high risk of poor organ matching, unhealthy donors, poor surgical techniques and post-transplant infections that they seek treatment for when returning home from overseas. Yet patients who have the money and are desperate for a life-saving organ transplant will throw caution to the wind and seek a donor wherever they can find it. And the donors have a high risk of problems also. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Almost all kidney donors reported a combination of debilitating symptoms including physical weakness, the inability to perform manual labor, sexual impotency, terror about losing the other kidney, feelings of emptiness, hopelessness and uselessness.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> explores the controversial practice of black-market organ trafficking: from the street-level brokers who solicit kidney donors, to the rogue surgeons who perform the operations; from the impoverished donors willing to sacrifice a part of their bodies for a quick payday, to the desperate patients who face the agonizing choice of obeying the law or saving their lives. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> debuts as part of the HBO Documentary Films Fall Series on Monday, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">November 4.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">poster, stills and a trailer</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> from </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> are available to view and/or download here: </span><a href="http://talesfromtheorgantrade.bltoutreach.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr>talesfromtheorgantrade.<wbr></wbr>bltoutreach.com/</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">ABOUT TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This 83-minute documentary explores the legal, moral and ethical issues involved in the complex life-and-death drama or organ trafficking. More than a simple black-and-white story of exploitation, <b>TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE</b> is a nuanced and complex film that challenges moral and ethical beliefs. It delves into a world where “villains” often save lives and the medical establishment, helpless to its own rules and bureaucracy, too often watches people die. In the best scenario, victims walk away content and safe, and buyers of organs (the recipients) return home with a new lease on life. From Manila to Istanbul, Colorado to Kosovo, Toronto to Tel Aviv, this film spotlights a compelling cast whom fate has brought together, where the gift of life meets the shadow of death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Directed by Ric Esther Bienstock (Emmy winner for "Frontline: Sex Slaves"), narrated by David Cronenberg, and produced by Ric Esther Bienstock, Felix Golubev and Simcha Jacobovici, <b>TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE</b> debuts <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045785" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">MONDAY, Nov. 4</span></span></b> (<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045786" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">9:00 p.m. ET</span></span>/PT).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">HBO Documentary Films presents a weekly series this fall, debuting provocative new specials every </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045787" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Monday</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> starting Oct 4 through </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045788" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Dec. 9</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Other November films include: “Dial One For Vets” (</span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045789" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Nov. 11</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">); “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley” (</span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045790" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Nov. 18</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">); and “Toxic Hot Seat” (</span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989045791" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Nov. 25</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">).</span></div>
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For more information, visit: </div>
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Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/hbodocs" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">facebook.com/hbodocs</a><wbr></wbr>; </div>
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SOURCE: BLT Communications</div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a> </em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-70476199023577637792013-10-31T10:00:00.000-04:002013-10-31T10:00:10.154-04:00Record number of hospitals in Ontario championing organ and tissue donation <div class="xn-newslines" style="font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
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TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2013</div>
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<a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1551504#ixzz2j7XbhNts">Digital Journal</a></div>
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<i>Nearly 30% more hospitals formally supporting organ and tissue donation than a year ago</i><br />
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<span class="xn-location">T</span><span class="xn-location">ORONTO</span>, <span class="xn-chron">Oct. 29, 2013</span> /CNW/ - Fifty hospitals are working with Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) to promote and create a positive culture of organ and tissue donation in <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span>. That is an increase of nearly 30 per cent from a year ago. By the end of 2013 there will be 55 hospitals and by next year, all 60 hospitals in <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span> with capacity to facilitate organ donation, will notify TGLN when a patient has died or is at high risk for imminent death to ensure that all potential opportunities for donation are identified.<br />
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Hospitals are also helping to promote organ and tissue donor registration in their communities and actively encouraging their staff to register consent for organ and tissue donation through registration drives. Since <span class="xn-chron">April 2012</span>, 24 hospitals have run registration drives with the most successful to date being the tri-hospital drive done by University Health Network, Hospital for Sick Children and <span class="xn-location">St. Michael's</span> Hospital, which achieved almost 3,600 visits to <span class="xn-location">Ontario's</span> online donor registry.<br />
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"<span class="xn-location">St. Michael's</span> is proud to be a leader in organ and tissue donation and transplantation in <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span>," says Dr. <span class="xn-person">Robert Howard</span>, <span class="xn-location">St. Michael's</span> Hospital President and CEO. "The work we do in our hospital to facilitate organ and tissue donation at end of life and to encourage staff to register results in more lives being saved and enhanced in <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span>.<br />
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New data available today at <a href="http://www.beadonor.ca/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #556699; text-decoration: none;">www.BeADonor.ca</a> shows that as of <span class="xn-chron">September 30, 2013</span>, 24 per cent or 2.78 million Ontarians have registered their consent to save lives through organ and tissue donation, an increase of 57,806 registrations since <span class="xn-chron">June 30, 2013</span>.<br />
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"Support for organ and tissue donation continues to grow in every part of our province. This is in large part because of the work of our hospital partners in their communities," says <span class="xn-person">Ronnie Gavsie</span>, TGLN President and CEO. "Our goal is to ensure that at end of life, all opportunities for organ and tissue donation are identified and pursued with family consent to save and enhance as many lives as possible."<br />
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<b>Quick Facts:</b><br />
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<li style="padding: 2px;">As of <span class="xn-chron">September 30, 2013</span>, there were 1,483 people in <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span> waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.</li>
<li style="padding: 2px;">One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of up to 75 more through the gift of tissue.</li>
<li style="padding: 2px;">Top five communities with the most improved registration rate, since <span class="xn-chron">June 30 to September 30, 2013</span> include: <span class="xn-location">Hawkesbury</span>, <span class="xn-location">Essex</span>, East/<span class="xn-location">Central Prescott</span> and <span class="xn-location">Russell</span>, <span class="xn-location">Renfrew</span>, and <span class="xn-location">Cornwall</span>.</li>
<li style="padding: 2px;"><span class="xn-location">Ontario</span> has made it very simple to register consent for organ and tissue donation: online at <a href="http://www.beadonor.ca/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #556699; text-decoration: none;">www.BeADonor.ca</a>, in person at a ServiceOntario centre or by mail, download a copy of the consent form at <a href="http://www.giftoflife.on.ca/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #556699; text-decoration: none;">www.giftoflife.on.ca</a>.</li>
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<i>Trillium Gift of Life Network is a not-for-profit agency of the Government of <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span> responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating and supporting organ and tissue donation for transplantation across <span class="xn-location">Ontario</span> and improving the system so that more lives can be saved.</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.giftoflife.on.ca/">SOURCE Trillium Gift of Life Network</a></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-7014133434739661842013-10-30T11:22:00.000-04:002013-10-30T11:49:16.261-04:00Lung transplant recipient overwhelmed by offers of support<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<a href="http://www.timescolonist.com/life/support-buoys-saanich-man-now-on-his-third-set-of-lungs-1.676000">By <span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica Neue Light, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="-webkit-transition: 0.5s; background-color: whitesmoke; line-height: 15px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: 0.5s;">CINDY E. HARNETT</span></span><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #666666; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px; text-transform: uppercase;"> / TIMES COLONIST </span></a></div>
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A Saanich (British Columbia) man recovering from his second double-lung transplant is overwhelmed by the support he has received since his story was shared in the Times Colonist this month.</div>
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<img alt="A4-reimer.jpg" height="272" src="http://www.timescolonist.com/polopoly_fs/1.675999.1383024621!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_563/a4-reimer-jpg.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"> Photograph by: LYLE STAFFORD, Times Colonist</span></div>
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James Reimer, 29, born with the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis, appealed for exercise equipment or a gym membership to help him recover after his second double-lung transplant was performed in Toronto on May 29.</div>
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Reimer was weak when he returned to Saanich on Sept. 18. He had waged a tireless fight for his life in hospital after it seemed like his body would reject his new lungs.</div>
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In answer to his appeal, Reimer, who grew up on Saltspring island, received a flood of offers, including a new Diamondback exercise bike from a local couple.</div>
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“I already feel the difference,” Reimer said. “It will help me get a lot stronger.”</div>
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Another family in Sidney has an elliptical machine waiting for him.</div>
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Reimer also received many offers of gym memberships, from such facilities as: Panorama Recreation Centre, the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence on the Camosun College Interurban campus, Vikes Athletics and Recreation at the University of Victoria, and One to One Fitness.</div>
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A woman with lung disease also offered to pay for several yoga lessons for Reimer at the Iyengar Yoga Centre in Victoria.</div>
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Kathy Reimer, James’s mother, said the family was flooded with emails after the story appeared and has been buoyed by an outpouring of sympathy and support from across Vancouver Island and several prayer groups on Saltspring Island.</div>
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The family also has been helped along the way by community and online donations.</div>
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James Reimer’s older sister, Laura Jane, died of the same disorder in 1982, when she was five years old.</div>
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About five per cent of adults who undergo a double lung transplant will suffer a catastrophic surgical complication in the first few weeks. Another 10 to 15 per cent will die within the first year from an infection-related complication. By five years after a transplant, 60 per cent are still alive.</div>
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It’s projected that soon, 50 per cent will make it to 10 years.</div>
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Reimer had his first double-lung transplant in Toronto on May 12, 2011. A year later, he married his wife, Adena, and the next day his body began to reject those new lungs.</div>
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He is now breathing with his third set of lungs.</div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a> </em></div>
Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-13196318931045773422013-10-24T08:16:00.000-04:002013-10-24T09:06:17.850-04:00Donate Life Float to Honor Living Legacies of 81 Organ, Eye and Tissue Donors in 2014 Rose Parade®As long ago as I can remember one of the favorite things I like to do on New Year's Day is watch the<a href="http://www.tournamentofroses.com/"> Rose Parade</a> and since my lung transplant I've made it a point to watch for the <a href="http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/media_kit/pr_102213.html">Donate Life Float</a>. The parade is covered by all major TV networks and I especially like the coverage that KTLA, Los Angeles provides starting much earlier than the networks. Most TV providers run it as a super station. They get up close with each float and provide great descriptions. 2014 will be the 125th anniversary of the parade and include 45 floats.<br />
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<img height="290" src="http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/images/navbar_2014_light.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="color: #526312;"><b>Memorial "Floragraph" Portraits Represent 34 States, Korea and Taiwan; Dozens of Families to Apply Finishing Touches to Portraits at Local Events</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #e0e0e0; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5px;">"For many of their families, this is a unique opportunity to see their loved one shine before millions of people worldwide and to gain special recognition for their gifts of life and hope."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">From Massachusetts to Hawaii and across the Pacific to Korea and Taiwan, the families of 81 organ, eye and tissue donors will complete memorial "floragraph" portraits of their loved ones that will "Light Up the World" as beacons of hope in the 2014 Rose Parade. Each honored individual is remembered by their generosity, compassion, and lives saved and healed through donations after death. The <a href="http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/floragraphs/floragraphs_2014.html" target="_new"><span style="color: #526312;">floragraphs</span></a> will grace the lanterns of light that illuminate <a href="http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/riders/riders_2014.html" target="_new"><span style="color: #526312;">30 float riders</span></a> – all transplant recipients – and the <a href="http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/walkers/walkers_2014.html" target="_new"><span style="color: #526312;">12 living donors</span></a> who will accompany them on foot along the five-mile route seen by more than 40 million viewers nationwide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"The donors' families and dozens of volunteers will decorate the portraits with grains, flowers, seeds, spices and other organic materials," said Bryan Stewart, chairman of the Donate Life float committee and vice president of communications at OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los Angeles area. "For many of their families, this is a unique opportunity to see their loved one shine before millions of people worldwide and to gain special recognition for their gifts of life and hope."</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.donatelifefloat.org/prod/components/media_center/media_kit/pr_102213.html">Read the Rose Parade Donate Life Float press release.</a><br />
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<br />Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297674.post-87674459712707097992013-10-21T18:27:00.001-04:002013-10-21T18:35:57.628-04:00Desperate plea for IPF patient needing lung transplant<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
"My name is Dan Bachmeier and Tracey Patterson is my partner. She may have been in contact with you, but I thought I would give you an update.</div>
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Tracey began showing IPF symptoms about 21/2 - 3 years ago. It was about a year ago that she went into St Joseph in Hamilton ON for a biopsy for a final diagnosis.</div>
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Three days after the biopsy she crashed and was intubated. She was in a drug coma fro 3 1/2 weeks, after which she couldn't move. After 10 weeks, she was sent home, using a walker, and she has been in constant physio ever since. She has regained some strength, but her weakening lungs prevent real strength exercises.</div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">She was finally listed for lung (1 or 2) transplant on Sep 17 2013. Her oxygen needs have been growing for the past few months, and she has now become an inpatient at Toronto General. Her condition continues to deteriorate quickly, and she may need to begin <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygenation">ECMO therapy</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygenation"> (<span style="color: black; font-size: small; line-height: 1.2em;">Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)</span></a></span></div>
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until her transplant. Her O2 sats drop to 70 when using the commode next to the bed, so she now has a catheter.</div>
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Tracey is scared almost to death. She knows that the only way she can ever go home, is with new lungs. But donors have been non-existent lately. Due to her dire need, she has moved near the top of the transplant list. It is a very nerve wracking time for everyone in her life. We are all saddened by the need for someone else to lose their life, so that she and others might live.</div>
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Please feel free to add her to your blog, if you wish. If her story can attract even a single new donor, then it is worth sharing.</div>
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Dan"</div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“You Have the Power to Donate Life – Sign-up today! Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”</b></span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://worldwidedonorlinks.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #666699; text-decoration: none;"><b>Donor Registration Links</b></a> </em></div>
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Merv Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06470218561503095843noreply@blogger.com0