Transplant Headlines

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Alcohol may amplify chronic rejection in lung transplants
This press release from Emory University is a must read for everyone in our transplant community because it highlights the life-threatening dangers of alcohol in transplantation. I'm posting the full release here because of the importance of this issue.

Press Release
A recent study using an animal model of lung transplants shows that chronic alcohol consumption by the donor promotes scarring and airway injury after transplantation.

The results raise questions about human lung donors with a history of alcohol abuse, say authors Patrick Mitchell, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher, and David Guidot, MD, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and director of the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology Center.

The study will be published in the Dec. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Its findings have prompted doctors at Emory to begin a clinical study of the post-transplant effects of alcohol use among lung donors.

"There are reasons to be concerned that chronic alcohol abuse by donors could increase the risk of complications in the transplanted lung," Dr. Guidot says. "Our goal is not to exclude donors, which would be the worst case scenario. Rather, it is to understand the biology, so that we can know how to intervene and make outcomes better."

Dr. Mitchell, who designed the animal experiments, says that the team's long-term goals are to develop biological tests to measure the effects of alcohol on the lung and ways to compensate for those effects.

About a sixth of deceased organ donors have a history of heavy alcohol consumption, defined as two or more drinks per day, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database. That's more than triple the rate in the general population.

Previous studies have shown that donor alcohol abuse increases the risk of heart failure after heart transplantation. But so far, clinical data describing the effect of alcohol abuse on lung transplants has been scarce.

"There is considerable evidence that alcohol abuse increases the risk for lung disease and lung injury," Dr. Guidot says. "So it is a natural progression to look at lung transplants."

In lung transplantation, chronic rejection comes in the form of obliterative bronchiolitis, a slow destruction of the lung followed by remodeling of the lung into scar tissue and irreversible airflow limitation.

"Chronic rejection remains the major barrier to successful lung transplantation and unfortunately, suppressing the immune system doesn't change the outcome," he says.

Lung transplantation treats the end stage of several diseases, including emphysema and cystic fibrosis. About 1,000 patients receive lung transplants annually in the United States and are chosen from a waiting list of around 4,000. Because of the lack of suitable donors, hundreds of people die annually waiting for a transplant.

Although almost three-quarters of lung transplant recipients survive the first year after surgery, obliterative bronchiolitis affects the majority after five years, Dr. Guidot says.

To examine the effects of alcohol on lung transplantation, the researchers used a model in which they transplanted a trachea from one strain of rat to another.

Feeding alcohol for eight weeks to rats that became tracheal donors increased the degree to which scar tissue overran the transplants, the study shows. The "alcoholic" rats consumed 36 percent of their calories in alcohol.

Donor alcohol consumption did not worsen chronic rejection in transplants within an inbred rat strain, but it did add to the incompatibility between the immune systems of rats from an "outbred" strain of rat that is less uniform genetically.

Alcohol appeared to depress the number of white blood cells in the donor trachea pre-transplant but increased the production of growth factors that promote the expansion of scar tissue.

Monitoring alcohol's effects of acute and chronic graft rejection after lung transplantation in humans is the next logical step, the Emory doctors say.

Andres Pelaez, MD, a pulmonary medicine specialist at Emory's McKelvey Lung Transplant Center, will study lung transplant patients for a minimum of two years' observation. In parallel, his team will examine the prevalence of alcohol abuse in the potential donor pool, he says.

"This study is uniquely poised to gather new information important for lung transplantation," Dr. Pelaez says.

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Transplant Headlines

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FIRST-IN-MARYLAND COMBINED HEART AND LIVER TRANSPLANTS PERFORMED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER
Maryland Man Has New Chance at Life after Two Simultaneous Transplants
Press Release - University of Maryland Medical Center - Transplant surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore are the first in Maryland to perform a combined heart and liver transplant. The two organs were transplanted in a 33-year-old man from Oxon Hill, Md., during a ten-and-a-half hour procedure on October 15, 2007. A total of 15 people in two transplant teams participated in this rare combination transplant. Data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network indicate that only 53 of these heart-liver transplants have been performed in the United States since 1992.

The patient, Trevanoyn Shelton, went home from the medical center about two weeks after the surgery and is recovering well. Prior to the lifesaving transplants, he was unable to walk even a short distance without losing his breath. He had waited on the transplant list for about two months before suitable organs became available. Today, he says he feels healthier than he has in years. Read the complete release.

Slain teen's memorial to urge organ donation
Mom says birthday celebration will emphasize life-saving legacy
From the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle.
(November 29, 2007) — GATES — Even when Joan Patterson knew that her 16-year-old son would not survive a gunshot wound to the head, she thought of others.

After Shamar Patterson's death in April, one person received his left kidney, another his liver and esophagus, another his heart, another his right kidney and pancreas. His corneas also were donated.

His family wants to celebrate his 17th birthday at noon Saturday with a memorial at Grove Place Cemetery that addresses the need for organ donors.

"His life saved the lives of so many others," said Joan Patterson. "Shamar died a senseless death, but I wanted to celebrate his birthday and legacy by addressing being a donor because so many minority families just don't think about it. And if they see the face of someone who is the same ethnicity as them donating, maybe it will spark a family to do the same. Read the full story.

New lungs give hope to teen
Organ donor awareness is key to saving lives
Amarillo.com in Texas posts a story about Ashley Driver of Amarillo who received a double-lung transplant just two days after her 16th birthday. Ashley has Cystic Fibrosis and now two years later she is doing extremely well. The story goes on to list more information about organ donation and also gives the statistics for Texas. Read the full article.

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Transplant Headlines

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Organ donor advocate announced WA Young Australian of the Year 2008
This Press Release from Australia announces that organ donor advocate Simone McMahon ( 25 ) was named the 2008 WA Young Australian of the Year last night.

Born with poor kidney function and suffering chronic renal failure at age nine, Simone knows first-hand how priceless the gift of an organ can be. Before her kidney transplant at age 11, Simone was on dialysis for 10 hours a day. She has been passionately promoting organ and tissue donation ever since. Read the full press release.

Organ center honors founder
The The Honolulu Advertiser has a story about Dr. Livingston Wong, who will be honored for his lifelong achievements in organ transplantation in Hawai'i. Hundreds of people owe their lives to this pioneer of transplant surgery in the Islands, who also founded the Organ Donor Center of Hawai'i and helped set up the 911 system on O'ahu. Read the article.

Rainbow Day to honour Zaidee
The Star News Group in Australia reports that ORGAN donation is not often the topic of conversation for young kids but at the Craigieburn Little Athletics Centre they’re all ears. A group of The club’s 100-odd members are gearing up to participate in a special track-and-field competition day to highlight the importance of donating organs.

Kids from five to 16 years of age will don colourful tops and rainbow shoelaces this Saturday in honour of former Little Athletics member Zaidee Turner, who died in 2004.

Zaidee’s parents agreed to donate the seven-year-old Shepparton girl’s organs, making her the youngest organ donor in 2004. She was one of only six children in Australia whose organs were donated that year.

As a result, Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation was set up to encourage more people to consider donating their organs.

A number of sporting clubs throughout Australia support the foundation, including Little Athletics Centres like Craigieburn.

Craigieburn Little Athletics Centre secretary Trudi Wakefield said the club recently sold rainbow shoelaces to raise money for the foundation and have been encouraging families to talk to their kids about organ donation. Read the full story.

Organ Donor Saves 7 Lives Including Mother
KFSN TV in California did a story about the family of 18 year old Ashley Sala who died following a car accident that also injured her mother. Ashley's organs were donated and the story tells of the emotional time the family went through during the decision making and the organ donation process. Read the story.

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Diane Hébert celebrates 22nd anniversary of heart & double-lung transplant

Please join me in wishing Diane Hébert a very happy 22nd anniversary of her heart & double-lung transplant at Toronto General Hospital on November 26th, 1985. Her transplant was done by Drs Joel Cooper and Thomas Todd. Dr. Todd writes about Diane in his book Breathless.

I recently spoke with Diane on the phone and she is doing very, very well. She has been quite active in Quebec with promoting organ donation and raising funds for the transplant community. Please visit her web site at the following links. The above photo is the cover of her book "Second Chance". Merv.
Web site English version or French version.

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Transplant Headlines

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UK organ donor deal closer

Scotland On Sunday reports that plans for a radical overhaul of organ donation laws which could save the lives of up to 500 Scots every year have taken a major step forward following the first formal talks between senior health officials from Scotland and England.

UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson is now "sympathetic" to the idea of a change in the law to an opt-out system of presumed consent, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. Read the article.

China buffs image with transplant rules
Glen McGregor writing in the Ottawa Citizen (Canada) reports that rocked by accusations of rights abuses, China is cracking down on organ trafficking. New regulations have made organs more rare and spurred a western-style campaign for education, donor cards and registries. Read the full article.

Pediatric Pulmonary Expert Comments on Study of Lung Transplants for Cystic Fibrosis
Commenting on a study of lung transplantation for children with cystic fibrosis, a leading pediatric pulmonologist calls the study “startling” in an editorial in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine that accompanies the study. He cautioned that physicians must be more judicious than ever in referring children with CF for lung transplants, considering the severity of the child's illness.

Newswise reports that Julian Allen, M.D., who holds the Robert Gerard Morse Endowed Chair in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, analyzed the study by a University of Utah research team, which found that cystic fibrosis (CF) patients younger than age 18 did not survive longer after a lung transplant than CF patients who did not receive a lung transplant.

In contrast to a previous study by the same researchers, led by Theodore Liou, M.D., which found a survival advantage for adult transplant recipients when the predicted five-year survival rate without transplantation was 30 percent or worse, the new study found no lower threshold at which transplantation provided better survival in children—a finding that Allen called surprising.

“The study’s results make it clear that physicians must be more judicious than ever in referring children with cystic fibrosis for lung transplantation, with careful consideration of the severity of the child’s illness,” said Allen. He said that cystic fibrosis centers must provide appropriate social and psychological support to help families make the best choice for their children.

Allen added that it is possible that a lung transplant may improve a patient’s quality of life, as the current study had only limited information on that question. He urged that future studies of lung transplantation in CF patients ought to carefully measure quality of life as well as measuring how closely patients adhere to post-transplant medical treatments. Read the Newswise article.

Klasnic in emotional league return from kidney transplant
The Earth Times published this story about Ivan Klasnic, who is believed to have made history on Saturday as the first professional footballer to return to action from a kidney transplant. Klasnic, 27, was a starter for German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen at bottom side Energie Cottbus, playing 65 minutes in his team's 2-0 victory more than 11 months after his last match and eight months after the successful implant.

"It was just nice, so nice," said Klasnic, who almost scored early on. "I felt well and I think I played pretty well."

Athletes who returned to action after a kidney transplant in the past include New Zealand rugby star Jonah Lomu, US basketballer Alonzo Mourning and Italian weightlifting world champion Norberto Oberburger. But Klasnic is believed to be the first footballer to play with an implanted kidney. Read the story.

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Transplant Headlines

Selected headlines from around the world

Lung transplant rarely prolongs life in CF
Reuters reports that lung transplantation in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) is not likely to prolong life and may do more harm than good, according to a look back at essentially the entire U.S. pediatric experience with lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis for the period 1992 through 2002.

According to a report in November 22 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, a total of 248 of the 514 children with cystic fibrosis who were on the waiting list during the 10-year-period underwent lung transplantation.

"Children undergoing lung transplant did much worse than expected," Dr. Theodore G. Liou of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, told Reuters Health.

"We fully expected, at the start of the study, that we would find a group that did well and others that did not do so well. Unfortunately, we found that the group that most likely did well with transplant was very small, while the group that most likely did poorly (worse than if not transplanted) was quite large," Liou said. Read the full article.

"Young Heart Transplant Patient Released From Hospital"
WKRN in Nashville, Tennessee posts this story about 12-year-old Jordon Hensley, who was fighting for her life just weeks ago but danced her way out the hospital doors Wednesday afternoon just in time for Thanksgiving. Read the story.

Transplant patient's heartfelt thanks
The Mercury News in San Jose, California has a wonderful story about Mary DiMaggio of San Jose and the Larrañaga family of Mondragon, Spain, who will not understand each others' words when they meet next month in Spain's Basque country. DiMaggio speaks no Spanish and no Basque. The Larrañagas know little English. It won't matter. The American and her Basque hosts share the alphabet of tragedy and the syntax of hope. They will talk in the language of the heart.

DiMaggio, 63, a woman with the sallow complexion of a long-time patient but the sturdy frame of a swimmer, is pushing herself to endure the long air flight for one overriding reason: gratitude.

Since a Stanford University Hospital transplant in August 2003, she has been kept alive by the heart of the Larrañagas' only son, Gaizka, who was killed in a traffic accident in Reno at the age of 32.

DiMaggio is telling her story publicly to remind people of the need to donate organs. "To be able to thank these wonderful people is just unbelievable," said the San Jose woman, whose husband, Horace, is a second cousin to Joe DiMaggio, the famous Yankee slugger. "Believe me, I wouldn't get on a plane just to go to Spain." Read the story

Young Hungarian heart transplant patient returns home
Caboodle.hu reports that eight-year-old Balázs Lőrincz from Babócsa (Somogy County), the first Hungarian child to receive a heart transplant, has returned home from the hospital, reports hirado.hu. He has to live under sterile conditions but is reported to be in high spirits and making a good recovery. Read the article.

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Transplant Headlines

Selected headlines from around the world

Organ donation strenghtens family's bonds
From Iowa The Hawk Eye newspaper's web edition posted this article on Thanksgiving to remind us all how much we have to be thankful for and highlights the story of a daughter who donated a kidney to her mother. Now, her mother is waiting for a pancreas transplant also. Read the full story.

The Pakistani revelation: a commentary on the kidney transplant trade
The Daily Times of Pakistan has an eye-opening article on the buying and selling of organs in Pakistan and other countries. Included is a report on what authorities are trying to do about the practice and lists the goals they are trying to achieve. A must read.

Chance for say on opt-out organ donation
THE Welsh public will have a say on the controversial issue of “presumed consent” for organ donation, it was announced yesterday.
IC Wales has the following article about the government's decision to include the public in a consultation process before deciding to implement presumed consent.

"At the moment organs can be taken for donation only when a patient has given explicit consent that they can be used in the event of their death.

But in a statement to the Welsh Assembly Government yesterday, Assembly Health Minister Edwina Hart announced a wide-ranging consultation on the matter and indicated she was in favour of a system whereby organs would be considered donated unless otherwise stated.

However she acknowledged that the decision to instigate such a system should be one chosen by the people of Wales and not the medical community." Read the full story.

A Better Way To Donate Your Organs
My Desert.com in Palm Springs, California posts this article about LifeSharers (that I have reported on previously). The article, submitted by reader Dave Undis, says there is now a better way to donate your organs when you die. Now you can help yourself while you are helping others.

There used to be just two choices when it came to organ donation, donate or don't donate. Now there is a third choice: donate to other donors who will return the favor. This choice is available through LifeSharers, the non-profit national organ circle. Members agree to donate their organs when they die. They also agree to offer their organs first to fellow members, if any member is a suitable match, before making them available to non-members. Everyone is invited to join the organ circle at LifeSharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no cost to join. Read the full article.

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

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Happy U.S. Thanksgiving

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 for the extra time we've been given.

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

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Transplant Headlines

Selected organ donation & transplant headlines

Mother Talks To Classes About Organ Donation
Channel 3000 in Wisconsin posts an article about Mary Nachreiner, whose family is already known for making a difference in organ donation rates. They went to state lawmakers to talk about the personal loss of their daughter whose organs were donated. The testimony led to the signing of a bill supporting donor awareness.

Now Mary is taking the information into the classroom to honor her daughter.

Many residents of Wisconsin are as yet unwilling to donate organs. Dr. Hans Sollinger, transplant surgery chairman at University of Wisconsin Health, said that they are still far from getting even 50 percent of people to give permission.

"Ultimately, in the state of Wisconsin 40 percent of families going through a tragedy decline to give the organs of their loved ones," Sollinger said. Read the story.

Less Regulated Approach to Kidney Transplant 'Troubling' and 'Radical' for Evening Broadcast
As the system now stands, individuals have little control over organ donations and transplants.
The Business & Media Institute of Alexandria, Virginia posts this feature about ABC's Nightly News with Charles Gibson discussion of selling kidneys to help ease the shortage of kidneys for organ donation. The story was based on the suggestion by University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital’s Dr. Arthur Matas who supports a regulated market only for kidneys (not for other organs) and has said that ruling out kidney sales completely is like sentencing some patients to death. ABC said this was "radical". Read Business & Media's response and discussion.

Island woman awaits heart-lung transplant
The Honolulu Advertiser posts this article about 26-year-old Marita "Marie" Cruz who is on the waiting list for a heart and double-lung transplant. Marie was born with a heart condition known as ventricular septal defect (a hole in the heart). For many, the condition improves with age — most outgrow the condition by adulthood. But for Cruz, the defect has been a lifelong struggle and now she needs a complete heart and double-lung transplant to survive. Read Marie's story.

B.C. surgeons perform 10 transplants in 24 hours
Canada's National Post reports that
surgeons and medical staff in Vancouver, British Columbia say they set a provincial and possibly a Canadian record last month, performing 10 major organ transplants within a 24-hour period.

The transplants were carried out by surgical teams working around the clock at Vancouver General Hospital over Oct. 23 and 24.

The life-saving surgeries included four kidney transplants, two double-lung transplants and three liver transplants. At the same time, another kidney transplant was undertaken by teams at St. Paul's Hospital. Read the full article.

Transplant breathes new life into 23-year-old
Canada.com reports that one of the above double-lung transplant recipients was 23-year-old Eva Markvoort who was given back her life that was failing due to cystic fibrosis. This is one of the heartwarming stories of lives being transformed by organ donation. Read Eva's story.

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Transplant Headlines

Selected organ donation & transplant headlines from around the world

Bill to set punishment for selling transplant organs
The Jerusalem Post reports on a bill that sets down criminal punishment for selling human transplant organs or serving as a middleman and would allow "reasonable compensation" for losses caused by donating an organ. The bill was approved by a Knesset committee on Monday for its second and third readings in the plenum.

The bill, initiated by the Health Ministry, received the approval of a majority of the members of the Labor, Social Affairs and Health Committee. When it passes the plenum, it will put Israel on a long list of countries that turned such prohibitions into legislation and, it is hoped, halt the sale of transplant organs in which Israelis have been involved inside the country and abroad. Read the full article.

Footballers Are On The Ball With Life-Saving Message, UK
A press release from the UK's Medical News Today notes that Millwall footballers are proving winners on and off the pitch by urging supporters and the wider local community to offer the gift of life and join the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).

Fresh from their FA Cup first round victory at the weekend, players from the League One club were at their Bromley training ground this week to support UK Transplant's My life, My gift awareness campaign highlighting the need for more people to sign-up to the ODR. They were joined by liver transplant recipient Simon Randerson, who recently returned from the World Transplant Games in Thailand with a gold and silver medal for swimming.

In recent weeks, the My life, My gift campaign has targeted every household in London with a special leaflet containing facts about organ donation and transplantation as well as a simple Freepost form to join the ODR. Read the full press release.

My dead girl saved five lives
Crash teen had talked of being an organ donor


From the Belfast Telegraph comes the story of an Ulster mother who told how the intense pain of her teenage daughter's death in a road crash was eased after her organs were donated - saving five lives.

Laura Alexander (13) died in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital in September 2005 from a severe head injury suffered when she was knocked down by a car in Lisburn.

Her heartbroken mother Caroline said the decision to agree to Laura's organs being removed for donation was made easier because the pair had recently had a big chat about the issue, sparked by a television programme.

The Lisburn woman said she had great comfort knowing that her girl's heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, corneas and sclera saved the lives of five people desperately waiting for a donation. Read the full story.

Organ transplant system more organised in U.S
This article appears in India's The Hindu.

Bangalore: “The organ transplant system in the U.S. is relatively mature. The system has developed over the past 25 years. Things are very different here in India,” said Douglas W. Hanto, Chief, Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre.

Dr. Hanto was in the city to discuss and offer expert advice to Wockhardt Group of Hospitals on expanding their transplant programmes.

Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Dr. Hanto said that in the U.S. organs from deceased donors were most used for transplants. “A very small percentage of organ transplants are actually from live, unrelated donors. In the U.S., there are 59 human organisations that maintain a registry of donors. Also, the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) maintains a registry of donors across the country. UNOS and the American Organ Procurement Organisation work and get the consent from families and coordinate the retrieval of organs with the respective hospitals.”

He also said that the system, though not entirely perfect, continues to change. The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients supported the ongoing evaluation of the scientific and clinical status of solid organ transplantation in the U.S.

Dr. Hanto said that in 2006, in the U.S., as many as 28,931 transplants were performed – 22,201 from deceased donors and 6,730 from live donors. In 2006, there were 10,659 kidney transplants from deceased donors and 6,432 from living donors (of the living donors 1,438 were from unrelated donors). There were 6,362 liver transplants from deceased donors and 288 from live donors. There were 463 pancreas transplants, 923 kidney/pancreas transplants, 2,191 heart transplants.

Vishal Bali, Chief Executive Officer, Wockhardt Hospitals, said that the biggest challenges were affordability, social acceptance to organ donation, dispelling the myths surrounding the same and setting a national agenda for organ donation.

“We need a structure or a system in place. Illegal organ donation exists only because of the lack of a proper system. Fortunately, even the Centre has been concerned and is taking steps to have a system in place,” he said. Read the article.

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Transplant Headlines

Selected headlines all dealing with heart transplantation

Papworth heart transplants resume after review
Reuters reports from London that Papworth Hospital can resume heart transplant operations after a review failed to find one single reason for a sharp rise in recent deaths, the health watchdog said on Monday.

Operations were suspended at the Cambridge hospital earlier this month after it discovered seven of the 20 transplant patients had died within 30 days, a rate of 35 percent, between January and September this year.

An eighth died following a transplant in October.

Papworth's average rate is seven percent, with the average across all transplant centres 10 percent. Read the full article.

The family that needs 3 heart transplants
OUR DONOR WAIT AGONY

The Mirror in the United Kingdom posts a compelling story about a mother and her twin daughters all needing heart transplants due to a genetic condition; they were all diagnosed with acute dilated cardiomyopathy. All three are living under a death sentence. Their only hope is a transplant and they face an agonising wait for suitable donor organs. Read the full story.

First heart transplant at IMC
The Deseret Morning News in Utah reports on the first heart transplant to be done at Intermountain Medical Center. Larry Hartwell of Wyoming received a successful heart transplant and is up and walking around with the prospect of "going home" in a couple of days. Read the full story.

New blood test revolutionizes heart transplant technology
ABC News in San Francisco reports that a local company has developed a simple blood test that measures rejection, thus eliminating the need for invasive biopsies. This could change the lives of many heart transplant recipients. Read the full article.

Blood-incompatible baby heart transplant seen safe
Reuters posted this article reporting that babies waiting desperately to receive a heart transplant can receive a heart from a donor even if the blood type is incompatible -- good news for infants who might otherwise die, researchers said on Monday.

Heart transplants not compatible with the recipient's blood type were equally safe as transplants with blood-compatible hearts when given to infants up to age 1, they said. Read the full article.

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

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Transplant Headlines

Some selected headlines all dealing with lung transplants

UW-Madison researcher helping to save transplanted lungs
The Wisconsin State Journal highlights how Will Burlingham, a University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist, has done successful research that showed that lung-transplant patients highly reactive to collagen V were 10 times more likely to develop bronchiolitis obliterans, or BOS, the lung-destroying disease associated with the suspect protein.

According to the researchers, the research is likely to dramatically improve lung transplant success. Currently, lung transplant patients have the worst long-term survival rate of all major organ transplants. Now, however, new drug treatments to block the collagen V reaction are in the works and promise to improve survival rates considerably. Read the full story.

Fighting Cystic Fibrosis: Willcox resident, 27, recovers from double-lung transplant
Frome the Arizona Range News comes the good news story of Sean Kingsbury, a 27-year old Willcox, Arizona man who is recovering from a double-lung transplant. He underwent the lifesaving operation on Sept. 30, at University Medical Center in Tucson. Kingsbury, who was born with cystic fibrosis, has lived in Willcox the last 10 years. "He has a lot of friends here," Colleen Miera told the Range News.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that affects 30,000 people in the United States. It makes the body produce mucus as thick and sticky as rubber cement. The mucus interferes with digestion and makes CF patients vulnerable to lung, bronchial and sinus infections.

Over time, scar tissue builds up in the lungs, making it harder to breathe. Some 30 years ago, half of all those with CF died by the age of 15. But advances in drugs and treatment protocols have pushed the median survival age up to 32. Read the story.

Man killed in fiery crash had a double lung transplant
The Boston Globe had this sad story about A 29-year-old man killed in a fiery crash on Interstate 95 in Attleboro who had recently undergone a double lung transplant last May and was engaged to be married. Police say the man's car was travelling at 100 miles an hour. Read the article.

Robert Goulet, "Camelot" star, dies while awaiting lung transplant

Robert Goulet died while waiting for a lung transplant due to pulmonary fibrosis. He passed away October 30th but I'm including the story here in case you missed it. His story has special meaning for me, being that I suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis but the difference between myself and Mr. Goulet is that I received my lung transplant after being on the waiting list for only 25 days. Read the story in The Seattle Times. Go to Robert Goulet's Website.

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

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Transplant Headlines

Selected headlines all dealing with liver transplants

Family hopes to save youngest child with transplant
MyKawartha.com in Ontario, Canada talks about a fundraising effort to help 10-year-old Natalie Harper obtain a life-saving liver transplant. Natalie received a liver transplant as a baby of 7 months but this is now failing. Read their emotional story.

Family searches for donor, money
The Beloit Daily News in Wisconsin has a heart-wrenching story about 7-month-old Valery Huttner who is in desperate need of a liver transplant. There is an urgent search for a living donor as well as a fundraising effort to defray the very expensive costs associated with the testing of potential donors as well as the cost of the transplant when and if it happens. Read the full article.

Organ recipient campaigns for organ donations
The Toledo Free Press in Ohio has a great organ donation awareness story about liver transplant recipient Lexi Schultz, a 16-year-old sophomore, who is promoting organ donation by speaking to school students and church congretations. She has met her donor family and keeps contact with them. Read the story.

Survivors remember precious gifts of life HELPING OTHERS
The Free-Lance Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia reports on a celebration honoring organ donors, and their loved-ones. One of the speakers, Gary Scheer, was given three weeks to live 13 years ago. The 26-year-old fire medic and distance runner from Spotsylvania County struggled to express his gratitude for the best gift that he ever received--the liver that made his appearance possible. Read the full story.

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

Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network

Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

Transplant Headlines

Selected organ donation and transplant headlines

Two-year-old Boy Waits for Intestinal Transplant
India-West posts this story about a couple waiting for their son to receive a life-saving transplant of a lower intestine and liver.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — It’s a cool recent Diwali afternoon, and many Indian Americans are caught up in the fever of the holiday — cooking, dressing in their best finery, and getting ready to celebrate with family and friends.

Sanjay Kalra and his wife, Shikha, are in no mood to celebrate.

The couple are pressed close to a hospital bed in Stanford Medical Center’s pediatric intensive care unit, gazing down at their two-and-a-half year-old son, Arnav.

Arnav lies nearly stationary in his bed, a feeding tube running from his nose to a large machine; while half a dozen other machines beep softly in the silence.

His huge brown eyes take in his surroundings with a look of resignation, but though Arnav is just a toddler, he radiates a sense of deep patience, and even a Buddha-like reassurance, for his anxious parents.

One chocolatey, chubby arm — the skin smooth as silk — rests on a pillow, and his little hands are encased in baby-size socks, to prevent him from pulling out the tubes, explains Shikha.

Arnav is waiting for a miracle — a rare transplant of a lower intestine and liver — and though he is at the top of a waiting list, his parents know there is little they can do but pray and wait. Read the full story.

Hannah Friedman -- Be an organ donor? Check
Hannah Friedman is a high school student who didn't know much about organ donation when she came to the check-box on her driver's license application. But she decided to find out as much information as she could and I encourage you to read her heartwarming story in the Rochester, Minnesota Post-Bulletin.

Bowie resident grateful for second chance at life
Gazette.net in Maryland posts a wonderful story about Lorma Sealey, 41, a heart transplant recipient who traveled to New York last month to appear on ‘‘The Montel Williams Show” to meet her donor family of Matthew Zaragoza-VanGelderen who died of a brain injury while playing high school football in 2005. Read the full story.

Crystal Ribbon of Life Fundraiser at TGHNovember 28th and December 13th

Here's another great fundraising event at Toronto General Hospital that provides an opportunity to pick up a gift for yourself or others as the holiday season approaches.

In an effort to support the Multi Organ Transplant Program at the Toronto General Hospital, A Glitter of Hope* has designed a jewelry series called Crystal Ribbons of Life to benefit the Transplant Fund For Excellence. Some of the featured items include: the Charms of Life collection, a jeweled ribbon with emerald green crystals that can be clasped to a bracelet, cell phone, bookmark or keychain, and custom-made “Life” bracelets that allow transplant patients, donors and family members to show their support for an important cause.

The Crystal Ribbon of Life series aims to raise awareness about the Multi Organ Transplant Program and help celebrate the Gift of Life.

DATES: Wednesday, November 28th and Thursday, December 13th
TIME: 9am to 5pm (both days)
LOCATION: Toronto General Hospital, Norman Urquhart Building Lobby (University Ave entrance - take stairs to 1st floor)

*About A Glitter of Hope
A Glitter of Hope is a jewelry initiative that takes a creative hobby and turns it into a gift of hope for worthy causes. Co-founded by two long time friends, Joanne Guarnaccia and Anna Searles (a breast cancer survivor), A Glitter of Hope features the Crystal Ribbon of Hope box; an assortment of coloured Swarovski crystal ribbon charms that represent many health-based causes, such as cancer and transplantation. The crystal charms are elegantly designed for cell phone danglers, key chains, bookmarks, bracelets and much more. Joanne and Anna personally design and handcraft these and other accessories using a multitude of quality beads including Swarovski crystals, natural stones, glass, and sterling silver.

Aiming to bring the gift of hope into the lives of many, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of A Glitter of Hope products go directly towards charitable causes.

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

Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network

Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

Transplant Headlines

Selected headlines from around the world

Organ patients' spread of HIV probed
Organ recipients unaware of risk
The Chicago Tribune posts a follow up story on whether four Chicago patients who contracted HIV from organ transplants could have passed on the disease during the months when they were unaware of their infections.

The four patients contracted HIV and hepatitis C from an infected donor in January and did not know of the potential risk to their partners and close contacts until they tested positive for the diseases in the last two weeks. The infected donor had not tested positive for the diseases, likely because the infections were too recent to register on screening tests, officials believe.

The risk to others could have been reduced had the hospitals tested the organ recipients soon after their transplants, said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, director of blood, organ and tissue safety with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read the full article.

Organ donor awareness topic of senior luncheon at Pioneer Career and Technology Center
The News Journal of Mansfield, Ohio has a nice article about high school students promoting organ donation awareness. Read the story.

Medical definition of death tested by organ donations
The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Virginia has an article about the criteria for determining brain death of a potential organ donor. There continues to be some ambiguity about at what moment someone is brain dead and various states have different criteria. Read the article.

Higher-risk Kidneys May Help Solve Organ Shortage Facing Older Adults
Science Daily reports that new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center suggests that age alone shouldn't be a barrier to receiving a kidney transplant -- and that using donated kidneys that would once have been discarded may help alleviate the burgeoning organ shortage among older adults. Read the story.

The nightmare scenario of organ donation
The National Catholic Reporter discusses the recent case of Ruben Navarro.

Navarro died in February 2006, just six days shy of his 26th birthday, in a hospital in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Suffering from a degenerative genetic disease, Navarro lapsed into a coma and eventually lost his pulse. His mother decided it was time to let her son go, and told doctors to discontinue his ventilator. Informed that he was a candidate to be an organ donor, she consented to a procedure known as “donation after cardiac death,” in which Ruben would be wheeled into an operating room, removed from his ventilator and allowed to die, at which point a team of transplant surgeons would swiftly remove his organs.

In theory, Navarro’s care was supposed to remain the paramount concern of the medical team until he was actually dead, with transplant surgeons stepping in only after death had occurred. In reality, a Kaiser Permanente specialist who had flown in to perform the procedure repeatedly directed nurses to administer massive doses of sedatives. Within 40 minutes, Navarro’s levels of morphine and another painkiller soared to 20 times above normal dosages. The sedation served no medical end, prosecutors would eventually conclude, other than to hasten Navarro’s death so his organs would remain viable.

“Many of us have reviewed our policies and procedures because of it,” said Jesuit Fr. Peter Clark, director of the Institute of Bioethics at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. For example, Clark said, there’s a need for a uniform standard of how long one has to wait with a “donation after cardiac death” case to pronounce the donor dead; current practice varies from 75 seconds to 10 minutes. Read the full article.

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

Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network

Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

Transplant Headlines

A few selected headlines from around the world

A Market for Kidneys?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE posts an article on the pros and cons of offering monetary incentives to boost the number of organs available for transplant and publishes readers comments on the topic. You can read the full article and join the discussion at THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE.

Organ donation rates jump
4 Sacramento, California area hospitals lauded for locating those who give a life-saving gift
The Sacremento Bee reports that UC Davis Medical Center, Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center and Mercy San Juan Medical Center all have been recognized by the federal government for meeting federal goals for organ donation rates.

Nearly 100,000 people nationwide are waiting for an organ transplant, but only about half of the nation's potential donors – those who suffer brain death and are suitable organ donors – actually become donors, either because their families refuse or because of poor coordination between hospital staff and local organ procurement organizations.

The four Sacramento-area hospitals were among 392 facilities nationwide that have upped their rates to 75 percent or more of eligible donors. The rates are based on the percentage of potential donors who actually become donors. The only area hospital eligible for the award that didn't get it was Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, which just missed the goal, at 70 percent.

The four hospitals were part of a national program called the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, which identified the best ways to integrate organ donation into hospital care, and offered training for nurses, doctors and others who care for dying patients.

The hospital logging the greatest rate gain was UC Davis, where it jumped from 39 percent in 2005 to 79 percent last year. read the full article.


Zubiri scores CNN for organ trade report
The Manila Times publishes this article on the topic of the trade of human organs in the Philippines.
"Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri demanded Tuesday an apology from the American CNN news channel for airing on November 6 an “erroneous” slant on trade of human organs in the country.

In a privileged speech, Zubiri said that CNN international correspondent Hugh Riminton made it appear that the Philippines is heading towards the direction of not only legalizing commercial kidney donation but also making human kidneys an official Philippine export.

Dr. Reynaldo Lesaca, the head of the Human Organ Preservation Effort (HOPE) of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, claimed that CNN edited their interview with him and came out with a special report different from what they had talked about.

“By painting an incomplete and misleading picture, the CNN resorted to tabloid-type journalism which is inappropriate and unexpected from a leading international news agency. We support Lesaca and HOPE’s demand that CNN issue an apology for the wrong report and correct it,” Zubiri said. read the full article.

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

Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network

Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

Transplant Headlines

Here are a few slected organ donation and transplant headlines from around the world.

4 transplant recipients get HIV from donor
Donor's infection is 1st such case in U.S. in 22 years
The Chicago Tribune reports that four transplant recipients in Chicago contracted HIV from a high-risk organ donor whose infection went undetected in what hospital officials say is the first documented case of the virus being transmitted by organ donation in the U.S. in more than 20 years.

The transplants occurred in January at three Chicago hospitals, but the patients did not learn until the last two weeks that they were infected with HIV and the virus for hepatitis C. One doctor said the news was "devastating" to the patients.

Hospital and organ donation officials said the infections arose because of a rarely encountered flaw in the test used to detect those diseases -- a flaw that more sensitive tests could help fix, some experts believe. Official said there is no significant threat to other organ recipients, and no other patients received the infected donor's organs or tissue. read the full article.

Recipients of organ transplants hope to inspire would-be donors through their participation in the World Transplant Games
This BAngkok Post story talks about how an organ transplant has transformed recipients lives to the level of being able to participate in the recent World Transplant Games held in Thailand. The article goes on to note that the Games' primary aim is to provide people who have undergone an organ transplant with inspiration to engage in physical activity that will help them lead normal lives and they can start showing their families that they are able to do normal things again. read the full article.


Muslims to be included in Singapore Human Organ Transplant Bill
Channel News Asia reports that a bill was introduced in Parliament on Monday that would include Muslims in the Human Organ Transplant (Amendment) Bill.

The Human Organ Transplant (Amendment) Bill, would include Muslims as automatic organ donors unless they opt out of the scheme.

It will also give the Health Ministry more powers to investigate transplant-related offences like organ trading.

Public consultation was carried out in August and September this year with the Muslim community.

The main issues raised by participants were the desecration of the body by the removal of organs after death and the burial of an "incomplete" body.

Under the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA), kidneys, heart, liver and corneas can be removed for transplant.

Representatives from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) emphasised that organ donation is allowed in the Islamic faith as it provides a means to save lives, and that other Muslim jurists and official fatwa bodies in numerous Islamic countries have similar views on organ donation.

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

Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network

Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In honor of Rememberance Day in Canada and Veteran's Day in the United States

Special event at Toronto General HospitalWednesday, November 28th11AM to 12:30PM

SPECIAL EVENT - Open meeting of the Lung Transplant Support Group, Toronto General Hospital.

Check presentations to Dr. Shaf Keshavjee’s program for lung transplant research of funds raised during the Breathe in Life Walk and Lung Transplant Golf Tournament. There will also be a tribute to the late Peter Laurence, past chair of the golf tournament. Let’s have a good turnout in support of Dr. Keshavjee and the lung transplant team. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Location: Toronto General Hospital, Astellas Pharma Conference Room (previously named: “Fujisawa Conference Room”), NCSB 11C- Room 1135 (11th Floor). (NCSB - New Clinical Services Building, - take elevators from University Ave. lobby)

Book signing in Waterloo, Ont. Monday, November 12th, 6:30PM

On Monday, November 12th, Dr. Thomas Todd will be signing his book, BREATHLESS, A Transplant Surgeon's Journal*, at a book signing sponsored by the Lung Association and Assante Wealth Management. Time and location follow.

Monday, November 12, 2007 6:30PM
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
25 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 2Y5
RSVP 519-725-9467
E-mail

This book is a tribute to the world’s first successful lung transplants. Dr. Todd assisted in the first successful lung transplant in the world in November of 1983. Dr. Todd was 38 and the youngest member of a dream team of surgeons at Toronto General Hospital that included Dr. Griff Pearson, Dr. Joel Cooper, Dr. Mel Goldberg, Dr. Alec Patterson and Dr. Bob Ginsberg. These were the innovators who established the legacy of thoracic surgery and lung transplantation that has earned Toronto General Hospital a reputation as one of the world's leading transplant and research centers. BREATHLESS, A Transplant Surgeon's Journal is an invaluable book for anyone interested in the history of lung transplantation.

I can highly recommend Dr. Thomas’ book for your personal reading or as a great gift at a very reasonable price. Purchase at the book signing or order from your bookstore or direct from the publisher (see below).

*Breathless A Transplant Surgeon’s Journal (ISBN#978-1-897113-54-7), by Dr. Thomas R.J. Todd, is published by General Store Publishing House, Renfrew, Ontario, and retails for $19.95. Contact Ann Forgie: Tel: 1-800-465-6072 Fax: (613) 432-7184.

Transplant Headlines

These selected headlines show that the organ donation message is being given a big boost by college students.

Increasing Organ Donations Among NYC Minorities Goal of Study
The University at Buffalo has posted the following press release:
"BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A study aimed at increasing the number of African-American, Hispanic and Asian registered organ donors in New York City and focusing on college students is underway and headed by a researcher at the University at Buffalo.

New York City has one of the largest concentrations of racial minorities in the U.S., and consistently lags behind national consent and recovery rates for organ transplantation.

Of the 97,000 people waiting for organ transplants in the U.S., 43 percent are African-American or Hispanic. Increasing kidney donations is particularly important in these populations, as African-Americans and Hispanics are at increased risk of kidney disease." For the full press release click here.

WKU Students and Faculty Recruit Organ Donors
Bowling Green Kentucky - TV station WBKO's web site posts an article about Tiffany James who lost her mother in a car accident when Tiffany was 16. The family decided to donate her mother's organs and since then Tiffany is now an advocate for organ donation awareness. The article also talks about other donor families who have met some of the recipients of their loved one's organs. Read this heartwarming story.

UK, U of L compete for organ donors
Here's more organ donation news from Kentucky in this posting on the University of Kentucky's "The Kentucky Kernel". "If UK and the University of Louisville did not have enough sports rivalries, a different competition has risen - one that could save hundreds of lives.

The two schools have joined with the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates for its annual UK-U?of?L Gift of Life Challenge, which will run until the end of December. The school with the winning number of registered organ donors will receive a trophy at the UK-U?of?L basketball game Jan. 5.

In its seventh year, the Gift of Life Challenge was created to raise awareness on organ and tissue donation. Keeping college students in mind, KODA created a new donor registration procedure for students."

"We decided there needed to be a faster way to register, and also a registry that was in an actual system for verification," said Charlotte Long, public coordinator for KODA.

"In previous years, an organ donor was signified as having a drivers license with an orange sticker," she said. "There was no documentation of the agreement, and in many cases, an organ donor was disregarded because the license was not present."

Long and her colleagues devised an online registry Donate Life Ky where people can access donation forms. Students who want to become an organ and tissue donor can fill out an online form at that Web site. To become an organ and tissue donor and contribute to the competition, students can fill out an online form and select "University of Kentucky - Gift of Life Challenge" under the reasons to become a donor. Read the full article.

Lung Transplant Support Group Meetings

Support Group Meetings in Toronto and Kitchener are on-going as noted. Please read below for location and directions.

TORONTO SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS – Wednesdays at 11am –

Pre & Post Transplant patients please read this:
The support group has a pre-transplant focus and is intended for pre-transplant patients/families and those who are up to about 3 months post-transplant. All post lung transplant patients are invited to attend any meeting where a there is a speaker of interest to them. Support persons may attend all meetings. Out of town patients who have the opportunity to attend only during occasional visits to the hospital for tests and assessments, or when there is a speaker of interest to them, should feel welcome to come at any time.

Cystic Fibrosis patients who are Cepacia negative may attend from the 1st to the 15th of the month. CF Cepacia positive patients may attend meetings from the 16th to the end of the month.

Time & Location: Wednesdays at 11:00AM - Toronto General Hospital, Astellas Pharma Conference Room (previously named: “Fujisawa Conference Room”), NCSB 11C- Room 1135 (11th Floor). (NCSB - New Clinical Services Building, - take elevators from University lobby)

November, 2007


• November 07 - General Meeting


• November 14 - Speaker - A team member from the ICU will discuss aspects of care in the ICU post transplant


• November 21 - General Meeting


• November 28 - SPECIAL EVENT - Open meeting - Cheque presentations to Dr. Shaf Keshavjee of funds raised during the Breathe in Life Walk and Lung Transplant Golf Tournament. There will also be a tribute to the late Peter Laurence, past chair of the golf tournament.


December, 2007


• December 05 - General Meeting


• December 12 - Lung Transplant Christmas Party 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.* For pre and post transplant patients, the Transplant Team, ICU and OR staff are invited to our pot luck celebration. Please bring finger foods for sharing. *PLEASE NOTE: CF Cepacia-negative patients from 10AM to 12PM - CF Cepacia-positive patients from 12Pm to 2PM


• December 19 - General Meeting


January, 2008


• January 02 - Speaker: A pharmacy team member will discuss transplant medications and answer questions


• January 16 - Speakers: Cathy Whytehead, RN & Meny DAvies, RN, Pre-transplant coordinators, will disucss their roles within the lung team, as well as pre-transplant care


• January 23 - Speaker: Dr. Lianne Singer, Medical Director, Toronto Lung Transplant Program, will discuss medical aspects of lung transplantation


• January 30 - Speakers: Susan Chernenko, APN, and Nikki Marks, APN, will discuss their roles within the team


February , 2008


• February 06 - Speakers: Debbie Zogalo, RN and Josie Dorosz, RN, post-transplant coordinators will discuss their roles within the lung team as well as post-transplant care


• February 13 - General Meeting


• February 20 - Open Meeting - Special event In memory of Marilyn Page and in recognition of the generous donation by Rogers Cable Communications Inc. to the Pre-Transplant Lung Support & Education Group in her honour. Light refreshments will be served.


• February 27 - General Meeting / Film

KITCHENER-WATERLOO AREA SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS start at 7:30 P.M. the second Tuesday of every month (no meetings in July/August) and are held at the home of Denise & Marcel Secours, 81 Southmoor Drive in Kitchener, Ontario. For more info please call Denise Secours at 519 578-0288 or email Denise. Denise will give you directions or you can use Google Maps or MapQuest if you prefer.

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

Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network

Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

Brief Intermission

I'll be away for a weekend mini vacation. Regular posts will resume Monday, November 5th. Meanwhile, please browse previous posts and the sidebar links. Merv.