Wednesday, November 21, 2007

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.


“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

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