Desperate Indonesians sell organs online

Inquirer.net

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 11:01:00 12/18/2009

JAKARTA - Cash-strapped Indonesians are cutting out the middleman and selling their organs online, exploiting a loophole in local laws and fueling a dangerous and illegal trade in human body parts.

Hundreds of advertisements have appeared on Indonesian personal advertising websites offering kidneys for as little as 50 million rupiah (5,300 dollars) each.

Among the usual cars, jewelry and beauty products, one advertisement on www.iklanoke.com (Iklanoke) states: "16-year-old male selling a kidney for 350 million rupiah or in exchange for a Toyota Camry."

Many of the advertisers – students, professionals and even housewives – are not shy about using their real names or leaving their contact numbers.

Most insist they are disease-free and do not smoke, consume alcohol or take drugs.

Family debts and outstanding bank loans are driving them to desperate measures, they say.

Eighteen-year-old high-school student Elisa said her family had debts worth tens of thousands of dollars after a fire razed their home in Jakarta and her father's grocery store failed.

"We now live at my grandmother's house. My mother works as a cook and my father helps out at an uncle's grocery store, but their earnings are only enough to buy food," Elisa told Agence France-Presse (AFP) by phone.

"I owe my school six months in fees. I often cry thinking about our fate. A movie I saw said selling kidneys is a quick way to get loads of cash. I want to sell mine so I can buy a new house and pay my school fees," said the eldest of four siblings.

She rejected two Indonesian buyers who couldn't meet her asking price of 800 million rupiah, she said.

Interested local and foreigner buyers are willing to pay up to 200 million rupiah for a kidney, sellers say.

Another seller, 22-year-old graphic designer Andi, said a European and a Chinese have separately offered to buy his kidney for 200 million rupiah – four times his asking price.

"They wanted to see a health report from a doctor and asked if I would go overseas for transplant. After a few emails, I never heard from them again," he said.

Andi said he wanted to repay his elderly foster parents for "looking after me like their own", he said.

Organ trading is outlawed in Indonesia and carries a penalty of up to 15 years' jail and a 300-million-rupiah fine.

Officials however admit that sellers get away with it because websites such as Iklanoke go largely unmonitored and the law is vague and difficult to enforce.

"The health law states that organ transplants can only be carried out for humanitarian purposes but it doesn't define the meaning of humanitarian," Indonesia Interpol department chief Anas Yusuf said.

"So it's hard to prove if a transplant is carried out for humanitarian or commercial reasons."

He said Interpol was aware of cases of organ trading in Indonesia, although government officials contacted by AFP said they had no data on the size of the illegal market.

"Negotiations between sellers and buyers are carried out in private so unless they're reported, we won't know. Also, transplants are usually carried out overseas so it's hard to prosecute offenders," Yusuf said.

Two Indonesian men were jailed and fined in Singapore in July 2008 for their involvement in the organ trade. The judge said that while they had agreed to sell their kidneys, syndicates had exploited their disadvantaged backgrounds.

General practitioner and lawmaker Subagyo Partodiharjo said much of the grisly trade was controlled by an "organ mafia" which approached poor people in remote villages in Java.

"I suspect it could be them posting the advertisements on behalf of the sellers," Partodiharjo said.

Public education on the risks of organ transplants and stricter monitoring of the Internet could help reduce the illegal trade, lawmakers said.

"The poor are usually ignorant of the health risks involved and are tempted by the money. Local governments need to inform people not to resort to selling organs to get money," Partodiharjo said.

Twenty-six-year-old telecommunications officer Jhon, who is offering to sell his kidney, liver and cornea, said desperate people would do anything to pull their families out of debt.

"I know about the law, I know about the health risks. Nobody wants to lose a body part and become a handicapped," he said.

"It's a last resort. If I can't earn enough to pay off my family's debt by December, I have no choice. For them, I'm willing to give up everything... my kidneys, my heart, my eyes, even my life," he said.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Transplant recipients risk infections from pets and other factors like food

The following article in Science Daily is timely because many of us are indoors at this time of year for holiday gatherings and also just because it's too darn cold outside. Out pets are inside more too and this closeness can lead to risks of infection for those with suppressed immune systems.

wiseGEEK.com notes that "although your pet is most often a source of enjoyment, lurking behind that lovable, furry exterior can be a number of nasty germs that can make you and your family sick. Virtually all pets, including dogs, cats, birds, rodents and reptiles, carry illnesses that can be transmitted to humans. Some of the infections pets carry include fungi, bacteria, parasites and viruses. Infections pets carry can be transmitted through scratching, biting, saliva, waste, dander and ticks or fleas." For a comprehensive overview click here.

Transplant Guide Highlights Daily Infection Risks from Factors Like Pets and Food

Science Daily (Dec 18, 2009) - Keeping pets healthy can reduce infection risks for people who have received solid organ transplants and veterinarians should be seen as an integral part of the healthcare team. That's just one of the key pieces of advice from a safe living article published in an infectious diseases supplement in the American Journal of Transplantation.

The supplement -- the second issue of guidelines authored by members of the American Society of Transplantation's Infectious Diseases Community of Practice -- provides advice on the infection-related challenges facing clinicians caring for people who have received solid organ transplants. These include respiratory viral infections -- a vital issue during the current pandemic -- guidance on vaccinations and advice on how to handle patients with conditions such as HIV, herpes, Candida and viral hepatitis.

"Transplant recipients face a heightened infection risk long after the initial post transplant period and have to adapt their lives to minimise exposure to potential sources" says Dr Robin K Avery from the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA.

"Our paper aims to highlight the infection risks that transplant recipients experience in their daily lives. These include pet ownership, food safety, safe sex, sporting activities and work-related issues."

Avoiding infection should be an important part of everyday life. For example, transplant recipients should be advised to:

• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly to prevent infections transmitted by direct contact, such as food, pets and gardening, even if gloves are used. Patients should avoid changing baby's diapers if possible.


• Reduce the risk of respiratory infections by avoiding crowded places like shopping malls when their immune system is suppressed. Avoid smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke, which can raise the risk of bacterial and viral infections, and marijuana use, because of its association with fungal spores.


• Prevent waterborne infections by only drinking water from safe sources and avoid inadvertent water ingestion during activities such as swimming, diving, boating, using a hot tub or going on water rides at amusement parks.


• Steer clear of foodstuffs like unpasteurised cheese, salad dressings made with uncooked eggs, raw seed sprouts, cold cuts and smoked seafood.


• Balance the psychological benefits of pet ownership with the potential infection risk. A variety of infections can be transmitted to humans from animals like young cats, reptiles, rodents, chicks and ducklings. Animal feces are also dangerous, so cleaning out cages and litter boxes should be avoided or disposable gloves and face masks worn. Ideally the transplant recipient should wait at least a year before getting a new pet.


• Practice safe sex by using latex condoms with casual partners.


• Discuss any travel plans with clinicians to identify particular risks like Malaria and carry antibiotics to take if they develop diarrhea. Patients should be aware that vaccinations may be ineffective and advised to take out emergency evacuation insurance. Advice on food safety should also be provided. (Note: Visit the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) for travel warnings and alerts)


• Consider work-related issues, especially if the patient is in healthcare, works with animals, in construction or outdoors. A temporary career change may not be possible for psychological, financial and social reasons and making the work environment safer is often the best approach.


• Return to safe sports, such as athletics, but discuss any that might pose an enhanced infection risk, like hunting, fishing or scuba diving.


• Take precautions to avoid West Nile Virus, which can cause severe disease in transplant recipients, by avoiding going out during peak mosquito feeding periods and using insect repellents that contain DEET.

"Transplant recipients are living longer and more and more are returning to active lives, including work and recreation" says Dr Avery, who co-authored the paper with Professor Marian G Michaels from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "With careful thought and detailed patient education, many potential infection risks can be prevented.

"Occupational counselling can enable transplant recipients to find safer ways to do the jobs that they love and knowing the risks posed by food, animals and environmental factors can help them stay out of hospital and lead healthy, meaningful and long lives."

Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by Wiley-Blackwell, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Portable artificial lung keeps patient alive for transplant

In addition to this article about bridge-to-transplant devices, also read my previous post about how surgeons at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) used the Novalung to save the life of a 16-year-old girl. The German-made machine is hooked up to both of the patient's legs. Blood is pumped from one leg and into a machine that removes the carbon dioxide, and re-oxygenates the blood, before it goes back into the body through the other leg. The machine essentially temporarily replaces the patient's lungs when they fail.

By R&Dmag.com

A 50-year-old former marathon runner with end-stage cystic fibrosis became one of the few in the world and the first in New York to use a new portable artificial lung to extend her life while waiting for a lung transplantation.

A standard respiratory ventilator was no longer effective at keeping the patient alive because her lungs had become too diseased.

Administered by the transplant team at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, the device provided oxygen to the patient without her needing to rely on a ventilator. Bypassing her lungs, it oxygenated her blood directly through a two-way connection to a vein in her chest.

"The portable ECMO device, which works like an artificial lung, saved this woman's life," says Dr. Matthew Bacchetta, the thoracic surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center who led the transplant surgery. He is also assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. "By connecting her to this machine, she was able to get the oxygen her body desperately needed. At the same time, she was able to eat, walk around, even talk on her own. As a result, she regained the strength needed to undergo a major surgery. This was a huge factor in making her transplant surgery a success."

The artificial lung is a state-of-the-art technology first developed in the early 1980s for neonatal care. Known as ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), the machine oxygenates blood by pumping blood in and out of multiple tubes connected to a patient. A "membrane oxygenator" imitates the gas exchange process of the lungs, removing carbon dioxide and adding oxygen.

The artificial lung used for this patient at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia is constructed of components made by companies in the United States and Germany. A notable feature is a special cannula, or tube, that allows for a single connection, as opposed to the standard two connections, between the patient and the machine. This innovation makes it possible for patients to walk around with the portable oxygenator.

A standard respiratory ventilator requires patients to be sedated with a tube inserted in the mouth to oxygenate the patient's own lungs. In addition, patients on respirators are at risk for pneumonia, severe systemic infection, multi-organ failure and death.

"Just as left ventricular assist devices have saved the lives of countless patients with heart failure, we expect this machine may do the same for lung patients," Dr. Joshua R. Sonett, chief of general thoracic surgery and surgical director of the lung transplant program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and professor of clinical surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. "And as the technology further develops, we might even see portable artificial lungs used as a longer-term treatment for some patients not eligible for transplantation."

Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is ranked as one of the most widespread life-shortening genetic diseases. The lung disease results from clogging of the airways due to mucosa build-up, which causes inflammation. Inflammation and infection cause injury and structural changes to the lungs, leading to a variety of medical problems. Respiratory failure is the most common cause of death.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Wish comes true for kids on flight to North Pole

isaac Evans has it all: A stocking and a visit from Santa in Richmond aboard the Children's Wish Foundation annual flight to the North Pole in search of Santa on Dec. 16.

Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province

By Lena Sin, The Province, British Columbia, Canada

“Welcome to Flight 960 to the North Pole,” Capt. Pierre Bergeron announced over the intercom.

“Yeah kids, you heard me right, we’re goin’ to the North Pole!”

Buckled up and ready for takeoff, the 47 “wish kids” and their families erupted in deafening screams and applause as the Air Transat flight started to taxi down the runway.

The festive, 90-minute flight was sponsored by Air Transat and organized by the Children’s Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Two-year-old Aiden Phillips was among the lucky kids who left Vancouver International Airport at noon aboard the Flight in Search of Santa on Wednesday.

After watching him undergo a liver transplant at the age of six months and spend 20 days in intensive care last year after a severe allergic reaction to his medication, his mother, Lonnie Phillips, was relieved to be spending time with her family away from the hospital.

“We persevered and made it through, and now finally he’s growing and talking,” she said. “It’s really nice to be all together and do something special.

“It’s just really exciting to see the glow on their faces.”

After searching for Santa to no avail, the kids started to feel restless and began chanting, “We want Santa! We want Santa!”

Their wish was granted when Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus burst into the aisles, followed by a gaggle of elves who helped hand out gifts.

Three-year-old Aliza Hassan’s eyes widened as she was handed a stocking full of stickers, toys and sweets.

“I have a ring pop!” she squealed joyously, as she began opening her gifts.

Aliza received a bone-marrow transplant last year after being diagnosed with a blood disorder, explained her father, Khwaja Hassan.

“It’s been very, very tough, lots of time in the hospital,” he said. “But she’s having great fun now.”

This is the fourth straight year that Air Transat has sponsored the Flight in Search of Santa. In addition, they presented the Children’s Wish Foundation with a check for $850,000 on Wednesday.

“It’s amazing. Some of these kids have never been on a plane before, so to see them up in the sky to find Santa is pretty incredible,” said Rod Ramage, Air Transat’s regional manager for Western Canada.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Scientists record first injured human donor lungs repair with gene therapy

This ground-breaking research in lung transplantation will have a global impact and I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see the initial lung perfusion technique being perfected using pig lungs. The senior scientist leading this research, Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, is the surgeon that performed my lung transplant more than 7 years ago and I am very pleased to report on this outstanding success.

Scientists hope to reduce inflammation in lungs donated for transplantation by maintaining them in a special perfusion chamber and using gene therapy to administer interleukin-10. (Photo credit: Nathan Sulyma, RN/Toronto General Hospital)

FOR the first time in the world, transplant surgeons at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Canada, used a new technique to repair an injured donor lung that was unsuitable for transplant, and then successfully transplanted it into a patient. They said the use of this technique could significantly expand the lung donor organ pool and improve outcome after transplantation. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes with agency reports.
Chukwuma Muanya The Guardian

FOR the first time, scientists in the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network, Canada, have successfully used gene therapy to repair injured human donor lungs, making them potentially suitable for transplantation into patients. This technique could significantly expand the number of donor lungs by using organs that are currently discarded, and improve outcomes after transplantation.


In their pioneering work, a team of researchers led by Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, above, Senior Scientist at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network and Director of the Lung Transplant Program, University Health Network developed a technique of ex vivo gene delivery to donor lungs, before they are implanted into a recipient's body.

The technique was shown to be simple and effective in improving lung function. Their results, "Functional Repair of Human Donor Lungs by IL-10 Gene Therapy," are published in the October 28, 2009 edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

"This work is a big step in using regenerative strategies to repair injured lungs," says Keshavjee, who is also Director, Latner Thoracic Research Laboratories and Professor and Chair, Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto. "For the first time, we hope to improve the health of donor lungs that we could not have used before by using gene therapy to decrease inflammation and repair cells before transplantation."

Keshavjee also emphasizes that clinical trials on humans would be the next step in testing this promising approach before it could be used on patients waiting for lung transplants. In these future clinical trials, lungs repaired with the gene therapy will be offered to patients waiting for a life-saving lung transplant.

The process of gene therapy used on injured lungs will be carefully explained to the patients and, if they consent, the patients will be potentially transplanted with the repaired lungs should no other suitable donor lungs become available.

"This work opens the door for a variety of therapies that could potentially be applied to repair various injuries in other donor organs to improve the safety and outcome of transplants," adds Keshavjee.

Using a novel approach to overcome some of the challenges of gene therapy, the researchers first developed a strategy to preserve lungs at normal body temperature, with the lungs kept outside the body in a protective dome.

The Toronto XVIVO Lung Perfusion System continuously pumps a bloodless solution of oxygen, proteins and nutrients into injured donor lungs, mimicking normal physiological conditions. This makes it possible for the injured cells to begin repairing themselves, and also sets the stage for more sophisticated repair techniques to be applied to donor lungs.

Working with pig and then human donor lungs, which were unsuitable for transplantation, the researchers first placed the lungs on the Toronto XVIVO Lung Perfusion System to warm them to normal body temperature. Then, using a specially engineered adenovirus vector -- a common cold virus -- the researchers used a bronchoscope to inject the vector with an added IL-10 gene through the windpipe into the human lungs.

The study found that lungs maintained on the Toronto Lung Perfusion System alone, the control group, did not deteriorate and remained stable. However, the donor lungs that received the gene therapy, in addition to the ex vivo perfusion, significantly improved their function with regards to blood flow throughout the lungs and their ability to take in fresh oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. The boosted IL-10 effect lasts for up to 30 days in the lung.

The authors state that transplanting lungs which function better from the start would lead to more predictable, safer outcomes, shorter periods of mechanical ventilation and shorter intensive care unit stays for patients.

"It's as if gene therapy turbocharges each individual cell to manufacture many more proteins in its own IL-10 factory," explains Keshavjee, "This protein down-regulates or decreases the inflammatory potential of cells injured before and during the transplant process. It also has the capacity to turn down the recipient's immune system which rejects the transplanted organ."

The IL-10 gene is found normally in animal and human cells, and plays a role in inhibiting the immune response to infection or foreign materials such as transplanted organs. The researchers found that the lungs begin producing the new IL-10 anti-inflammatory proteins about six hours after insertion.

More than 80 per cent of potential donor lungs are injured and show inflammation during the process of brain death and intensive care related complications, and cannot be used for transplantation. Moreover, inflammation and organ rejection are the two main complications after transplant surgery.

"Everything we can do to prevent lung injury, especially in the first 72 critical hours after surgery, would have a significant impact on survival and quality of life after transplantation," notes Dr. Marcelo Cypel, a transplant surgical fellow at Toronto General Hospital who is the first author of the paper. Cypel adds that patients who have severe early lung injury are at greater risk of dying after surgery, and have higher rates of organ rejection later on.

Currently, more than 50 patients are waiting for either a lung or heart-lung transplant in Ontario, Canada. About 20 per cent of those on the wait list will die before they receive a lung transplant. In Canada, the number of people waiting for a lung transplant has doubled in the past 10 years, with 252 Canadians waiting to receive a lung transplant in 2006, compared to 119 in 1997. Two hundred and ninety-nine (299) Canadians died while waiting for a lung transplant between 1997 and 2006.

It is estimated that the number of donor organs available for lung transplants could easily be doubled with this technique to treat and improve donor lungs.

Other members of the team who contributed to this study include: Mingyao Liu, Matt Rubacha, Jonathan Young, Shin Hirayama, Masaki Anraku, Masaaki Sato, Marc de Perrot, Thomas Waddell of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and the University of Toronto; Jeffrey Medin, Ontario Cancer Institute, Princess Margaret Hospital; and Arthur Slutsky, St. Michael's Hospital.

The study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Center for Gene Therapy, National Institutes of Health, U.S.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Mayo Clinic partners for patient housing

One of the major roadblocks for patients traveling to distant centers for treatment is the financial hardships they face with expenses for travel, housing and meals, etc. At the same time they must maintain their existing residence back home. The Mayo Clinic Florida and it's partners are to be congratulated for this initiative that will be certain to help lift the burden of worry for transplant and cancer patients.

Jacksonville Business Journal

JACKSONVILLE — Mayo Clinic Florida and St. Andrew’s Lighthouse say they are partnering to build an $8.8 million extended-stay facility to house cancer and organ transplant patients and their families.

The Gabriel House of Care, a 30-bedroom hospitality house, will be built on a 4.5-acre lakeside site on Mayo Clinic’s campus in Jacksonville. It will be leased to and managed by St. Andrew’s Lighthouse, a Jacksonville not-for-profit that provides extended-stay housing to patients visiting local hospitals for specialized medical treatment.

Mayo Clinic is raising $13.5 million for the project, some of which will fund future operations and expansion. St. Andrew’s Lighthouse is also embarking on a campaign to raise funds to support the operational needs of the house.

The facility has been named in honor of an organ donor to Jorge and Leslie Bacardi of Nassau, Bahamas, who made the lead gift. Jorge Bacardi was the recipient of an organ who they named “Gabriel” before later learning that the donor was Christopher Gregory, a 19-year-old student from Baltimore, Md., who died from a brain aneurysm.

Ground breaking for the facility is set for March. Construction is expected to take about a year.

Both Mayo Clinic and St. Andrew’s Lighthouse representatives say the growing number of patients residing in Jacksonville for extended periods has created a need for specialized housing, similar to the hospitality houses Mayo Clinic has at its hospitals in Arizona and Minnesota.

Joan Weber, project director at Mayo Clinic, said the hospital will perform about 330 transplants by the end of the year.

“We knew from the time we started that we needed something bigger in order to meet the need,” said Ed Asher, executive director of St. Andrew’s Lighthouse, which also works with Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital and the University of Florida Proton Beam Research Institute. “Mayo’s transplant center has grown to one of the largest transplant centers in the country, so a lot of people are traveling here, and housing is a big component of that because they don’t always know how long they will be here.”

Depending on the treatment protocol, cancer patients may stay for six-to-eight weeks, but transplant patients waiting for a donor are frequently required to be on call in the immediate area, meaning their stay could be weeks to months or longer. Hotels can become very expensive, and the two existing St. Andrews houses are only able to house eight families.

The Gabriel House will be designed to be as much like a home as possible with furnished bedrooms with a private bathroom and full access to amenities including a stocked family kitchen, laundry and living room. There will also be an industrial kitchen for large events, in addition to meeting rooms for support groups, a library, chapel, game room, computer lab and exercise facility. The idea behind so many common areas is that patients and their families who are going through similar treatments can share their experiences and provide support to each other.

“It can be a really hard experience,” Asher said. “People come scared and sick, and so we try to make it as homey as possible.”

Weber said the unique needs of patients and their families for affordable, extended-stay housing makes Gabriel House a great benefit to patients.

“This has been a long-term goal of ours and we’re glad to see it come to fruition,” Weber said.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Record breaking 13 kidney swap transplants

26 Operations, 13 Kidneys: Hope To Few With Little

Kidney exchanges widens the pool of potential donor organs. Patients find a friend or relative who isn't compatible with them but will donate on their behalf, and the pairs are mixed and matched and a domino effect begins.

This amazing pioneering effort by Georgetown University Hospital to expand kidney transplants was documented by AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard. Read the story at the following link: 26 operations, 13 kidneys

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Run the NYC Half-Marathon with The Fresh Air Fund! March 21st

On March 21st, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers will take to the streets at the NYC Half-Marathon! Thank you to the Fresh Air Fund-Racers and their supporters for participating in this world class event. You are making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Fresh Air children!

One of my favorite charities is the Fresh Air Fund that makes it possible for boys and girls, six to 12 years old, who reside in low-income communities in New York City enjoy the experience of spending two weeks of life outside the city each summer.

(The half-marathon is a major fundraiser but the Fresh Air Fund relies on donations this time of year to keep programs strong for the summer months)

This year's campaign has been a huge success according to the following I just received from Sara Wilson, Outreach Coordinator for the Fresh Air Fund and it warms my heart to see that so many children were able to get away from their tough neighborhoods to enjoy the pleasures of the country.

Hi Merv

I hope you're doing well this holiday season. The Fresh Air Fund is looking for runners and sponsors to join our Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Half-Marathon this coming March 21st and I was hoping you might be able to post something about it on Merv Sheppard’s Transplant Network to share with your readers. This is a great way to participate in NYC's premier summer road race while helping Fresh Air Fund children.

Over the last year, support from friends like you helped us give nearly 10,000 inner-city children country experiences that they're still talking about! We rely on donations this time of year to keep our programs strong for the summer months, and helping children is a cause that I'm sure your readers would be interested in. Please feel free to repost anything from our news site here:

http://freshairholiday.org

Note: from the above link you can register for the NYC half-marathon, make a donation or get more information. Merv.

Please let me know if you are able to post or tweet and if you could send me the link that would be wonderful. Together we can help make sure these children have everything they need!

Thank you so much and have a happy holiday,

Sara
--
Sara Wilson,
The Fresh Air Fund
sara@freshair.org
http://www.freshair.org

*********

The story of Brandon Mendoza and the McKnight family

Brandon Mendoza was just a young child when he first visited the McKnight family in Cape Cod, Massachusetts through The Fresh Air Fund's Friendly Town program. Little did anyone know that the relationship formed that first summer would blossom into a lifelong friendship. To this day, the McKnights remain a constant source of support and love for Brandon and feel that he is now just another member of the family.

Check out Brandon's story below!

Metabolic Syndrome Prevalent After Liver Transplant

But literature review finds evidence is inconclusive on syndrome's impact on long-term survival

(HealthDay News) -- Patients who receive liver transplants are at high risk for developing metabolic syndrome and resulting cardiovascular complications, but the impact on mortality and long-term survival are inconclusive, according to a review in the December Liver Transplantation.

Mangesh Pagadala, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and colleagues conducted a literature review on the development of metabolic syndrome among transplant patients, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus and obesity, all of which can contribute to cardiovascular complications and mortality. The reviewers examined 21 studies and identified risk factors for metabolic syndrome and its constituent conditions, and assessed patient outcomes for those developing metabolic syndrome.

The researchers note that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome ranged from 43 to 58 percent among post-transplant patients. Among the risk factors for developing post-transplant metabolic syndrome were immunosuppression, older age at transplant, male sex, smoking history, higher pre-transplant body mass index, pre-transplant diabetes, the type of liver disease resulting in the transplant (hepatitis C, cryptogenic cirrhosis, or alcohol), and marital status. The reviewers further found that despite cardiovascular risk, potential organ rejection, and infection risk among transplant patients with metabolic syndrome, the effects on long-term survival and mortality were inconclusive.

"Strategies to reduce the development of metabolic syndrome after transplantation should include lifestyle modifications involving alterations in diet and increased physical activity. Additional measures that may be potentially beneficial include the use of lipid-lowering agents, the optimal control of blood glucose, and the use of tacrolimus instead of cyclosporine," the authors write.

Read the abstract or full text.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Mom tells of daughter's gifts of life

300 business leaders ring the Bells of Christmas at the ninth annual Bells on Toronto's Bay St.

Leaders inspired to register consent for organ  donation

Three hundred business leaders took time from the hustle and bustle of attending holiday gatherings and trying to find the perfect gift for loved ones, to reflect this morning upon the urgent need to make one other vital gift - registration of consent to be an organ and tissue donor. They were participating in Intriciti's ninth annual Bells on Bay St at the Toronto Board of Trade. This festive event provides Toronto business leaders with an opportunity to reflect and demonstrate that having values and faith does not happen only on Sunday.

Under the theme "A Christmas Card", this year's Christmas program took participants on a touching journey led by guest speaker Diane Craig, President of Corporate Class Inc., a donor mother and member of the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) Board of Directors.

Ms Craig spoke about the tragedy of losing her daughter Sandrine 10 years ago and how through Sandrine's death she gave the gift of life through organ and tissue donation. Ms. Craig urged business leaders to register consent to donate organs and tissues and to 'spend some quiet time with the Holy Spirit' that's in all of us.

"I have the highest regard for Intriciti. It is an organization that has helped so many integrate faith into their daily business affairs. And, I am proud to say that, in both my professional and personal life, my relationship with Intriciti certainly has had a remarkable and positive impact. I am delighted to have spoken at this event and welcome the opportunity to inspire people to register their consent for organ and tissue donation," she said.

Each business leader was given 12 Gift of Life Consent Forms, symbolizing the 12 days of Christmas.

"Together with Intriciti, we are inspiring business leaders throughout the city to make a difference. We want them to take those forms and connect through their business and personal networks to encourage the people they know to help save a life by registering consent to donate. It only takes a few minutes and your decision to register consent could save up to eight lives and enhance as many as 75 others," said Frank Markel, President and CEO of TGLN.

The need to register consent and discuss the decision with family members and friends is great: approximately 1,700 men, women and children in Ontario are waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

"We all have the power to save and enhance lives through the gift of organ and tissue donation. Bells on Bay St. provides a wonderful forum to discuss the issues we face in donation and transplantation and offers an opportunity for business leaders to show their support by registering their consent," said Dr. Bob Bell, President of University Health Network (UHN), and Dr. Gary Levy, Director of Multi-Organ Transplant Program at the University Health Network, who participated in the event.

Through its philanthropic practice area, Intriciti is committed to assisting both faith based and non faith based charitable organizations.

You can register consent to donate organs and tissue by visiting your local Service Ontario Health Card Services - OHIP office or outreach centre where you renew your health card. You can also register by downloading and filling out a Gift of Life Consent Form from http://www.giftoflife.on.ca and mailing it to the address on the form.

If you've already signed your donor card, please also register your decision to ensure that it is recorded in a database and can be made available around the clock. Please also share your decision with your family.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

"New Life Rises" - theme for Donate Life Rose Parade Float

The Rose Parade has been a must watch for me on New Year's Day for as long as I can remember and it has taken on special meaning since my lung transplant and involvement in organ donation awareness and transplantation. My favorite station to watch the parade is KTLA out of Los Angeles who take us behind the scenes before the parade starts and broadcasts all day long. Many cable companies, etc. carry KTLA as a super station. Rogers Cable in my area has it as a digital channel.


The 2010 Donate Life Rose Parade Float started to take shape this past Saturday as donor family members from around the country, California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employees and members of Southern California’s Asian community began decorating the Donate Life Rose Parade float, New Life Rises. Family members representing 30 donors designated as floragraphs -- artistic portraits created with floral materials –arrived from around the country for the opportunity to create loved ones’ portraits that will grace the float.

Participants:

Floragraph Decorators: 16 friends and family of Todd Sato of Los Angeles, who was both a heart recipient and an organ and tissue donor; friends and family of two Bakersfield-area donors: Jeffrey Johns (Bakersfield) and Jack Cardinal (Caliente). Other donor families will journey from Ohio, Idaho, Montana, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arkansas, Nebraska and Washington to decorate the beautiful images of their loved ones.

California DMV: Two dozen employees have volunteered to come at their own expense from Bell Gardens, El Cajon, El Monte, Fresno, Pomona, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Teresa and Victorville, includingClaire Sims of Sacramento, whose aunt donated a kidney to her husband, and Staycie Monsma of Riverside, a liver recipient. The California DMV plays a vital role in the success of the state organ and tissue donor registry.

Donate Life volunteers: Among those decorating the float will be Donate Life Ambassador Melissa Choi (Rowland Heights) and family in memory of her father, organ donor David Choi; Caroline Hong (Shadow Hills), liver transplant coordinator at UCLA Medical Center; Dave Kim(La Canada), president of the Korean Organ Donor Program, Chung Suk Kim (Los Angeles), kidney recipient and Sun Chin (Fullerton), liver recipient who will be joined by Korean youth; members of Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation (Arcadia); and Bernice Goh (Claremont), wife of donor Ernest Goh, whose organs saved five lives.

Details: Spearheaded by Donate Life America member OneLegacy, the Donate Life Rose Parade Float is supported by nearly 60 official partners from across the nation, including organ and tissue recovery organizations, for-profit contributors, transplant centers, and transplant recipient organizations. Donate Life salutes the importance of the Hispanic community’s contribution to organ, tissue and blood donation by also presenting the float’s logo in Spanish, “Done Vida.” The 121st Rose Parade, themed New Life Rises, will take place on Friday, Jan. 1, 2010, at 8:00 am PST, featuring majestic floral floats and spirited marching bands. For more information about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float and to see an artistic rendering of the float, visit http://www.donatelifefloat.org

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Boy, 13, waits for heart transplant - mother struggles to make ends meet

By NATHAN TAYLOR Packet & Times, Orillia, Ontario

"There's nothing they can really do."

That's a difficult thing to say for a mother who has watched her young son's serious medical condition worsen.

Petar Mitev, a Grade 8 student at Orchard Park Public School, is on a waiting list for a heart transplant. Petar, who is developmentally delayed and autistic, has a rare condition known as restrictive cardiomyopathy, which limits blood flow to the heart.

In an interview a month ago, Petar's mom, Nena Miteva, spoke about the cost pressures of having to drive her son to and from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

Insurance from work had been cut off, she said, and her car was repossessed because she couldn't make the payments.

The community has offered its support in various ways -- cash donations, volunteer drivers and a donated defibrillator -- but the support isn't keeping pace with Petar's deteriorating condition.

The single mother, who is on leave from work, takes Petar to Toronto every two weeks and has had to take him to the local emergency department a few times in the past month.

"He's getting worse," she said. "Yesterday (Monday), I had to carry him from the house to the taxi."

As well as the on-and-off pain Petar suffers in various parts of his body, the restrictive cardiomyopathy puts stress on his liver, which enlarges.

A doctor told her Petar's heart "could stop beating anytime, any moment, and there's nothing they can do about it because there's no medicine, no cure for it."

"I love my son. I breathe for that kid. I live for that kid," Miteva said. "I'm praying that he'll get his heart."

Even if her prayers are answered, "no one can guarantee his body will accept the new heart," she said.

"If he gets too weak, they won't do the surgery because he won't survive it," she said.

Yesterday was Petar's 13th birthday. The soft-spoken teen's popularity with staff and students at Orchard Park was evident when they sang Happy Birthday after he got off the bus.

"He was so happy. He's just so full of life," Miteva said.

On the weekend, she held a birthday party for Petar -- something she's hoping to do again next year, understanding 40% of children with cardiomyopathy die within the first two years of diagnosis.

"I don't know if he's going to live until then," she said. "I'm not ready to give him back to God. He's too young. He's suffered all his life."

Donations can be dropped off at Orchard Park (24 Calverley St.). For more information, call the school at 705-325-7772.

So far, people have donated anything from $20 to $200. The Washago Lioness Club recently donated $200. Also, Bodel Communications Inc. gave hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards for various purposes, including gas, groceries and clothes.

"The community here is awesome. They're really helpful," Miteva said, thanking everyone who has helped.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be a Donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Students rally to help one of their own with heart transplant expenses

Huron Heights Secondary School teacher Sheila Weidinger (right) with students Marco de Bruyn (left), 16, and Brandon Parsons (center), 18, are raising money for Brandon Grimaldi's medical costs.

Photo: Peter Lee, Record Staff

BY LUISA D’AMATO Waterloo Region Record, Ontario, Canada

KITCHENER — Dozens of students at Huron Heights Secondary School have never even met fellow student Brandon Grimaldi, but they’re working hard to raise thousands of dollars for him anyway.

Grimaldi, 14, had heart surgery earlier this year after suffering childhood health problems since he was born. He needs $2,000 a month in medication, mostly to make sure his body doesn’t reject the new heart.

But his family has maxed out their drug plan at $800 for the year. They’re working on getting better coverage through the government, but it hasn’t happened yet, and Grimaldi can’t wait.

Once students at the school heard there was a problem, they blitzed the region, asking stores for items that could be sold at a silent auction Dec. 8 to benefit Brandon and his family.

They’ve raised $1,700 in cash already, and have about 200 items to sell next week. Students will run the silent auction at the school from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. It is open to the public.

“I think it’s really good that we’re helping a student in our own school,” said Marco de Bruyn, 16.

He doesn’t know Grimaldi, but “he looks like a nice kid,” he said.

“He’s one of our own,” agreed fellow student Tasha Connell, also 16.

“I see him in the halls and he always has a smile on his face.”

Both Marco and Tasha are students of Sheila Weidinger, who teaches marketing and business leadership at Huron Heights. Weidinger got the idea to help Grimaldi after talking with his guidance counsellor.

She routinely has her marketing students plan and carry out fundraising projects. This year, the class voted to help Grimaldi instead of choosing a charity.

Grimaldi’s family says he isn’t comfortable being in the public spotlight, but he is grateful for the help and support.

“It’s overwhelming to see how these kids have all come together,” Weidinger said.

She pointed out that some of her most enthusiastic and effective fundraisers are the students who are not usually motivated by school assignments.

“They were so excited,” she said. “It’s always so rewarding when you can reach the student who may not necessarily enjoy classes and school, but they feel good about their ability to help someone else.”

Students got cash donations from some companies, and gift items from others, such as a hockey stick from former Leafs captain Mats Sundin, jewelry, spa packages, an autographed Kitchener Rangers jersey, and a day out in Toronto, including tickets to a show.

The big gifts were meaningful, but so were some of the smaller ones, like the $5 in change that one student dug out of his pocket for the cause, Weidinger said.

“They have made me unbelievably proud,” she said.

“They look at Brandon as one who’s really struggled and persevered, and come through. They admire him.”

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

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Three Rivers a no-flow on CBS - cancelled?

It's sad to see that a TV medical program promoting organ donation and transplantation did not attract enough viewers. It's suggested the reason is because someone had to die for someone else to live and that someone dying every week was just too much for the public to swallow.

By Tom Jicha SunSentinel.com

It looks like the end of the line for Three Rivers, the first season medical drama about organ transplant specialists on CBS.

The network has pulled the show from the schedule for all of December, putting it in the nebulous category of "on hiatus."

CBS has a long history of not using the "C" word. Rather than admit failure by announcing a series as canceled, the network just puts them on hiatus; out of sight and out of mind. Come May, when the new fall season is announced, these shows are acknowledged as not returning.

This coming Sunday, Cold Case will move to the 9 p.m. slot, followed by a rerun of NCIS: Los Angeles.

On Dec. 13, a Criminal Minds rerun will follow Cold Case.

On Dec. 27, a rerun of Jesse Stone: Thin Ice will air 8-10 p.m. followed by Cold Case.

CBS has not announced its programming on Dec. 20 but that looks like the likely spot for the climactic episode of Survivor: Samoa and its reunion show.

There are countless reasons why a show fails. A serious issue with Three Rivers was the fact that in most episodes, someone had to die for someone else to live. Characters have to die occasionally for a medical show to have credibility. But every week was probably too much.

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

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Rare heart infection killed German exchange student

This is a very sad story about a young girl who died from a heart infection. 15% of those affected with viral myocarditis will need a heart transplant or else they will die. In Hannah Hinrichsen's case time was not on her side.

Special to The Herald - FILE. Hannah Hinrichsen, 16, a foreign exchange student who came to South Pointe High from Germany, died on Oct. 28.

By Shawn Cetrone Heraldonline, South Carolina

A South Pointe High School foreign exchange student whose unexpected death in October shocked friends and family died from a rare heart infection, York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said.

An autopsy determined Hannah Hinrichsen, 16, of Germany had viral myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart muscle that affects roughly one in 10,000 people and often goes undetected.

The disease ranges in severity, said John Reed, an assistant professor of pediatric cardiology at the Medical University of South Carolina. Of those who contract it, about 15 percent must have a heart transplant or die, he said.

The infection, which generally brings symptoms similar to the flu, is difficult to detect.

Viral myocarditis is the cause in 15 percent to 20 percent of unexplained deaths of children and young adults, Reed said.

“It's an unfortunate reminder that otherwise minor viral infections can occasionally have severe consequences,” he said. “There really wasn't anything that should've been done ahead of time.”

Hinrichsen, an 11th-grader, woke up on Oct. 28 with a headache and feeling nauseous, so she stayed home from school, her host mother, Barbara Moseley, said. During the day, Moseley went to check on her to see if she was hungry and found her dead.

Moseley met Hinrichsen over the summer, after clicking on a Web ad for Youth For Understanding, a nonprofit international education program that places foreign exchange students with host families.

After a criminal background check, interviews and a home inspection, Moseley was given several student profiles to choose from. The description for Hinrichsen, who lived on a farm in northern Germany near the Baltic Sea, said she was an evangelical Christian.

“She just sounded interesting,” Moseley said in an interview with The Herald on Oct. 31.

Hinrichsen arrived in August, two weeks before school started.

An early autopsy failed to determine how she died. Gast had warned that pathologists might never find a cause. But last week, she received the final report and shared it with Moseley.

“At least now we know,” said Moseley. “I'm relieved to know what the answer is.”
Moseley said she still is grieving but is relieved to know there's nothing she could have done to prevent Hinrichsen's death.

Moseley was taken to the hospital the day after Hinrichsen's memorial at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill. Struggling with stress and grief, she suffered a strained heart muscle. She's out of the hospital and feels better, she said.

Hinrichsen's parents, who flew in for the memorial, have kept in touch. Moseley plans to visit them next year.

In her short time at South Pointe, students said, Hinrichsen's beaming smile, quick wit and outgoing personality attracted many friends.

The day after Hinrichsen died, the school was in tears. Classes were halted. Counselors consoled students, many of whom were too distraught to focus on their lessons. Groups gathered in rooms around campus to grieve.

Dozens of Hinrichsen's friends huddled in a hallway outside the chorus room sharing memories of Hannah, trading cell phone photos and crying on each others' shoulders.

A Facebook page titled “In Loving Memory of Hannah Hinrichsen” has 1,190 members from around the world, many of whom have posted photos, video, condolences and comments about how she touched their lives.

The page's description reads: “Hannah, you were in the SP family for 3 months but you have touched many hearts forever. You always had a smile on your face, and no matter what you saw the positive in everything and everyone. We will never forget you. Your friends and families, both biological and host, are in our prayers. We love you.

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

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

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

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

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

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.