1- When was the first successful organ transplant done?

On December 23, 1954, Dr. Joseph E. Murray performed the first successful solid organ transplant at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, MA. The kidney was given by Ronald Herrick and transplanted into his identical twin, Richard Herrick.

2- When was the first successful heart transplant?

In 1967, Dr. Christiaan Barnard, in South Africa, performed the first successful heart transplant. That same year, the first successful liver transplant was performed by Dr. Thomas Starzl, of the University of Colorado, Denver, CO. It would take many more years when a heart/lung transplant was successfully completed in 1981, by Dr. Norman Shumway of Standford University Medical Center, in Palo Alto, CA.

3- Has an animal to human ever been done and has it been successful?

In 1992, a baboon’s liver transplanted into man dying of liver failure, at the University of Pittsburgh. He died  70 days after the transplant.

4- Do people waiting for organs really carry around beepers? Wouldn’t they be too sick to go anywhere?

Yes, in most cases, people who are waiting for a transplant carry around a tool that can ensure they are reachable at all times. Usually a beeper, it can go off at any time of the day or night.

While these people are extremely ill, they may be able to get out to get some fresh air, visit friends and family, and so on. In one particular case, in Montreal, there was a college student who carried around an artificial heart of sorts that kept him alive while he was waiting for a transplant.

5- what happens if I’m on a waiting list and an organ is available, but I’ve got a bad cold?

These decisions are made by the transplant team. It isn’t unusual though for surgeons to not go ahead with surgery if the patient is ill. Recovery from surgery in general is tough enough, but add to it the complexity and issues surrounding a transplant and a cold, this could be a very bad combination.

6- If my family donates, are we ever told what happens to the recipients?

Most programs have in place a method for you to communicate with the recipient families. Letters can be exchanged but the letters are reviewed by the coordinators to be sure that the relationship you’re forming with the recipients is a healthy one for both you and the recipient. In many cases, the families have met somewhere down the line when the program coordinators feel that this is a good thing for both parties.

7- If I donate a kidney to someone, can I get money for lost wages and such?

Organs can’t be bought or sold. Specific details about what costs are incurred should be discussed with the transplant coordination or procurement team.

8- Can I designate who would get my loved ones’ organs?

Not usually. The organ donation list is long and people are rated according to how sick they are and how badly they need the transplant. There are other issues as well. The person you may want to receive the organ may not be able to take it because the blood and tissue types may not match, the organs may not be the right size, or there may be other issues that come up, making the transplant impossible.

9- Can I leave my whole body instead of just a few organs?

Absolutely! There is more to donation and transplantation than just the “glamorous” parts (the heart, lungs, etc). Doctors can use the heart valves, body tissues, bones, skin, many parts of your body to help save or improve the lives up between 40 to 50 different people.

10- Where should I go to learn more about organ donation?

You can go to Donate Life to learn more.

~~~~~

Images: Stock.chnge

Post from: Blisstree

10 FAQs on donation and transplantation

When Tricia Carlisle-Northcutt, founder of Right Brain Strategies & PR , was 16 years old, she was diagnosed with an eye disorder called keratoconus . According to the National Keratoconus Foundation , “Keratoconus, often abbreviated to “KC”, is a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped cornea progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. This results in significant visual impairment.”

Blindness occurs if scarring becomes too thick and intrusive. Special types of contacts can help keep the cornea as healthy as possible, but it is a deteriorating condition.

Tricia explained, “As the disease progressed and my sight worsened, the surgeries were also improving and the success rate too.” When she was first diagnosed, cornea surgeries were not nearly as common as they are now. “Fortunately, I lived in Memphis at the time and an incredible eye surgeon, Dr.Tom Wood, was perfecting this surgery at University of Tennessee Medical University.”

At that point, she was legally blind, had just been accepted into law school – and was mother to a 3 year old. But, she was told there was at least a 2 to 3 year wait because she was 33 years old and the list was long. Tricia picks up the story again, “But God had a different plan than the doctors and my gift came on Easter morning with a 6 am call from the hospital to come immediately – a donor cornea was available. A young man was killed in a motorcycle accident and the next recepient in line could not make it in time. I was they only one who answered her phone and could go immediately! I was on the list less than a month.”

The corneal transplant changed Tricia’s life. She began writing books, painting and became founder and president of the Children’s Volunteer Health Network, Inc , a faith-based non-profit foundation that helps provide medical, mental, and dental care at no cost to the uninsured and underinsured children of Okaloosa and Walton County, FL. So far, they have helped over 650 children with 2000 appointments. These are children who may not have been helped had Tricia not received the gift of sight and followed this new path.

When asked if she thought of organ donation before her need for one, she responded, “I didn’t think about organ donation prior. It seemed ghoulish. But now it seems miraculous. My family and friends are 100% in favor of organ donations. When you see something first hand and know the ripple effect it creates you become part of something bigger.”

Tricia offers a challenge to Blisstree.com readers and their friends and families: how many lives can be saved by checking a box on a drivers license to donate organs?

A final word from Tricia: “I remain forever thankful to that man’s family.”

~~~

Click here to read more in this organ donation series.

Images: Stock.xchng (eye, contact, OR, signing)

Post from: Blisstree

The gift of sight – a cornea transplant

But what if – just what if – someone you loved became ill and the only way to survive was to receive an organ from someone else? Would those transplants and deaths only be happening to someone else?

Over 100,000 people in the U.S. need an organ transplant.

More than half of these individuals will die before an organ becomes available.

In the time it will take for 8,000 of these people to die, over 20,000 organs will be thrown away:  cremated or buried with their owners.

Source: LifeSharers.org

If you’ve ever wondered about the effectiveness of transplants, this article and those over the course of the month may inspire you to join in and sign your donor card. Transplants can help people to see again. Transplants can help people live again. Transplants can give you back the person you were losing.

Key Organ Donation Facts: What Everyone Should Know

• Over 6,000 Americans die every year while on the waiting list for a life-saving transplant — one every 90 minutes.
• The waiting list is growing 5 times as fast as the rate of organ donation.
• You are more likely to need an organ transplant than you are to die in circumstances that permit the donation your organs.
• No one is too old to be an organ donor.  People would rather live with an old organ than die waiting for a young one.
• No one is too sick to be an organ donor.  Ongoing advances in medical science mean that an organ that may not be transplantable today may very well be so five, ten or more years from now.

Source: LifeSharers.org

Let us know your story if you have one. If you read a story that touches you, please forward it on, help spread the word.

~~~~

Click here to read more in this organ donation series.

Images: iStock

Post from: Blisstree

Transplants happen to other people…

• Colombia – $90,000
• China – $130,000 – 160,000
• South Africa – $290,000
• South Korea – $290,000
• Taiwan – $290,000
• Singapore – $290,000

I wonder why the most common price is $290,000. Perhaps a body broker effect.

via Wired

Post from: Blisstree

How much does this heart cost?

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that regardless of the recipient’s original health status, a heart transplant from a hepatitis C positive donor results in lower survival for the recipient.

• 16.9% of recipients of virus-tainted hearts died after one year as compared to 8.2% of those who received non-infected hearts
• 25% of hepatitis C-infected heart recipients were alive after 10 years compared to 53% of those who received hearts free of the virus

For patients who are on life support and have limited time, a hepatitis C positive heart might be considered a “justified risk.” For others, it’s still best wait until new ways can be found to make infected hearts safe for transplant.

Forbes.com, October 17, 2006

Post from: Blisstree

Heart Transplants and Hepatitis C