September 10th, 2011 by Medgadget in Research
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Packing hearts on ice destined for transplantation may eventually become a thing of the past. The Organ Care System from TransMedics, which delivers a still-beating heart to a transplant patient, continues to show promise in clinical trials. UCLA recently reported that Rob Evans, a 61-year-old patient suffering from cardiomyopathy, is the most recent recipient of a heart delivered by the device.
We’ve actually covered the Organ Care System (OCS) several times before (we first caught wind of it in 2006). The device, however, is still classified as an investigational device by the FDA; it is undergoing phase II clinical trials in the United States at three sites: the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, and New York-Presbyterian, Columbia University Medical Center.
Check out the UCLA press release explaining the technology and its use in the university’s Heart Transplant Program: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
July 18th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in Video
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Lloyd Ratner, MD, Director of Renal and Pancreatic Transplantation at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, has released a highly informative YouTube video regarding kidney donation and transplantation. The video is addressed to prospective patients, kidney donors, and families, and provides clear answers to their most common concerns.
In this direct and engaging presentation, Dr. Ratner addresses topics such as the advantages of living donor kidney donation; laparoscopic and open surgical techniques; what donors and recipients should expect during and after surgery; post-operative pain and follow-up; and post-donation pregnancy. The full seventeen-minute video can be seen here:
About Kidney Donation
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
June 4th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in News
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New York Times article highlights transplant donor and recipients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
UK NHS Organ Donation Checkbox
As organ transplantation has advanced and improved in recent decades, more and more patients’ lives are saved every year. But the most pressing problem in organ transplantation has yet to be solved: the shortage of donor organs available to the thousands of people waiting on lists for a new kidney, liver, lung, heart, or other organ. People who intend to donate may not indicate their wishes to family members before their death, or families are reluctant to make that decision in the midst of profound grief and loss. For others, donating an organ was just never something they knew much about or even considered.
When they do choose to donate a loved one’s organs, families usually remain anonymous, as do those whose lives they save. Perhaps that is why articles like the one in the New York Times on May 16, 2011, touch and inspire readers so deeply. This version of an increasingly common story captures the essential soul-searching, as well as the profound gratitude, hope, and solace, that marked the meeting of Mirtala Garcia and the people who received her husband’s organs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
July 15th, 2009 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Expert Interviews, Health Policy, News
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A team at Johns Hopkins has coordinated the world’s largest kidney swap, involving sixteen patients in multiple medical centers across the US. One of the donors was the vice president of human resources at Johns Hopkins Health System, a woman who has promoted organ donation and finally got a chance to do the ultimate charity work herself.
Johns Hopkins reports:
An altruistic donor started the domino effect. Altruistic donors are those willing to donate a kidney to any needy recipient. Just like falling dominoes, the altruistic donor kidney went to a recipient from one of the incompatible pairs, that recipient’s donor’s kidney went to a recipient from a second pair and so on. The last remaining kidney from the final incompatible pair went to a recipient who had been on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list.
As part of this complex procedure, Johns Hopkins flew one kidney to Henry Ford, one kidney to INTEGRIS Baptist and one kidney to Barnes-Jewish, In exchange, Henry Ford, INTEGRIS Baptists and Barnes Jewish each flew a kidney to Johns Hopkins.
The 16 surgeries were performed on four different dates, June 15, June 16, June 22 and July 6. The 10 surgeons in charge included four at Johns Hopkins, two at INTEGRIS Baptist, two at Barnes-Jewish and two at Henry Ford.
Johns Hopkins surgeons performed one of the first KPD transplants in the United States in 2001, the first triple-swap in 2003, the first double and triple domino transplant in 2005, the first five-way domino transplant in 2006 and the first six-way domino transplant in 2007. Johns Hopkins also performed the first multihospital, transcontinental three-way swap transplant in 2007 and the first multihospital, transcontinental six-way swap transplant in 2009.
Nearly 100 medical professionals took part in the transplants, including immunogeneticists, anesthesiologists, operating room nurses, nephrologists, transfusion medicine physicians, critical care doctors, nurse coordinators, technicians, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, financial coordinators and administrative support people.
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
October 28th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs, News
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A fascinating story from Reuters (h/t Dr. Wes):
Bernt Aune’s transplanted cornea has been in use for a record 123 years — since before the Eiffel Tower was built.
“This is the oldest eye in Norway — I don’t know if it’s the oldest in the world,” Aune, an 80-year-old Norwegian and former ambulance driver, told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. “But my vision’s not great any longer.”
He had a cornea transplanted into his right eye in 1958 from the body of an elderly man who was born in June 1885. The operation was carried out at Namsos Hospital, mid-Norway.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the oldest living organ in the world,” eye doctor Hasan Hasanain at Namsos hospital told the Norwegian daily Verdens Gang.
In the 1950s, doctors expected it to work for just five years, Hasanain said. Such cornea operations date back to the early 20th century and were among the first successful transplants.
