Latest Organ donation Stories

New study shows liver cancer patients are less likely to die on wait list than candidates without cancer Patients with end-stage liver disease complicated by the most common type of liver cancer — hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) — are less likely to die or become too sick for a transplant while waiting for a new liver than those with other complications of end-stage liver disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The...

Finding should encourage more donor paired exchanges, or kidney swaps People with kidney failure may think that they're better off getting a new kidney from a young and spry donor, but a recent study indicates that for those over 39 years old, the age of a live donor—ranging from 18 to 64 years—has an insignificant effect on the long-term health of a transplanted kidney. The study's results appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN)....

HOUSTON, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Texas Children's Hospital announced today that doctors recently performed a rare double organ transplant to save the life of Tyler Nelson, a 17 year old patient with cystic fibrosis. The wait is over for Nelson who has lived in Houston during a 16-month wait for a double organ transplant of lungs and liver. Tyler received those life-saving organs at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston on Feb. 29, 2012. Doctors are optimistic about...

A Michigan State University anthropologist who spent more than a year infiltrating the black market for human kidneys has published the first in-depth study describing the often horrific experiences of poor people who were victims of organ trafficking. Monir Moniruzzaman interviewed 33 kidney sellers in his native Bangladesh and found they typically didn’t get the money they were promised and were plagued with serious health problems that prevented them from working, shame and...

Organ transplant patients usually spend a lifetime on expensive and often dangerous anti-rejection drugs. But experts have announced that such drugs may not even be needed in the future, thanks to a new study that suggests patients receiving an organ that is less than a perfect match can be protected against rejection by a second transplant of the donor’s imperfectly matched stem cells. The study is being hailed as a game-changer for transplantation. Experts announced the success of...

TORONTO, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - BestLifeRewarded(®) and The Kidney Foundation of Canada are pleased to announce their collaboration to raise awareness of kidney disease and what can be done to improve both early detection and prevention. The Kidney Foundation of Canada is the national volunteer organization committed to reducing the burden of kidney disease through funding and stimulating innovative research; providing education and support; promoting access to high...

There is good news for the 27,000 plus people around the world who donate a kidney each year. A study which followed living kidney donors for 10 years found that they were at no greater risk for heart disease than the healthy general population. Led by Dr. Amit Garg, a researcher at Lawson Health Research Institute and nephrologist at London Health Sciences Centre, the results provide important safety reassurances to donors, their recipients and health care professionals. In the general...

Research: Cardiovascular disease in kidney donors: Matched cohort study Living kidney donors are at no greater risk of heart disease than the healthy general population, finds a study published on bmj.com today. The results provide important safety reassurances to donors, their recipients and transplant professionals. In the general population, there is a strong link between reduced kidney function and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Given that people who donate a kidney...

--Recovery is second of its kind in Texas -- FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LifeGift, one of the three not-for-profit organ and tissue recovery organizations based in Texas, announced today that it has coordinated the recovery of its first hand to be used in a transplant. The donation, which took place at JPS Health Network, is the second of its kind in Texas. Referred to as vascularized composite allograft, the hand will be used to restore function...

47-Year-Old Father of One Waited for Matching Donor Heart at Home for 3 Months Using Freedom® Portable Driver Tucson, AZ (PRWEB) February 15, 2012 Gregory Welsh, 47, is a compelling example of the life-changing importance of organ donation. Following a car accident in 1996, he made the decision to donate his wife’s organs in hopes of helping others. Fifteen years later, Mr. Welsh’s gift came full circle when he received a donor heart transplant after 120 days of life with the...