organ donor

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Should We Lift Ban on HIV-Positive Organ Donors?

Organs would primarily be used for HIV-positive recipients, say proponents

(Newser) - The US has, as one doctor says, a "huge organ shortage"—but there is one way we could make 500 to 600 more livers and kidneys available each year: lift the ban on HIV-positive donors. A controversial move, yes, but some federal health officials and other experts think...

Boston Hospital Performs US' 1st Full Face Transplant

25-year-old construction worker gets new face

(Newser) - A Boston hospital has performed the nation's first full face transplant, the AP reports. Dallas Weins, a Texas construction worker badly disfigured and blinded in a 2008 power line accident, underwent a 15-hour operation in which parts of a deceased donor's face were transplanted onto his skull. Weins will not...

Patient Gets HIV From Kidney Transplant

Donor had unsafe sex after testing

(Newser) - The New York City recipient of a kidney from a live donor has contracted HIV from the transplant, the Wall Street Journal reports. It marks the first time the virus has been transmitted from a live donor since 1985, when a powerful test was approved to screen donors. The donor...

Christina Taylor Green's Corneas Save 2 Kids' Vision

Just another thing she's given world, says proud dad

(Newser) - Christina Taylor Green’s parents managed to find something “amazing” in the midst of the tragedy of her death: her donated corneas helped two other children to see. “The fact that her organs were able to help people, that was an amazing thing to me," John Green...

Christina's Organs Go to Girl in Boston

Tucson victim's dad would like to give recipient a hug

(Newser) - Christina Taylor Green gave one last time, in the form of some of her organs, which were donated to a little girl in Boston. "It was very poignant to find out. That's what Christina was all about," father John Green tells CNN. "It's a blessing." Green...

Should We Be Paying People for Organs?

Many never sign up to be donors—would this approach help?

(Newser) - In and around New York City, there are 7,800 people on organ transplant waiting lists; last year, only 682 of those people received organs. Despite the fact that there are thousands of bodies no longer in need of their organs, many of those organs aren’t viable transplant options—...

The Full Story of Steve Jobs' Liver Ordeal

How he put his wealth to work, and pushed to save others' lives, too

(Newser) - You can thank Steve Jobs' bum liver for the law California is about to pass that boosts organ donation. Jobs survived his bout with liver failure purely because he's rich, Business Insider reveals, and that bothered him. The Apple CEO was able to fly his private jet around the country,...

Brits Outraged Over Organ Donation Without Consent

Health secretary apologizes after organs removed without consent

(Newser) - Computer errors affecting the National Health Service's organ-donor registry led to the removal of organs from 21 people who had not given consent, and the UK health secretary has ordered "a review to find out why this has happened." The error in recording the preferences of 800,000...

ERs Grab Organs Faster From Accident Victims

Controversial program looks to increase transplants

(Newser) - A federal project exploring the securing of donor organs from patients who die in emergency rooms is raising questions of medical ethics. Traditionally, organs are not taken from ER patients and are removed only after all brain activity has ceased. The project, under way at two Pittsburgh hospitals, aims to...

Donating a Kidney Won't Shorten Your Life

Those who do might even live longer

(Newser) - People who donate a kidney don't need to worry about living shorter lives because of it. The 80,000 Americans who have donated a kidney since 1994 had a mortality rate equal—and sometimes better than—that of the general population, researchers found. They believe donors may sometimes live a...

Live Kidney Donors Should Be Encouraged, Not Doubted

Activist seeking organ gets help from friends

(Newser) - When Frances Kissling learned she needed a kidney transplant, she took a step most people in her situation never do: She asked dozens of friends and colleagues if they would be willing to donate. "I was bowled over by how people responded," the Catholic feminist activist writes for...

Richardson Lives on Through Donated Organs

Plus, Redgrave signs on for new film

(Newser) - Natasha Richardson’s death had the tiniest sliver of a silver lining: Her family donated her organs, the New York Post reports. “Doctors spent six hours harvesting all her organs. Some patient is going to wake up in the recovery room and start reciting Shakespeare,” said a source....

Man Finds Kidney Donor—on Craigslist

Normal wait would have been 6 years

(Newser) - Daniel Flood may owe his life to Craigslist—and his three tech-savvy daughters who posted a plea for a kidney on the classifieds site. After his lone kidney was damaged, Flood faced years of waiting for a donor matching his rare blood type. His daughters sifted through more than 100...

Docs Detail Near-Total Face Transplant

Unnamed patient now has 'face to face the world:' surgeon

(Newser) - Cleveland Clinic officials say the woman who underwent the most comprehensive face transplant yet exhausted conventional options before agreeing to the risky 22-hour procedure in which 80% of her face was replaced with a cadaver’s. The unnamed patient lacked a nose or palate and couldn’t eat or breathe...

Blood-Cell Mix Could Help in Transplants

Combining recipient, donor blood can halt rejection process

(Newser) - Scientists have found a technique that could eliminate the need for transplant patients to endure a regimen of powerful and side-effect-inducing anti-rejection drugs, the BBC reports. By mixing the patient's infection-fighting white blood cells with modified cells from the organ donor, the rejection process can be halted.

Racial 'Transplant Gap' Persists

Blacks more prone to kidney disease, get just 19% of transplants; many factors at play

(Newser) - Financial struggles and difficulty finding donors—as well as an unclear “transplant gap”—make African Americans less likely to get kidney transplants than whites, the Chicago Tribune reports. Many remain on dialysis, making daily life harder and increasing the risk of death. “You can explain most of...

Docs Pull Off 6-Kidney Swap
 Docs Pull Off 6-Kidney Swap 

Docs Pull Off 6-Kidney Swap

Johns Hopkins' 13-hour 'domino' session goes off without a hitch

(Newser) - In a procedure that took 13 hours and involved more than 100 medical personnel, Johns Hopkins Hospital pulled off the US' first six-way kidney transplant, the Baltimore Sun reports. Six donors provided six patients with working organs in Saturday's so-called "domino" procedure. All 12 were listed in good condition...

Tragic Bond Links Heart Donor, Recipient

Men married same woman, committed suicide 12 years apart

(Newser) - A Georgia man who took his own life last week had lived 12 years after receiving a transplanted heart from a South Carolina man who also committed suicide, police said. And in a twist worthy of Edgar Allan Poe, the donor's widow had met and married the recipient, the Hilton...

Case Against Transplant Doc Raises Concern

Prosecution claims he killed for organs; others say technique to blame

(Newser) - Charges against a California surgeon for hastening the death of a disabled man so his organs could be harvested for transplants has advocates worried, the New York Times reports. At issue is whether Dr. Hootan Roozrokh ignored protocol in pursuit of organs for transplant or if he misused, or misunderstood,...

UK Pushes 'Opt-Out' Organ Donor Plan

Patient groups say 'presumed consent' is no consent at all

(Newser) - UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is backing an initiative to let hospitals harvest organs from dead patients without their consent, the Telegraph reports. The plan, which could take effect this year, presumes consent unless patients opt out or family members object. The goal is to help the 1,000 Britons...

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