By Karen Weintraub
Doctors in New York have managed to keep a brain-dead man in a state of sort of suspended animation for more than a month after removing his kidneys and replacing them with one from a pig.
A ventilator has kept 57-year-old Maurice Miller’s heart beating and other organs functioning while the pig kidney produces urine and other normal byproducts. Read the full story in USA Today.
By Sophie Putka
Patients who received lung transplants due to irreversible respiratory failure from SARS-CoV-2 infection had similar outcomes to those who received lung transplants for other reasons, a retrospective study found.
Among 195 patients with COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who underwent lung transplants, 1-, 6-, and 12-month overall survival rates were 99%, 95%, and 88%. For 190 patients who had COVID-19-related pulmonary fibrosis, survival rates were 96%, 92%, and 84%, respectively. Read the full article in MedPage Today.
By Clara Neupert
The kidney, liver and heart are the most commonly transplanted organs, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two doctors from the UW Health Transplant Center in Madison tell us all we need to know about organ transplants. Listen to the full story from Wisconsin Public Radio.
By Sandee LaMotte
CNN — Fifty-year-old psychologist Dennis Deer’s lungs were failing, scarred by a rare inflammatory condition called polymyositis. Despite carrying supplemental oxygen, the Cook County Commissioner for the 2nd district in Illinois was finding it harder and harder to perform his job.
“It was terrible. I would walk 10 steps and I was gasping for air,” Deer said in a news conference Monday. Read the full story from CNN.
By Michael Monostra
HOUSTON — Toothbrushing two times per day may improve glycemic control for people with type 2 diabetes, but more studies on the link between oral health and type 2 diabetes are needed, according to presenters.
In findings from a scoping review presented at the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists annual meeting, researchers analyzed studies that investigated associations between regular toothbrushing, periodontal disease and glycemic metrics among adults with type 2 diabetes. Read the full story in Healio.
By Ashley Vargo
ST. LOUIS — A surgical team from Washington University’s School of Medicine has successfully performed the first robot-assisted whole-liver transplant in the U.S. — and the patient was cleared to get back on the golf course just a month later.
The surgery took place in May at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and the patient — a man in his 60s with liver cancer and cirrhosis due to a hepatitis C infection — has recovered swiftly, according to his doctors.
Read the full story in The Virginian-Pilot.
Surgeons at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone and the NYU Langone Transplant Institute have successfully performed the first two pediatric liver transplants at the institution. The lifesaving surgeries were conducted within a week of each other, giving hope and a new lease on life to two young girls from New Jersey.
To address the rising incidence of liver disease in children and the critical need for quality care, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital formed the Pediatric Liver Disease and Transplant Program this April. Read the complete press release from NYU Langone Health.
A double lung transplant recipient’s gratitude knows no bounds
By Laura McFarland
A double lung transplant recipient’s gratitude knows no bounds | Photos by Jay Paul
AUGUST 13, 2023Expand
Lung transplant recipient Sam Kirton at the National Donor Memorial at the United Network for Organ Sharing
“Are you ready to take your first breath?”
When Samuel Kirton’s wife, Susan, leaned over his hospital bed and asked him that question, he admits he initially shook his head no.
Kirton, who had received a double lung transplant the day before, knew he was at a point of no return. Read the full story in Richmond Magazine.
Surgeons at VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center are using an innovative, less-invasive robotic liver procurement procedure to expand the pool of eligible living liver donors. As the number of people registered and waiting for a liver nears 11,000, this represents a critical breakthrough in matching patients needing an organ transplant with healthy livers.
Hume-Lee Transplant Center is the nation’s only center actively offering robotic hepatectomies – the surgical removal of portions of living donors’ livers – after becoming the third U.S. center to successfully perform this innovative surgery. Read the complete article from VCU Health.
AAKP and Veterans Health Administration Align to Improve Veteran Lives
By American Association of Kidney Patients
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), the largest and oldest independent kidney patient organization in the nation, announced their new partnership with the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The formal collaboration aims to improve health outcomes and enhance the overall quality of life for Veterans with kidney diseases and is facilitated under the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (HAP). AAKP has extensive Veteran and Veteran family representation among its Board of Directors, National Patient Ambassadors, and grassroots membership.
AAKP is a strong advocate for greater patient care choice, patient-centered medicine, and accelerated innovations in kidney disease prevention, diagnostics, and treatments – including expanded access to kidney transplantation and new artificial implantable and wearable organs. Read the complete press release from AAKP.