By Jennifer Mayerle
BEMIDJI, Minn. — A retired firefighter WCCO first met back in May is now home for the holidays. Walt Lindahl and his wife Amy have spent the past eight months in Rochester as Walt dealt with severe lung disease.
Four months ago, he underwent a double lung transplant. Walt and Amy went back home in Bemidji recently with a new appreciation for the little things in life. Read the article in WCCO CBS News Minnesota.
By Scarlett O’Hara
LEBANON, Ind. – Every family has its own holiday traditions. For one Lebanon man, Christmas Eve has become an extra special anniversary as he gets ready to celebrate the day he was given a second chance at life.
You can’t exactly unwrap a new liver on Christmas. Nonetheless, it’s Ernie Verbarg’s favorite gift he’s ever gotten. He waited eight months on the transplant list last year with a rare, progressive liver disease called “primary sclerosing cholangitis” – until a Christmas Eve miracle. Read the article in NewsNation.
Retired physician Charlie White lay in a hospital bed at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. From his room, he could see the helipad. Although very ill — he estimates weeks to months from death — he was keenly alert to each landing.
“Helicopters were coming in, and patients would come out on stretchers,” he recalls. “And then one landed, and a doctor came out. Holding a box.”
In that box was the liver that would save Dr. White’s life. Read the article from Geisinger.
By Chayil Champion
A year ago this December, a remarkable story of love, sacrifice and family was approaching its culmination within Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
On that day, Nanette Zumwalt — a wife, mother and entrepreneur who had been battling polycystic kidney disease (PKD) — was preparing to undergo a life-changing kidney transplant. Her journey to that point was not straight forward; it took an unforeseen path of fate, love and generosity. Read the article in UCLA Health.
By Michael Walter
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has issued a new statement urging Congress to pass legislation that would cancel out the 3.37% cut for cardiology reimbursements included in the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The cut is currently set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Read the article in Cardiovascular Business.
No substantial improvement seen over time in observed or adjusted estimated living donor kidney transplant rate ratios
By Elana Gotkine
THURSDAY, Dec. 21, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients with kidney failure, there appears to be no substantial improvement over time in the observed or adjusted Black-White mean living donor kidney transplant (LDKT) rate ratios (RRs), according to a study published online Dec. 15 in JAMA Network Open. Read the article in HealthDay.
By Penn Medicine News Writer
For thousands of people around the world waiting for a kidney, paired exchange serves as a beacon of hope. One person’s willingness to undergo the act of Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) often sets in motion a chain of beautiful and selfless acts, where individuals give and receive the chance for a better life. After completing its 100th KPD transplant in a 12 month period, the Penn Transplant Institute now holds the worldwide record for the most KPD transplants in a year. Read the article in Penn Today.
By Isabella Hornick
Lung transplant recipients with extreme low or high BMIs had heightened risks for death due to acute respiratory failure and chronic lung allograft dysfunction, according to results published inAnnals of the American Thoracic Society. Read the article in Healio.
Around 100 people considered becoming donors for 10 kids on the waitlist
By Colette Bordelon
DENVER — In September, Children’s Hospital Colorado asked healthy adults to consider donating part of their liver. An estimated 100 people responded, meaning the 10 children on the transplant waitlist will likely receive the life-saving gift. Read more from Denver 7 News.
By News 12 Staff
A Plainview man is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his double lung transplant.
When Gary Klausner was 10, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. He says the life expectancy in 1975 for someone with the disease was around 16. Watch the full story from News 12 Long Island.