Organ Donation News and Research

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HIV-infected donors present novel source of organs for HIV-infected transplant candidates

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that HIV-infected deceased donors represent a potentially novel source of organs for HIV-infected transplant candidates that could decrease waitlist deaths and even shorten the national waitlist.

23 May 2011

Liver cells made in the lab using skin cells: Study

In a medical breakthrough, researchers have been able to convert skin cells into liver cells. This could one day eliminate the need for organ transplants, they say.

12 May 2011

U.Va, Coulter Foundation partner for translational research in biomedical engineering

The University of Virginia and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation have teamed to create a $20 million endowment to foster research collaboration between biomedical engineers and clinicians, with the goal of developing new technologies to improve patient care and human health.

3 May 2011

State news highlights: Texas Senate approves Medicaid savings bill

The Senate unanimously approved Sen. Jane Nelson's bill to find extensive cost savings in Texas' Medicaid program, the primary health care provider for children, the disabled and the very poor. ... The measure expands Medicaid managed care into South Texas, where it has long been carved out — expected to save the state $290 million over the biennium.

30 Apr 2011

Could HIV-infected organs save 'lives?

Johns Hopkins researchers argue for reversing ban on transplanting infected organs and making them available to HIV-infected patients

30 Mar 2011

Chembio develops DPP assay for rapid detection of HIV and HEP B/C

A kidney recipient in a New York City hospital recently contracted HIV from the transplanted organ, which came from a living donor, according to the New York State Department of Health. Although an initial screening had been performed on the donor, he or she apparently had unsafe sex after the test but before donating the kidney.

28 Mar 2011

Simultaneous face and hand transplant announced in the UK

Following the first full face transplant in the U.S., one of the leading surgeons in the U.K. has announced that he’s preparing to carry out a the world’s second simultaneous face and hand transplant.

23 Mar 2011

First hand transplant recipient on the way to recovery

A 26 year old mother has received the world’s first hand transplant. The 17 member surgical team from the Hand Transplant Program at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has performed the operation over 14 hours. They painstakingly attached tendons, blood vessels and nerves. The patient had lost her hand in a traffic accident 5 years ago. The patient is currently recovering.

8 Mar 2011

State roundup: Mass. effort to manage care for chronically ill; promoting organ donations

For a glimpse of the future of Massachusetts health care as Gov. Deval Patrick envisions it, consider Phyllis Minsky. At 82, Phyllis is complex. Medically, that is. ... Older patients with multiple chronic diseases are the biggest consumers of health care; some 15 percent of Medicare patients make up over 75 percent of health care spending.

8 Mar 2011

Now get a 3-D kidney printout to replace damaged kidneys: A regeneration science innovation

In what seems like science fiction, Dr. Anthony Atala, a regenerative medicine specialist at Wake Forest University, is pioneering the use of printing techniques to reconstruct and repair human flesh and organs. His basis is a combination of cultured human cells and scaffolding built or woven from organic material.

7 Mar 2011

Kidney transplant proposal - younger patients greater success

Soon kidney transplant recipients would be younger under a proposal being considered by the nation’s organ transplant network. This would replace the current ‘first-come-first-served’ system and is intended to provide better matches between the life expectancies of recipients and the functional life of donated kidneys.

27 Feb 2011

Loyola forms new sixth research-focused transplant institute at LUHS

From the world's first successful kidney transplant to the first successful heart transplant performed in Illinois, Loyola University Health System has always been a pioneer in organ transplant research, education and clinical care.

21 Feb 2011

Québec-Transplant: 371 persons benefited from transplant in 2010

Thanks to 119 deceased organ donors, 371 persons benefited from a transplant in 2010. Unfortunately, there were also 46 deaths among people on the waiting list (compared to 58 in 2009), many of which could have been avoided. As of December 31, 2010, 1,241 people were registered on the single waiting list managed by Québec-Transplant.

19 Feb 2011

Single donor gifts lungs for two lung transplants

The University of Michigan Transplant Center celebrated a milestone recently, performing its 500th lung transplant. But there's much more to this story than a number.

17 Feb 2011

Successful larynx transplant for Californian woman

In a breakthrough, a surgical team in California on Thursday announced that they had successfully replaced the larynx of a 52-year-old woman who hadn’t been able to speak or breathe on her own for more than a decade.

20 Jan 2011

World’s first organ donor dies at 79

On December 23, 1954, Dr. Joseph Murray performed the world’s first kidney transplant removing a kidney from Ronald Herrick and implanting it in his identical twin Richard. Years later, Murray shared a Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking work. For the Herrick twins, the results were more immediate and personal. Richard lived for about eight more years because of Ronald’s donation.

30 Dec 2010

Second brain death exam impacts organ donation rates

Requiring a second exam on a person who is considered brain dead may be unnecessary, according to a study on the impact of a second brain death exam on organ donation rates. The research is published in the December 15, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

16 Dec 2010