Organ Donation News and Research

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Leah Hollins recognized for outstanding contributions to health care in British Columbia

Leah Hollins, Canadian Blood Services Board Chair, has been named a Member of the Order of Canada by His Excellency Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada.

2 Jul 2015

Scientists develop olfactory fingerprint test to identify individuals from sense of smell

Each of us has, in our nose, about six million smell receptors of around four hundred different types. The distribution of these receptors varies from person to person - so much so that each person's sense of smell may be unique.

1 Jul 2015

New research shows wide variation in organ donation rates across the country

More than 123,000 Americans are currently waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, but 21 patients die each day because there aren't enough organs to go around. New research shows wide variation in the number of eligible organ donors whose loved ones consent to organ donation across the country.

29 May 2015

Scientists discover way to regrow bone tissue using proteins produced by stem cells

Scientists have discovered a way to regrow bone tissue using the protein signals produced by stem cells. This technology could help treat victims who have experienced major trauma to a limb, like soldiers wounded in combat or casualties of a natural disaster. The new method improves on older therapies by providing a sustainable source for fresh tissue and reducing the risk of tumor formation that can arise with stem cell transplants.

13 May 2015

Having strong purpose in life may give you better brain health

Having a strong sense that your life has meaning and direction may make you less likely to develop areas of brain damage caused by blockages in blood flow as you age. This research is reported in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

25 Mar 2015

Despite growing shortage of donor hearts, surgeons, transplant centers reject marginal hearts

Surgeons and transplant centers nationwide increasingly have rejected hearts donated for transplantation despite a growing need for them, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

12 Feb 2015

Winners of Verizon Powerful Answers Award bring solutions to redefine the world

Four great ideas were named first place winners of the Verizon Powerful Answers Award, a year-long global challenge to discover and help bring to market technology-based solutions with the potential to change our world.

4 Feb 2015

Doctors carry out first organ transplant from UK newborn

The very first successful organ donation from a newborn carried out in the UK is reported in the Fetal & Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood.

20 Jan 2015

Simple assessments can help prevent risk of passing Ebola virus disease from organ donor

While serious infections can be transmitted from donated organs, the risk of passing Ebola virus disease from an organ donor to a recipient is extremely small. In a new editorial published in the American Journal of Transplantation, experts explain how simple assessments of donors can help ensure that the organ supply is safe, while having little impact on the donor pool.

16 Dec 2014

Verizon announces winners of 2014 Powerful Answers Award

The wait is over. Verizon is proud to announce the winners of Verizon's 2014 Powerful Answers Award, three in each of the following categories: education, health care, sustainability and transportation.

8 Dec 2014

Susan Tolle to be awarded 2014 MacLean Center Prize in Clinical Ethics

The 2014 MacLean Center Prize in Clinical Ethics, an award of $50,000, will be presented to Susan Tolle, MD, a former MacLean Center fellow who has pioneered efforts to improve communication between health care providers and patients regarding end-of-life care.

12 Nov 2014

Heart-lung support technology increases number of kidneys, livers, pancreases for transplant

Using heart-lung support technology, the University of Michigan's Transplant Center was able to increase the number of kidneys, livers and pancreases available for transplant by about 20 percent.

22 Aug 2014

Physicians are more likely to be registered as organ donor compared to general public

A study that included about 15,000 physicians found that they were more likely to be registered as an organ donor compared to the general public, according to a study in the July 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Jul 2014

Many liver transplant patients want to be involved in the decision of whether to accept the organ

A novel study reveals that more than half of liver transplant patients want to be informed of donor risk at the time a liver is offered for transplantation. Nearly 80% of those patients want to be involved in the decision of whether or not to accept the organ according to findings published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society.

15 Jul 2014

Mercy Memorial Hospital System signs LOI to join Promedica

Mercy Memorial Hospital System signed a letter of intent to join ProMedica, a not-for-profit, multi-hospital system based in Toledo, Ohio.

9 Jul 2014

5-year survival of diabetic kidney transplant patients now on par with nondiabetic recipients

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that the five-year survival of diabetic kidney transplant patients is now on par with the five-year survival of nondiabetic kidney recipients.

9 May 2014

Organ recovery centers could improve efficiency, reduce costs associated with deceased organ donation

Free-standing organ recovery centers could markedly improve efficiency and reduce costs associated with deceased organ donation, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

27 Feb 2014

Moving organ donors to stand-alone facility for retrieving organs is more efficient, lowers costs

Retrieving organs from brain-dead donors is logistically challenging and time consuming in hospitals. Multiple surgical teams often fly to a donor's hospital but frequently face delays in retrieving organs due to crowded operating-room schedules.

25 Feb 2014

Paired exchange and incompatible kidney transplant program launched by UAB

Ann Marie Reynolds, a 32-year-old who has been in and out of hospitals fighting chronic kidney disease since she was a teenager, had a less than 1 percent chance of receiving a kidney without the University of Alabama at Birmingham's groundbreaking organ donation system that helped her and two other hard-to-match patients get kidneys in a three-way, incompatible kidney exchange earlier this year.

24 Dec 2013

Paragonix Technologies successfully closes $1.1M convertible debt round

Paragonix Technologies, Inc., a medical device company based in Braintree, MA, developing the Sherpa product line for organ preservation and transportation, today announced that the Company's $1.1M convertible debt round has been successfully closed.

18 Dec 2013