Monday, September 9, 2013

The Importance of Living Donors

The video embedded below tells the story of a man who life was saved through the process of living organ donation. His story is powerful and shares some interesting facts about living donation that some may not know. We encourage you to watch this powerful video below.

You can also see the video and read the full news story on www.wkyc.com which is titled "Living Donors Help Ease the Transplant Waiting List" by clicking here.


Enhanced by Zemanta

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The 600th Heart Transplant

Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute will celebrate the 28th anniversary of its heart transplant program later this year. However, before reaching their anniversary, they passed another milestone. Doctors there recently performed their 600th heart transplant.

English: The 15-county Kansas City Metropolita...
English: The 15-county Kansas City Metropolitan Area, with the approximate city limits of Kansas City, Missouri in red and counties in blue. (In regards to image uploaded 6 August 2005, 2230 CDT) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Saint Luke's is one of the top transplant centers in the country and has the only adult heart transplant program in the Kansas City area. In fact, Saint Luke's has the only active transplant program for adults between Denver and Kansas City.

In addition to the milestones mentioned above, Saint Luke's :
  • annually performs more heart transplants than 80% of heart transplant centers in the country,
  • has averaged 37 heart transplants per year for the last 8 years when most other centers do less than 20,
  • has shorter waiting times for transplants than most other U.S. transplant centers, and
  • received the Medal of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for increasing the number of available organs.
For more information about organ and tissue donation, including how to register as an organ and tissue donor in your state, please visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here.

Read more - sacbee.com artitle titled "Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute Performs 600th Heart Transplant"                     ,
Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

900 Miles to Save Lives

Richard Gates recently completed a 900-mile bicycle ride to raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation. The journey took Gates from Pittsburgh, PA to Boston, MA where he was met by the doctors and nurses who cared for him when he received his heart transplant almost 10 years ago.

Boston Skyline
Boston Skyline (Photo credit: brentdanley)
Gates referred to his trip as "Tour de Second Chance" and said he wanted people to understand that he was only able to make the long bike trip because someone had chosen to be an organ donor. He also hoped it showed transplant patients they can lead full lives after their transplant.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, or to learn how to register as an organ and tissue donor in the state where you live, please visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here.

Read more : boston.cbslocal.com article titled "Heart Transplant Recipient Arrives in Boston After 900-Mile Bike Ride"
Enhanced by Zemanta