Making the Journey from Transplant Patient to Caregiver

At the age of 24, Ken Sutha was dying of kidney failure. He needed a kidney transplant, so his father became his living donor. The procedure was performed at Emory. Since then, Ken's health has greatly improved to the point that he's became a competitive athlete. His athletic prowess has led hm to compete in triathlons, and he won three medals in swimming at the 2010 U.S. Transplant Games.

University of Washington quad in Spring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ken's athletic success is not the most amazing part of his recovery, though. The Georgia Transplant Foundation gave him a four-year scholarship to Emory University School of Medicine. After graduation, Ken moved to Seattle, WA and now trains as a pediatrician at the University of Washington and at Seattle Children's Hospital where, sometimes, he takes care of both pre- and post-transplant children.

What a story - from being the transplant patient to taking care of kids who may either need transplants or have just received them. Ken's story is a great example of the types of miracles that can come from organ and tissue donation. If you would like to learn more about organ and tissue donation, or learn how to register in the state where you live, please visit our website www. SaveLivesTN.org by clicking here.

Read more - News.Emory.edu article titled "From Kidney Transplant Recipient to Emory Medical School Graduate"

A Great Way to Say "Thank You"

An Ohio heart transplant recipient, Adam Burkhart, is honoring the man who saved his life in a very special and unique way - he named his daughter, Mattyn, after him. There was a time when Adam did not know if he would live long enough to have a family, but now, thanks to his donor, Matthew, he is enjoying every day with his wife and two daughters.

English: The illustration shows the major signs and symptoms of heart failure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the age of six(6), Adam was diagnosed with familial cardiomyopathy. Unfortunately, the disease runs through this mother's side of his family. The disease did not affect Adam until one day, at the age of 17, he could not run anymore while playing soccer. Doctors diagnosed him with heart failure, and he learned a transplant was in his future. In September 2000, Adam received the life-saving heart transplant he needed and has been in good health since.

Since his transplant, Adam has advocated for organ and tissue donation and met the parents of his donor. When he asked them about naming his daughter after their heroic son, they were thrilled. What a great way to say "thank you" and continue the life-saving legacy of Adam's donor, Matthew.

If you would like to read more about Adam, Matthew, and Mattyn's story, you can do so on www.ZanesvilleTimesRecorder.com in their article titled "Local Man Names His Daughter After Donor Who Saved His Life" by clicking here.

For more information about organ and tissue donation and to register as a donor where you live, please visit our website, https://SaveLivesTN.org/, by clicking here.

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New Test for Heart Transplant Rejection

Researchers at Stanford University have completed a study on a new method of checking for organ rejection in heart transplant recipients. The test, known as the cell free DNA test, simply measures the amount of the donor's DNA showing up in the recipient's blood. As these amounts increase, it indicates the early stages of rejection.

Unidentified persons in operating room (Photo credit: Stanford Medical History Center)

Currently, many heart transplant patients have to endure the invasiveness of a heart biopsy in order to check for rejection. These biopsies can cause problems of their own, including heart arrhythmia's and valve damage, not to mention the uncomfortableness of the biopsy. What may be even more important, though, is that the new blood test, could indicate the onset of rejection several months before it would be detected with a biopsy. As with other medical issues, early detection is often vital to successful treatment. Organ rejection is no different.

These findings are great news for heart transplant recipients. To read more of the article on www.HealthDay.com titled ""New Blood Test May Help Detect Heart Transplant Rejection", please click here.

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Help Us Celebrate Donate Life Month

April is Donate Life Month, and we want you to help us celebrate. How? Well, it's pretty simple. If you have not yet registered as an organ and tissue donor, register this month to help us celebrate! Don't know how? Then, please visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here to find out how to register in the state where you live.

HAPPY DONATE LIFE MONTH!!

Are You At Risk for Kidney Disease?

There are over 120,000 Americans currently waiting on life-saving organ transplants, and three out of every four, or 75% of them are waiting on kidneys. With March, National Kidney Month, quickly coming to an end, we would like to briefly share a few of the factors that can lead to your risk of kidney disease being elevated.

Kidney (Photo credit: Joshua Schwimmer)

These factors include :

1. diabetes,
2. hypertension (high blood pressure),
3. family history,
4. being elderly (60+ years of age), and
5. a history of kidney stones.

If you have one, or more, of these risk factors, you should have your kidney function tested. As with most medical ailments, such as cancer, early detection is vital to treating the disease. Please do not wait until your health deteriorates if 1 of the 5 factors above apply to you. With early detection there are a number of things that can be done to treat kidney disease, such as :

• reducing salt (sodium) intake,
• reducing blood pressure,
• reducing blood sugar,
• getting more exercise,
• drinking more water,
• quitting smoking, and
• not using pain medication excessively.

Just remember - early detection is key as there are often no symptoms associated with the onset of kidney disease.

With such a large percentage of the current transplant waiting list being made up of people who need a kidney, we also would like to encourage you to visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here to learn how to become a registered organ donor.

Source :article on www.OurMidland.com titled "Check Risk Factors During National Kidney Month"

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New Life After 26-Year Battle with Kidney Disease

Rebecca Miller is a trooper. After a 26-year battle with kidney disease, she received a kidney transplant from an anonymous living donor back on February 13th of this year. Her courageous story was recently reported by WSBT TV, where she was once the noon news anchor. The video of her story titled "Granger Woman Has New Kidney After Long Wait, Urges Others to Donate" is embedded below or can also be watched, or the text of the article read by clicking here.



Besides it being Rebecca's transplant date, February 13th is special to us at the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. for another reason - it was on that date 7 years ago that our Executive Director and Founder, Johnny Black, was listed for a heart transplant, which he received just 8 days later.

For more information about organ and tissue donation and how you can help save a life like Rebecca's and Johnny's donors did, please visit our website, www.SaveLivesTN.org, by clicking here.

9-Year-Old Returns Home After Kidney Transplant

In hemolytic uremic syndrome, toxins destroy red blood cells. These misshapen cells may clog the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

9-year-old Evie of Carthage, NC recently went home from the hospital after a brutal health ordeal that necessitated a life-saving kidney transplant. Her illness started after contracting E-Coli which caused Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, a condition which wipes out red blood cells.

The disease led to both of the little girl's kidneys and her pancreas failing, heart problems, pneumonia, a collapsed lung, and intestinal bleeding which required over three dozen blood transfusions. Fortunately, a living donor stepped up and donated a kidney to Evie, who is now doing well.

Evie's story was shared on WNCT Channel 9 news. The video of her story is embedded below, or the text can be read and the video watched at wnct.com by clicking here - "New Kidney Means New Journey for 9-Year-Old Moore Co. Girl".

WNCT
 
March is National Kidney Month. For more information on organ and tissue donation, including how to register as a donor where you live, please visit our website by clicking here.

New Orleans Becoming One of Best Places to Get A Liver Transplant

New Orleans, LA is slowly becoming one of the best places to get a liver transplant. The exciting thing is that it is not only due to transplant availability, but also due to the high rate of successful outcomes.

For more information, please watch the video embedded below. It is very interesting, very powerful, and the personal stories shared by several liver transplant patients will touch you. You can also watch the video and read the text of the article, titled "Local Hospital One of Best Places in Country to Get Life-Saving Procedure" on www.wwltv.com by clicking here. 

For more information about organ and tissue donation, please visit our website, https://SaveLivesTN.org/.

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