Cartilage Transplants

Cartilage transplants are becoming more and more common, especially for young people who have suffered injury from an automobile accident or athletics. These transplants can repair knees, shoulders, and ankles where cartilage may be either missing or damaged.

Generally, candidates for cartilage transplants are less than 50 years of age with joint damage that needs repairing. For these younger patients, a cartilage transplant is a better option than a joint replacement, because they could need another joint replacement later in life if their first joint replacement wears out.

cartilage (Photo credit: jetheriot)

Thousands of cartilage transplants are done across the U.S. each year. They are classified as tissue transplants and are different from organ transplants. For instance :

• Cartilage does not need a blood supply as it gets its nutrition from joint fluid. Therefore, it can stay viable in a tissue bank for a significant period of time.
• Cartilage recipients do not have to take anti-rejection medication, because no tissue typing is done.

A cartilage transplant recipient's recovery period is six months to a year. It includes physical therapy during the first three months, resumption of strenuous activity after six, and a full recovery after a year.

Not everyone can be an organ donor but almost everyone can be a tissue donor. Cartilage and other tissue transplants are just as important as organ transplants, in some cases, because they can dramatically improve a person's quality of life.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, including how to register where you live, please visit our website www.SaveLivesTN.org by clicking here.

Read more - article on www.utSanDiego.com titled "Cartilage Transplant Now A Common, Viable Option"

New Hope for Those with Sickle Cell Anemia

Currently, about 100,000 Americans suffer from sickle cell anemia. The disease is a genetic disorder that interferes with normal function of hemoglobin molecules in the blood which are responsible for transporting oxygen within red blood cells. The disease's interference with this process leads to the red blood cells stiffening and deforming into the shape of a sickle.

English: Sickle cells characterize sickle cell anemia, an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Typically, as the disease worsens, it's effect on its victims does, too. The victim will experience severe pain and other complications, including blood clots, strokes, and kidney and other organ failures leading ultimately to death. Many sickle cell sufferers do not live past the age of 50. Fortunately, some people suffering from the disease are able to be helped by fully-matched bone marrow transplants. The problem is that few patients have access to fully matched donors.

Recently, a team of researchers at John Hopkins conducted a study which revealed a potentially new, and promising, treatment for sickle cell anemia - "half-match" (or partial match) bone marrow transplants. In the study, 3 sickle cell patients received full-matched bone marrow transplants and 14 received half-match bone marrow transplants. The ages of the patients ranged from 15-46 years old. The results showed that 11 of the 17 bone marrow transplants were successful. The most exciting part was that 8 of those 11 were half-matched transplants.

Since the success rate was just a little over 50%, the researchers encourage sickle cell anemia patients to proceed with caution before undergoing a half-matched bone marrow transplant, as it is a major surgery. However, the good news is that for those suffering from the disease another option may be available to them in the future.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, including how to register as a donor, please visit the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc.'s website at www.SaveLivesTN.org by clicking here.

Read more : article on www.USNews.com titled " 'Half-Match' Marrow Transplants Help Some with Sickle Cell"

Related articles

• 'Half-match' bone marrow transplants wipe out sickle cell disease in selected patients (medicalxpress.com)
• 'Half-Match' Marrow Transplants Help Some With Sickle Cell (news.health.com)
• Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month: Advice and books on healthy eating for sickle cell anemia sufferers (thegrio.com)

Seeing Things Differently

Even though TODF is a bit "green," we are comprised of people who have been involved with the advocacy of organ and tissue donation for a number of years, such as transplant recipients, donor family members, and living donors. People personally touched by the life-changing miracle of organ and tissue donation. One of our objectives is sharing that tissue donation is just as important as organ donation, because it positively impacts lives, too. We shared one such example in a blog post last week. We share another one today with Robert Gusinsky's story.

Human eye about 1 week after a Cornea transplant. The multiple light reflections indicate folds in the cornea, which later resolved. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At 14 years of age, Robert was diagnosed with a condition known as keratoconu. It causes a degeneration of the cornea to the point it's shape changes into a cone. He maintained his vision for a long time through the wearing of glasses and contacts and was able to fly planes for a number of years. Eventually, though, his eyesight worsened to the point that he had to give up flying. So, he went to law school, got his degree and law license, and became an assistant United States attorney.

By 2002, the eye disease had worsened to the point where he could only wear his contacts a couple of hours at a time. Without them, he was nearly blind in his left eye. He had to stop riding his motorcycle and had difficulty driving. After his corneal transplant surgery in 2003, things improved dramatically. He got his quality of life back and now has 20/30 vision. He thinks about his donor every day, and sometimes wonders if he sometimes sees things differently through the eyes of his donor. Realizing that a high price was paid to restore his sight, Robert wants people, and donor families in particular, to know that, "... good can come from a really tragic situation."

The reason we share Robert's story is because sometimes people are unable to donate their organs when they pass away. In fact, statistics show that only about 2-3% of us are able to be organ donors. Various factors, such as a person's health condition and cause of death, can prevent one from being an organ donor. However, the important thing to know is that nearly everyone can be a tissue donor, and one tissue donor can improve as many as 50 lives !

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

Read more - RapidCityJournal.com article titled "Man's Vision Restored Through Donated Cornea"

Tissue Donors Make a Difference, Too

Even though it does not get the publicity or notoriety that organ donation does, tissue donation makes a huge, positive impact on peoples' lives, too. In fact, studies show that only about 2% of registered organ donors are actually able to donate their organs at time of death. There are a number of reasons the percentage is so low. The person's cause of death and / or various factors involving their prior health history can sometimes preclude someone from being an organ donor. However, even if someone is unable to be an organ donor, nearly everyone can be a tissue donor. In fact, just one tissue donor can improve as many as 50 lives !!

A human eye that received a cornea transplant. This is after one year of healing, there are still two stiches left to be removed. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The types of tissues that can be donated include corneas (eyes), bone, skin, ligaments, tendons, and heart valves. One person that knows the value of tissue donation is Janice Smith of Maryland Heights, MO. Up until a few years ago, she suffered from a genetic eye disease called Fuchs' Dystrophy. The disease causes the deterioration of the cells of the cornea, the clear membrane that covers the front of the eye, leading to fluid buildup and blurry vision.

Janice had lost her vision to the point that she could not watch TV, drive, or read. So, in 2006 and 2007 she had cornea transplants done, first on one eye and then on the other. When asked about the vast improvement in her quality of life, Janice said, "It was like a miracle. If I hadn't had this, it would have ended my independence."

Currently, they are over 40,000 Americans in need of a cornea transplant. The interesting thing about cornea transplants is that there is no matching done from donor to recipient. It is not necessary. In fact, the process is simple compared to an organ transplant, because donor and recipient do not even have to be the same blood type.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, or if you would like to register as a donor, please visit our website at www.SaveLivesTN.org.

Read more : emissourian.com article titled "A Vision for All to See"