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Results for search "Organ Donation".

Health News Results - 27

It's Safer to Donate a Kidney Now Than at Any Time in History

The risk of death associated with donating a kidney is at an all-time low, a new study finds.

A kidney donor’s risk -- already small a decade ago -- is now lower by more than half, researchers found.

Fewer than one death occurs for every 10,000 kidney donations, according to res...

First Pig Kidney Transplant Patient Discharged From Hospital

Rick Slayman, the first person to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig, headed home Wednesday after faring so well that he was released from the hospital just two weeks after his groundbreaking surgery.

"This moment -- leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I've had in a long time -- is one I wished would come for many years. Now, it's ...

Second Person to Receive Pig Heart Dies Six Weeks After Transplant

The second person to ever receive a transplanted pig heart has died.

Lawrence Faucette, 58, got the transplant just six weeks earlier at the University of Maryland Medical Center in an experimental procedure.

Unfortunately, the heart had been showing signs of rejection in the days before his death, CNN reported.

  • Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
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  • November 1, 2023
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    • New Approach to Transplants Could Boost Supply of Donor Hearts

    A new transplant method that "reanimates" donor hearts appears safe and effective, a new clinical trial has found -- in an advance that could substantially expand the supply of donor hearts available in the United States.

    The trial tested an approach that allows doctors to transplant hearts from donors who have succumbed to "circulatory death" -- meaning the heart has stopped beating. Tra...

    Blood Donors' Gender Doesn't Affect Outcomes for Recipients

    Whether the gender of a blood donor could affect the recipient's survival was an unanswered question in medicine. Until now.

    "Some observational studies had suggested female donor blood might be linked with a higher risk of death among recipients compared to male donor blood, but our clinical trial found that isn't the case,"co-lead author

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • April 13, 2023
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    • Debunking Myths About Organ Donation

    Far more people need an organ transplant than there are organs available.

    It doesn't have to be that way.

    Dr. Johnny Hong, chief of transplantation at Penn State Health's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, explored some of the myths about organ donation.

    "We have an organ shor...

    Feds Propose Overhaul of U.S. Organ Transplant System

    A single nonprofit has what amounts to a monopoly over all organ transplants performed in the United States, but the federal government said Wednesday that it plans to change that.

    The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which has contracted with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to run the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network for 37 years, announced ...

    Massachusetts Bill Would Let Prisoners Donate Organs in Exchange for Shorter Sentence

    Massachusetts legislators have proposed a bill that would allow prison inmates to donate their organs or bone marrow as a way to trim the length of their sentence.

    While some experts wonder about the ethics of such a law and whether it would even be allowed under federal law, a Democratic sponsor of the bill,

    There May Be a Better Way to Allocate Precious Donor Lungs for Transplant

    A new way of allocating donor lungs that eliminates geographical restrictions could save more lives, new research suggests.

    In early 2023, the current U.S. system, which looks for compatible candidates within a fixed radius, will be replaced by the Composite Allocation Score. The new score will prioritize a candidate's medical needs.

    "The importance of removing the geographical barr...

    Need for Organ Transplants Surges at Big Motorcycle Rallies: Study

    Once a year, giant motorcycle rallies ride into places like Daytona Beach, Fla., and Sturgis, S.D., bringing hundreds of thousands of people, an economic boost -- and a wave of crash-related deaths.

    That means more organs available for donation and the need to be prepared, according to a

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • November 29, 2022
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    • 69 vs. 70: Bias Against Older Organ Donors May Be Costing Lives

    The difference between age 69 and age 70 is, of course, just a single year.

    Yet, organizations that receive organs for transplant patients are less likely to choose one from the older donor, a new study finds.

    American organ procurement organization...

    Heart's Electrical Signals Changed in First Pig-to-Human Cardiac Transplant

    Less than a year after the first-ever transplant of a pig heart into a human patient, doctors are reporting that the heart showed unexpected changes in its electrical system before the recipient ultimately died.

    The changes are not believed to have contributed to the patient's death. But experts said that the observation will help in preparing for any such transplants in the future.

    Donating Portion of Your Liver to Someone in Need Is Safe, Life-Saving: Study

    Thousands of people die every year while waiting for a liver transplant. Living-donor transplantation holds the potential to save many of these lives, yet remains underused in the United States.

    During the procedure, a portion of a donor's liver is removed and transplanted into a person with liver disease. The donor's remaining liver returns to its normal size and capacity within a few mo...

    Organ From Live Donor Best When Child Needs New Kidney

    Children who need kidney transplants have better long-term outcomes when the donor is a living person and not someone who has died and donated organs, a new study finds.

    "The findings of our study should lay to rest any fears and concerns that centers have about accepting organs from unrelate...

    Liver Transplants From Donors Who Overdosed Rose During Pandemic

    Organs from donors who died of drug overdoses helped keep the number of U.S. liver transplants steady during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study finds.

    "When the pandemic began, we saw no decline in liver transplants, which seemed surprising since many surgeries were canceled or postponed," said lead author Peter Lymberopoulos, a fourth-year medical student at St. George'...

    Kidney Transplant Safe When Organ Donor Has COVID: Study

    Even before the pandemic, the demand for donor kidneys far exceeded supply. That shortfall only worsened when hospitals started refusing to use kidneys from COVID-positive donors.

    However,

    Thinking of Donating a Kidney? New Data Shows It's Safe

    If you're thinking about donating a kidney, new research could alleviate your concerns.

    "The results of this study are extremely reassuring for individuals who are considering being living kidney donors. We found that this lifesaving surgery, when performed at experienced transplant centers, is extremely safe," said study co-author Dr. Timucin Taner, chair of transplant surgery at Mayo Cl...

    Organs Donated by People Who Had COVID Are Safe: Study

    For those waiting during the pandemic for a new kidney or liver, new research is reassuring: Organs from deceased donors who had COVID-19 did not cause infection in recipients and posed no risk to health care workers.

    In a study that began in September 2021, the Duke University School of Medicine team assessed

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  • March 23, 2022
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    • Man Who Received First Pig Heart Transplant Has Died

    The first person to receive a pig heart transplant in a groundbreaking procedure performed at the University of Maryland Medical Center in January has died, hospital officials said Wednesday.

    David Bennett, a 57-year-old Marylander, suffered from severe heart disease and had agreed to receive the experimental pig's heart after he was rejected from several waiting lists to receive a human ...

    Scientists Create 'Universal' Donor Organs Where Blood Type Doesn't Matter

    It's possible to create "universal" donor organs that would eliminate the need to match transplant donor and recipient blood types, researchers report.

    "With the current matching system, wait times can be considerably longer for patients who need a transplant depending on their blood type," said senior study author Dr. Marcelo Cypel, surgical director of the Ajmera Transplant Centre, Univ...

    Doctors Transplant Gene-Modified Pig Kidneys Into Brain-Dead Patient

    In another breakthrough for animal-to-human organ transplantation, U.S. researchers say they've transplanted two genetically modified pig kidneys into a living human.

    The recipient was Jim Parsons, 57, a brain-dead man on life support whose family agreed to allow the surgical team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to use his body for this research.

    The kidneys functio...

    In Breakthrough Transplant, Man Receives Genetically Modified Pig Heart

    In a medical first, doctors from the University of Maryland have implanted the heart of a genetically modified pig in a 57-year-old man facing the final stages of heart disease.

    The surgical feat, known as

  • Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
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  • January 11, 2022
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    • When Kidney Transplant Fails, Trying Again Is Best Option: Study

    You were lucky enough to receive a kidney years ago, but now it is failing. Is it better to opt for another transplant or go on dialysis?

    New research suggests a second transplant may be the better option.

    Kidney transplants from deceased donors function for a median ...

    Doctors Report That Kidney Grown in Pig Worked in a Human

    A kidney grown in a genetically altered pig functioned normally after being attached to a human patient during a groundbreaking procedure performed by U.S. doctors.

    If the technique proves generally successful it could revolutionize organ transplant, greatly expanding the pool of available organs.

    The surgery was conducted in September at NYU Langone Health in New York City and invo...

    AHA News: Women May Be More Willing Than Men to Donate Organs

    Men and women have similar reasons for becoming -- or not becoming -- an organ donor, according to a new study. Yet women appear more willing to donate their organs to family members or strangers.

    The results, published Sept. 24 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, suggest improving communication among family members about organ donation wishes could help increase ...

    U.S. Kidney Transplant Outcomes Are Improving

    Here's some hopeful news for those who have kidney transplants: Long-term survival rates have improved over the past three decades, a review shows.

    "There has been a gratifying improvement in kidney transplant survival, both for patients and the kidney graft itself, from 1996 to the current era," said review author Dr. Sundaram Hariharan, a senior transplant nephrologist at the University...

    FDA to OK COVID Booster Shots for Vulnerable Americans

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans on Thursday to authorize a third "booster" shot of coronavirus vaccine for people with weakened immune systems, as the highly contagious Delta variant surges across the country.

    Expanding the emergency use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should help protect those patients who are considered most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and most likel...