Continued...
yet another green corridor' organ transplant in city
Complements of the TIMES OF INDIA
When he met doctors at the Frontier Lifeline on Saturday they put his name on the top of the waitlist for a heart transplant. "We received a call today from Apollo. He was lucky. He had to wait just for a day. We took the heart," said Dr KM Cherian, heart transplant surgeon.
The hospital retained the kidneys and liver while Shankara Nethrayala took the two eyes. "We have taken the eyes. It's in the eye bank and will be transplanted within a couple of days," said a senior doctor at the eye hospital.
Since January this year the state government had issued a series of orders to promote cadaver transplants in the state. A central registry was created at the Government General Hospital and a special ward at the government Stanley Medical College Hospital to keep brain dead patients until the procedures for transplant was done. Rules for hospitals in declaring a person brain dead were framed.
"So far 15 hospitals from across the state have joined us. We hope to increase it by at least five-fold by the end of the year," said a senior doctor at the Government General Hospital.
Meanwhile, transplant surgeons are exicted about the increasing awareness created ever since 14-year-old Hitendran's parents a doctor couple decided to donate his organs after he died in a road accident.
"We still have a long way to go. But I am happy we are taking tiny steps," said Dr Cherian. "My oldest heart transplant patient has managed t o live a great life with an alien heart for 13 years now. He is married. He has children. In fact, he participated in the para olympics at Sydney. He did not win it. After all, it was not about the cup won but the race run," he said.
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The gift that saves lives
By Heather Billings December 3, 2008
collegian.csufresno.edu
Momen is currently in a local intensive care unit recovering from a mild infection.
In Momen’s case, the prescribed treatment is a bone marrow transplant.
Celeste Pilegard, a friend of Momen’s, said close relatives are the best shot for a bone marrow match, but none of Momen’s family match his marrow. She is working to get word out about a bone marrow drive being held to find a match.
The drive will occur tomorrow, Dec. 4, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno. The center is located at 2111 East Nees Ave. in Fresno. A map to its location may be found on their Web site.
The drive will register people for the National Marrow Donor Program. A cheek swab or blood sample can be used to determine what sort of marrow the potential donor has. For more information about the event, visit its Facebook page.
Pilegard said that outside of family, the next-best chance for a match would be someone of similar ethnic descent.
Momen is half Iranian and half Mexican.
Even if a match is not found, those who attend will be placed into the program’s registry database for future reference.
The test costs $25.
Pilegard said that if Momen does not get a transplant, “the prognosis… isn’t good at all.”
“He’s on a waiting list, but he doesn’t have long to wait,” she said.
Momen is currently receiving blood transfusions, which place him at risk for iron build-up, and is on immune suppressants, which increase his already high risk of infection.