Minority Donor Awareness Day

AUGUST 1 is National Minority Donor Awareness Day! This observance is designed to increase awareness for the need of organ and tissue donors, especially among minority groups. Did you know that in 2008, only 14% of all donors were African-American, and just over 13% were Hispanic? Less than 3% of all donors in 2008 were Asian.

According to UNOS, some diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas and liver are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations. For example, African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics are three times more likely to suffer from end-stage renal disease than Caucasians. Native Americans are four times more likely than Caucasians to suffer from diabetes.

Successful transplantation often is enhanced by the matching of organs between members of the same ethnic and racial group. Therefore, a shortage of organs donated by minorities can contribute to death and longer waiting periods for minorities waiting for transplants.

To become an organ donor today, visit www.transplants.org and click on the Transplant Challenge logo.

Successful Fundraiser for Bone Marrow Transplant Patient!

Melissa Delgado, 23, has been searching for a bone marrow donor match for six years. Due to the shortage of organ donors among the Hispanic population, she has been unable to find a match. After being diagnosed with leukemia in 2003, doctors told her a bone marrow transplant is her only hope for a second chance at life.

While waiting for a match to be found, Melissa is still battling this illness every day. The costs of medications, doctors’ visits, insurance co-pays and donor searches continue to soar. To help with the growing expenses, Maria DeFrancesco decided to find a way to help.

Maria, who only recently met Melissa, connected with Melissa through NFT. In May, Maria planned a cocktail dinner, including dancing, a raffle and entertainment, to raise money for Melissa’s fundraising campaign with NFT. Overall, this event raised more than $8,000 in honor of Melissa! We are so excited for Melissa, and we're thankful for her wonderful support system of volunteers.

This month, Maria and her boyfriend, Neal, held a benefit concert at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. The concert, which featured a lineup of “buskers” (people who play music, dance or perform publicly, such as in the subways and parks of NYC), also benefited Opus 118 Harlem School of Music. Proceeds from a raffle featuring music-realted items benefited NFT in honor of Melissa.

Neal told NFT, “I was so inspired by the fundraiser that Maria put together, and by Melissa and her beautiful circle of family and friends that I decided to dedicate a part of this event to her as well.”

National Minority Donor Awareness day is coming up soon, and NFT wants to raise awareness about the vast shortage of minority organ and tissue donors in the United States. Learn more about the need for minority donors by visiting the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program Web site.

Transplant Challenge a Finalist for Health Care Heroes awards!

We are thrilled to announce that the Transplant Challenge has been selected as a finalist for the Memphis Business Journal's 2009 Health Care Heroes awards! We've been nominated for the category of Community Outreach, and the winners will be announced during a dinner on Sept. 1.

NFT launched the Transplant Challenge in April 2009 to raise awareness about the critical shortage of organ donors and to encourage individuals to register with their state donor registry. Through community events, social media, printed materials and word of mouth, NFT has reached more than 60,000 individuals with our message about this important health issue.

We are currently planning a campus challenge for the fall, where we will reach out to college students in and around the Memphis area.

Are you an organ donor? Accept the Transplant Challenge today!

Cirrhosis Support Group

When battling a serious illness or watching a loved one suffer, support from others who have experienced the same thing can provide comfort and relief. At NFT, we encourage our patients to find support from groups at their transplant centers, within their communities or online.

We all know about the great benefits the Internet offers, but yet another benefit is the availability of support groups and resources. MDJunction.com has created a support group specifically for those suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.

Join this support group to connect with others, read informative articles, find answers to your questions and much more. Finding an outlet to voice your fears or to offer assistance and advice to others can provide an environment to ensure you keep a positive outlook for the future.

NFT Patient Nate Gunderson Receives Heart Transplant

NFT patient Nate Gunderson, a 31-year-old Washington resident, was always a healthy, active man. One morning in April, Nate awoke with a migraine. After four days of migraines, fevers and body aches, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with bacterial endocarditis. Another procedure showed a cluster of bacteria around his heart that was affecting every organ of his body and causing mini-strokes.

Although Nate suffered from a heart murmur since birth, it was not until the onset of this infection that doctors discovered the bacteria around his heart had eaten a hole through one of his heart valves. With every heartbeat, 50 percent of the blood was falling back into the heart chamber. Just a few days later, Nate endured three hours of surgery while his heart valve was replaced with a St. Jude’s valve. Sadly a week later, things took a turn for the worse when doctors discovered a massive sac of fluid surrounding his heart.

Doctors told Nate a heart transplant was his only hope for a second chance at life. Fortunately, with his wife Genevieve by his side every step of the way, Nate received his lifesaving heart transplant July 5. Nate looks forward to his new life post-transplant so he can return home to spend time with his young daughter, Mikaela, and return to his active lifestyle.

If you can help Nate and his family with the soaring medical expenses they are facing, click here to make a donation to NFT in his honor. A heart transplant costs more than $750,000. And that’s only the beginning. For the rest of his life, he will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications. Visit NFT’s Web site to learn more about Nate.

L'Oreal Women of Worth

“Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer.”
~Author Unknown

Do you know a woman who is performing an outstanding service in your community? If so, L’Oreal Paris wants to hear about it! The July 23 deadline for their annual “Women of Worth” awards is quickly approaching. Once the winners are chosen, Women of Worth will be invited to participate in an array of National conferences on volunteerism, post volunteer tips and essays on the Women of Worth Community website, participate in key media events including photo shoots, commercial shoots and promotional videos, and much more.

Visit the L’Oreal Women of Worth Web site to learn more about how to nominate a volunteer who is doing great work near you!

Maryland Doctors Set Kidney Transplant Record

Associated Press
July 7, 2009

BALTIMORE - A Maryland hospital surgeon is saying he and doctors in three other hospitals have completed what is believed to be the largest series of kidney paired donation procedures ever undertaken.

Dr. Robert Montgomery of Johns Hopkins Hospital, along with donors and recipients, will give details of the groundbreaking feat during a news conference Tuesday in the hospital's outpatient center.

A hospital official says 10 doctors performed a total of 16 surgeries on eight donors and eight recipients in the multi-hospital, multistate kidney donation network.

In April 2008, Johns Hopkins surgeons transplanted a half-dozen kidneys simultaneously, which was believed to be the first operation of its kind.

Words from a Scleroderma Patient...

Victoria Chavez began working with NFT to fundraise in January of 2008 and has truly been an inspiration to us all. After receiving a stem cell transplant last summer, she has spent a great deal of time reaching out to other patients battling Scleroderma and Pulmonary Fibrosis. Read Victoria’s story below to see how she is helping others cope with their illnesses and focus on the positive in life. You can also learn more about Victoria by visiting her personal blog “Victoria’s Miracle: Diary of a Stem Cell Transplant.

No one would know it from looking at me, but a year ago I was dying. With the help of the National Foundation for Transplants, I was able to raise enough money to undergo a lifesaving stem cell transplant, which put my Scleroderma and Pulmonary Fibrosis in remission. Today I'm off oxygen, most of my tests are all in the normal range, I walk eight blocks a day and feel better than ever! Now it's my turn to give back.

Before the transplant, I was homebound for five years, too sick to leave the house and requiring supplemental oxygen around the clock because of the Pulmonary Fibrosis. If I hadn't gotten my transplant, I would have gradually suffocated to death as the Fibrosis spread in my lungs. While going through the grueling post-transplant recovery, I had an epiphany...I decided that when I got better my calling would be to help others who are suffering the same fate I was handed.

Recently I have had several opportunities to make my goal come true. First, I was asked to speak at the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Conference, where I told my story to others—patients and health care professionals alike—where many people told me that I was an inspiration to them. Second, I am going to travel to the National Scleroderma Conference in a couple of weeks as a representative of the Scleroderma Foundation. Third, I am currently training to become a Scleroderma Foundation Support Group Leader, so that I can continue to tell others like me that there is ALWAYS hope, and positive thinking is key to surviving chronic and sometimes fatal diseases.

Thank you, NFT, for all of your help. I will be forever grateful.

Victoria Chavez
Scleroderma Patient

NFT Patients Who Received Transplants in June

It is always so wonderful to hear that one of our patients has received a lifesaving transplant! We wish a healthy recovery to all of the NFT patients who received transplants last month.

• Alexandra DiDomizio (bone marrow) at Rush University Medical Center
  
• Chad Freckleton (liver) at University of Utah, Salt Lake City


• Bobby Pollard (bone marrow) at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center
  
• Jeremy Powell (double lung) at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  
• Tracy Smith (bone marrow) at Moffitt Cancer Center

To learn more about the National Foundation for Transplants and how we can help you or a loved one fundraise for transplant-related expenses, please visit our Web site or e-mail us at info@transplants.org.

July Patient of the Month: Matthew Clark

While attending a college football game with some friends in the fall of 2008, Matthew Clark began experiencing breathing problems. A week later tests revealed a virus had attacked his heart, and he was suffering from congestive heart failure.

Doctors told Matthew a heart transplant is his only hope for a second chance at life. This father of four boys loves spending time with his children, whether he is coaching T-ball or playing video games. His faith, along with his strong desire to see his boys grow up, keeps him positive and focused on each new day.

A heart transplant costs approximately $750,000. And that's only the beginning. Even with health coverage, Matthew faces significant medical expenses related to his transplant. For the rest of his life, he will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications.

Can you help Matthew and his family with his soaring medical expenses? To make a donation to NFT to assist Matthew with his transplant-related expenses, please visit his Web page on the NFT site.