Domino Liver Transplant at Emory University Hospital

Surgeons at Emory University Hospital performed a very rare domino liver transplant in July. This procedure is so rare that only about 100 have taken place in the United States.

During a domino liver transplant, doctors take the first liver from a deceased donor and transplant it into a recipient. That recipient's liver then is transplanted into a second recipient. The patients, a 24-year-old battling Maple Syrup Urine Disease and a 53-year-old suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C contracted from a blood transfusion in the 1980's, are recovering in an Atlanta hospital.

For the entire story, please visit the WSB News Atlanta Web site.

NFT Patients Who Received Transplants in July

We are so happy for our patients who received lifesaving transplants last month!

• Steve Colantoni (heart) at Duke University Medical Center
  
• Cynthia Curtis (double lung) at Barnes-Jewish Hospital
• Jaden Dhaliwal (bone marrow) at Duke University Medical Center
• Russell Ford (heart) at University of North Carolina Hospital
• Nate Gunderson (heart) at Sacred Heart Medical Center
• Brenda Hall (kidney) at Methodist University Hospital
• Albert Jafolla (kidney) at Florida Hospital
• Gary Johnston (liver) at University of Kansas Hospital
• Rajinder Kaur (kidney) at University of Utah Health Care
• Juan Lasalle (liver) at Methodist University Hospital
• Barbara Panell (lung) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  

NFT in Australia for World Transplant Games!

Brian Barndt began fundraising with NFT in 2005. After receiving a heart transplant in July of 2005, he has gone on to lead an active life as a teaching professional for total immersion swimming. Read Brian’s post below about his upcoming participation in the 2009 World Transplant Games in Brisbane, Australia. You can also learn more about Brian by visiting his blog, “Heart2Swim.”

Well, the title is partially true. I am in the Gold Coast with Team USA to swim in the World Transplant Games against the best transplant athletes in the world. However, I would not be in this position without the support of NFT in my life, both pre and post-transplant. NFT’s impact continues to this day.

As my family began the process of waiting for the phone call that could save my life in June 2005, we had to decide how to raise enough money to not only pay for my surgery and recovery, but also the years of expenses to follow. This was an arduous task, considering I was dying from heart failure after living with cardiomyopathy for 15 long years. NFT offered me wise counsel and great resources to set and reach our goal of $35,000. We were fortunate to have Connie Gonitzke as our advisor/coach during the fundraising. We met the goal!

Now, after four years of good health, I have been blessed to swim for Team NC at the 2006 & 2008 U.S. Transplant Games, winning seven gold medals and setting four American records. This year, I have the honor of representing Team USA as an elite transplant athlete, swimming with transplant recipients from 50 different countries. I will compete in five individual events: 50 & 100 meter backstroke, 50 & 100 meter breaststroke, 400 meter freestyle, as well as both the men's medley and freestyle relays!

I will compete in Brisbane, Australia on August 26 and 27. As I ponder this upcoming experience, I am humbled to be in this situation. There were many dark and frightening days during my illness, when my wife and two daughters were not sure if I would survive much longer. Therefore, I am filled with gratitude for the countless people who helped lift me to a position where I can strive for a gold medal at the World Games. NFT has played a pivotal role in making this dream a reality.

Swimming for life,

Brian Barndt
Visit Brian’s blog at http://www.heart2swim.com/ for updates during the World Transplant Games!

Patient of the Month: Jaden Dhaliwal

Little 6-year-old Jaden was diagnosed with Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) when he was just 23 months old. After suffering from persistent fevers that would not go away, doctors discovered he had this rare disease, which only affects 25,000 people worldwide. To boost his immunity, Jaden had to take medication every day and shots three times each week.

Doctors knew a bone marrow transplant was the only treatment that could cure young Jaden. In July, Jaden underwent a bone marrow transplant for which his sister Gia was donor. His father also donated platelets as part of the transplantation process.

Jaden is so excited about his transplant, which will allow him to play like the other children his age. Jaden could not visit zoos, go hiking, play outside or take camping trips because of the many things that could make him ill.

Although Jaden and his family and grateful for this opportunity, they know there is still a difficult journey ahead. A bone marrow transplant costs approximately $675,000. And that's only the beginning. Even with health coverage, Jaden's family faces significant medical expenses related to his transplant. The Dhaliwal family lives 3,000 miles away from the transplant center at Duke University Medical Center. They will need significant help with travel, food and lodging, especially because his father was out of work for six weeks after donating platelets for the transplant.

Can you help Jaden and his family with these soaring medical expenses? To make a donation to NFT in Jaden Dhaliwal’s honor, click here.

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!