Unusual Gifts That Make You Think Twice
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| photo source |
But what about the gifts that are meant to get you to think twice?
Such as this lung shaped ashtray.
So tell me, would it make you think twice?
Photo Source: Tree Hugger
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Monday, June 28, 2010
But what about the gifts that are meant to get you to think twice?
Such as this lung shaped ashtray.
So tell me, would it make you think twice?
Photo Source: Tree Hugger
Read more...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Build-A-Lung
Really?! Yea, I'm with you on that.
It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but in fact, it is true. I recently read about Yale University researchers who had regenerated the lung of a rat. Did it work? Apparently the lung "lived" for an hour or two. There is still much research to do on this discovery, especially for humans. But, it was stated it could take 20 to 25 years before such a leap for humans is in place, or accepted.
According to the American Lung Association, nearly 400,000 people die of lung diseases each year in the United States alone and lung transplants are far too rare to offer much help.
So what do you think about a human build-a-lung?
And P.S.: Thank you to the rat for dedicating him/herself to science, even if it wasn't his/her choice. :-)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Submit Your Transplant Story
Joanne Schum is compiling the 2nd edition of "Taking Flight: Inspirational Stories of Lung Transplantation" and is in need of stories.
If you know anyone who had a lung transplant, were/are care takers of lung recipients, or were/are a donor family who donated lungs, have them email Joanne at [luckylungsforjo AT aol DOT com].
An added bonus: If you enter a story you have the opportunity to design the front cover!! Butterflies are the theme.
To learn more about the details of submitting your story, check out the Facebook Group page Lung Transplantation: Taking Flight with New Life. Those who have HAD, or are WAITING for a lung, lungs, or heart/lungs transplant, will find this group helpful.
Joanne Schum is 46 years old. A post double lung transplant of 13 years due to Cystic Fibrosis.
Monday, June 21, 2010
'Presumed Consent' for Organ Donation
Westchester County assemblyman, Richard Brodsky (D-Greenburgh), whose daughter is a two-time kidney transplant recipient wants to flip New York's organ-donation system on its head by presuming people are donors unless they indicate otherwise. The reason: he feels "New York is a completely failed system".
Statistics show:
-The majority of New Yorkers would like to be donors, yet just 13% of residents 18 and older are on the state Donate Life Registry
-More than 9,600 people in the state need organ transplants (New York Organ Donor Network)
-There were just 423 deceased organ donors in New York in 2009
But because both individuals and religious groups have raised legitimate concerns on this subject, he will not be pushing the proposal this session. However, he co-sponsored legislation that would let people consent to giving an anatomical gift through an electronic signature. It has passed both houses and now goes to Gov. David Paterson for his consideration. Right now, 45 states allow electronic signatures for donor registries (New York Organ Donor Network).
Other organ donation reforms he is working on includes requiring the state Department of Motor Vehicles to provide information on organ donations and creating an organ donation tax credit.
In an April Donate Life America report, data showed other states with low donor-registration rates are Texas (an estimated 2 percent), South Carolina (9 percent) and New Hampshire (10 percent), compared to 73 percent in Alaska.
No states have "presumed consent" laws, although there have been attempts in several of them, including Maryland and Pennsylvania. Legislation is under consideration in Illinois. A bill was introduced in the Delaware Legislature two years ago. And a number of European nations, including France, Austria and Spain, have this kind of system in place, and they have seen an increase in organ availability.
It is felt by some that since the majority of New Yorkers and Americans want to donation organs and tissues when they die, the burden should be on the minority to opt out.
The Long Island Coalition for Life Inc. opposes Brodsky's legislation. "This legislation opens up the door to abuse via hastened death of vulnerable people and overriding of family concerns," Jerome Higgins, chairman of the coalition, wrote in a memorandum to lawmakers. "It also goes a step further toward turning human organs into commodities. The sick and disabled need to be protected, not exploited for their body parts."
Mary Ann Baily, a fellow of the Hastings Center, a bioethics research group in Garrison, Putnam County, who once sat on an Institute of Medicine committee that looked at how to boost organ donations, stated that even if all available organs were taken, it wouldn't eliminate waiting lists. Hospitals may not get the maximum number of organs possible if they and organ banks aren't well organized, she said.
Cara Matthews
Gannett Albany Bureau
So what do think about presumed consent? Leave a comment below, we'd love to hear your thoughts!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Struggling to Breath with Pulmonary Fibrosis
A video I happened across and wanted to share with you. I'm sure there are "pre-commercials" before the actual video starts.
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Thursday, June 10, 2010
Linking Donors To Save Lives
Today I caught notice of a local newspaper article about donors linking together to save lives. Intriqued, I read the article and was quite amazed. It was about a local man who needed a kidney transplant and his sister was more than willing to donate her kidney but she turned out to not be a good match. So, they entered into this kidney chain.
This pay-it-forward kidney donation chain works to match living donors with those in need of a kidney transplant. Rising rates of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and longer lives has resulted in more kidney disease, making it the most-needed organ for transplant.
Theorectically, these chains could go on forever, but typically include a half-dozen pairs. Some chains end when the last willing donor has type AB blood. Participating in a donor chain provides many more chances...as long as you have a healthy friend/family member willing to share their kidney.
The national waiting list, in 2009, showed 16,831 kidneys were transplanted nationwide, 62 percent from deceased donors and 38 percent from living donors. Living donors must pass alot of tests but their kidneys transplant better than cadaveric kidneys.
What about the living donor? Live donors can live fine with just one kidney. If illness or injury does hurt a living donor's remaining kidney, they then move to the top of the list of people needing a kidney tranplant (a guideline set by the United Network for Organ Sharing). The surgery is minimally invasive with tiny incisions made in the lower abdomen wall, resulting in a much less needed hospital stay.
For more information:
United Network for Organ Sharing
www.transplantliving.org/livingdonation
Alliance for Paired Donation
www.paireddonation.org
National Kidney Registry
www.kidneyregistry.org
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