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Razorguns
Well-known member
Do they do this here? This may cut down a lot on wait times. Since the USG still is too uptight to buy chinese prisoner organs:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...0331/kidneys_20060331/20060331?hub=TopStories
Kidney swap could start transplant trend
Hundreds of people wait years to receive a new kidney, and some never do. But a Canadian first could lead to a new program that could save thousands of lives.
An innovative new donor swap program has saved the lives of two patients in Toronto. It involves two married couples joined by a desperate medical need and fate.
Up until a few months ago, Tom and Antoinette McCabe and Joe and Heidi Leung had never met one another. But, they had something in common: one partner in each relationship had kidney failure.
Joe, who was on dialysis, was told that his only hope was a kidney transplant. Antoinette, who was also on dialysis, was told she had to wait up to seven years to get a new kidney.
Their spouses wanted to donate kidneys, but could not because of incompatible blood types.
So doctors hatched a plan for a new paired kidney exchange program that would save their lives.
Instead of Tom giving his wife Antoinette a kidney, he gave his to Joe. And instead of Heidi giving hers to husband Tom, she gave it to Antoinette.
Both surgeries were done simultaneously last November in Toronto at St. Michael's Hospital and Toronto General Hospital.
Joe and Antoinette say this innovative "donor swap" has saved them a lot of worry and hours of dialysis each day.
"After the transplant, I'm really a free woman. It's great for the family and myself, I can do everything spontaneously," Antoinette told CTV News.
"Right now, I think I'm really free, it's the only way I can really describe it, and of course, I can enjoy my life again with my family," Joe said.
"It's a wonderful exchange, I'm giving him a kidney in exchange for his wife giving my wife her life back," Tom told CTV News. "So all of a sudden, two people have got their lives back again, four people have got their lives back because it effects the spouse as well."
Four months after the operation, the two healthy couples reunited for a celebration with their doctors in Toronto.
"This is a great day for dialysis patients everywhere, and I'm honoured and blessed to be the first woman in Canada to receive a kidney under this new program," Antoinette said.
There are thousands of people across Canada on dialysis waiting for kidney transplants, 800 people in the Greater Toronto Area alone.
The average wait to receive a kidney is seven years, and some people die waiting for a transplant.
Up until now, two-thirds of family members and friends who wanted to donate a kidney to a loved one, but were not a match, were rejected as potential donors.
Director of the Kidney Transplant program at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Zaltzman, says this new donor matching program could save many people who currently die waiting.
"It's not for everybody. But for the ones who do it, for sure it's a win win," Zaltzman told CTV News. "You've got two people now who have gotten a kidney who get off the waiting list."
Another kidney swap is planned for May or June. Doctors now hope to turn this idea into a national program linked to a computer registry, which would boost the number of couples willing to trade their kidneys.
With reports
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...0331/kidneys_20060331/20060331?hub=TopStories
Kidney swap could start transplant trend
Hundreds of people wait years to receive a new kidney, and some never do. But a Canadian first could lead to a new program that could save thousands of lives.
An innovative new donor swap program has saved the lives of two patients in Toronto. It involves two married couples joined by a desperate medical need and fate.
Up until a few months ago, Tom and Antoinette McCabe and Joe and Heidi Leung had never met one another. But, they had something in common: one partner in each relationship had kidney failure.
Joe, who was on dialysis, was told that his only hope was a kidney transplant. Antoinette, who was also on dialysis, was told she had to wait up to seven years to get a new kidney.
Their spouses wanted to donate kidneys, but could not because of incompatible blood types.
So doctors hatched a plan for a new paired kidney exchange program that would save their lives.
Instead of Tom giving his wife Antoinette a kidney, he gave his to Joe. And instead of Heidi giving hers to husband Tom, she gave it to Antoinette.
Both surgeries were done simultaneously last November in Toronto at St. Michael's Hospital and Toronto General Hospital.
Joe and Antoinette say this innovative "donor swap" has saved them a lot of worry and hours of dialysis each day.
"After the transplant, I'm really a free woman. It's great for the family and myself, I can do everything spontaneously," Antoinette told CTV News.
"Right now, I think I'm really free, it's the only way I can really describe it, and of course, I can enjoy my life again with my family," Joe said.
"It's a wonderful exchange, I'm giving him a kidney in exchange for his wife giving my wife her life back," Tom told CTV News. "So all of a sudden, two people have got their lives back again, four people have got their lives back because it effects the spouse as well."
Four months after the operation, the two healthy couples reunited for a celebration with their doctors in Toronto.
"This is a great day for dialysis patients everywhere, and I'm honoured and blessed to be the first woman in Canada to receive a kidney under this new program," Antoinette said.
There are thousands of people across Canada on dialysis waiting for kidney transplants, 800 people in the Greater Toronto Area alone.
The average wait to receive a kidney is seven years, and some people die waiting for a transplant.
Up until now, two-thirds of family members and friends who wanted to donate a kidney to a loved one, but were not a match, were rejected as potential donors.
Director of the Kidney Transplant program at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Zaltzman, says this new donor matching program could save many people who currently die waiting.
"It's not for everybody. But for the ones who do it, for sure it's a win win," Zaltzman told CTV News. "You've got two people now who have gotten a kidney who get off the waiting list."
Another kidney swap is planned for May or June. Doctors now hope to turn this idea into a national program linked to a computer registry, which would boost the number of couples willing to trade their kidneys.
With reports
