Organ Transplant in a Backpack, Record Number Organ Donors, and UNOS/Walgreens announce a research p
Hello everyone, and welcome to this month's blog post! I'm glad that spring is finally here, even though we've had some snow when we weren't supposed to, haha! Anyway, let's get right into it.
A Record Number of Organ Donors in 2017!
During 2017, the number of deceased organ donors in the United States topped 10,000 for the first time, according to preliminary data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which serves as the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) under federal contract. For the year, organs were recovered from 10,281 donors, representing a 3.1 percent increase over 2016 and an increase of 27 percent since 2007.
While the number of potential organ donors varies among different areas of the country due to differences in population size and medical characteristics, increases were noted in many areas. Of the 58 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) coordinating deceased organ donation nationwide, 35 (60 percent) experienced an increase in donors from 2016 to 2017, including at least one OPO in each of UNOS’ 11 regions.
Read the entire article here:
A UNOS x Walgreens Research Collaboration
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and Walgreens are working together to study issues around transplant outcomes and medication adherence. UNOS researchers along with the Walgreens Center for Health & Wellness Research will assess outcomes of patients who had a kidney, heart or liver transplant and filled transplant-related prescriptions at Walgreens pharmacies.
Researchers will examine patient characteristics, comorbidities, adherence, and post-transplant outcomes.“We’re excited to collaborate with UNOS on this research,” said Glen Pietrandoni, Senior Director of Patient Care & Advocacy at Walgreens. “The research will help highlight the role that community pharmacists play in supporting transplant patients throughout their journey.”
Read more here:
A Heart Transplant in a Backpack!
In 2016, a 25-year-old American man received a full heart transplant, but not before surviving for more than a year without a human heart inside his body!
Stan Larkin wore an 'artificial heart' in a backpack 24/7 for 555 days, which pumped blood around his body and kept him alive. The success of the proceduresuggests that the device could be used to sustain other patients with total heart failure while they're waiting for a donor. At the time, no one knew how much he'd be able to do with it. The portable device comes in the form of a 6-kg (13.5 pound) backpack that's connected to the patient's vascular system, to keep oxygenated blood pumping around the body. It's not the most versatile thing to have on you 24/7, and Stan reported not being able to hold his daughters or give them piggy back rides. But he did manage to continue playing basketball - a total surprise to his doctors.
It actually looks really cool, like something out of a sci-fi movie!
That's it for this month! I hope you enjoyed reading, and see you next time.
