organ donation

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>

1 in 11 Organ Donors Died of Drug Overdose Last Year

More than 20 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant

(Newser) - As the number of Americans dying of drug overdoses continues to rise—thanks in large part to an opioid epidemic—so too has the number of organ donors. In fact, the percentage of donors who died of overdoses has nearly tripled since 2006, according to data gathered by the United...

New Method Could Revolutionize Kidney Transplants

Incompatible organs now much easier to transplant

(Newser) - Exciting news for people on transplant waiting lists: In a breakthrough that experts say could revolutionize kidney transplants, a new procedure called "desensitization" has allowed doctors to alter patients' immune systems and give them kidneys from living donors previously considered incompatible, reports the New York Times . Patients who received...

Mom Hears Dead Son Inside 4-Year-Old Girl

Heather Clark donated her son's heart after he died

(Newser) - The mother of a boy who died under suspicious circumstances was able to hear his heart beat again—inside the body of a 4-year-old girl. Heather Clark, who donated her son's organs after his death in 2013, visited the Phoenix family of donor recipient Jordan Drake for the emotional...

In Final Heroic Act, Man Donates Organs to Fellow Vets

In the final moments of Army veteran Matthew Whalen's life, a tribute

(Newser) - As Army veteran Matthew Whalen was wheeled down the halls of Plaza Fort Worth Medical Center in Texas in his final moments on Monday, current and former service members stood at attention in an emotional tribute. His wife, fellow veteran Hannah Whalen, said her final and tearful "I love...

New Device Pumps Life Into 'Dead' Hearts

It could raise the number available for transplant by a third

(Newser) - The number of hearts available to thousands of Americans requiring a transplant every year could increase by up to 30% if a new piece of medical technology developed in Massachusetts is approved for use in the US, the MIT Technology Review reports. TransMedics' Organ Care System—known as "heart...

Teacher's Kidney a Match for Her Student, 6

Lindsey Painter to give Matthew Parker her kidney

(Newser) - Matthew Parker only makes it to Lindsey Painter's first-grade class two days a week, but the 6-year-old's attendance record is about to get a lot better: The teacher is giving him one of her kidneys and he will soon be able to go school full-time instead of going...

What Organ Donors Have Given America: 2.2M Years

But that's not enough, researchers say

(Newser) - Organ donors added 2,270,859 years to the lives of American transplant recipients over 25 years—a "stellar accomplishment," experts say in a study published Wednesday in JAMA Surgery . They arrived at the figure after identifying 533,329 patients who received at least one donated organ between...

China to Stop Using Organs From Executed Prisoners

But new supply may be hard to find

(Newser) - China says that on Jan. 1, in response to human rights concerns, it will cease transplanting organs taken from executed prisoners, although uncertainties linger over where a replacement supply will come from, state media reported today. China had previously said it would phase out the practice by sometime in early...

After Court Fight, Toddler's Organs Won't Be Donated

Thaiya Spruill-Smith will be taken off life support

(Newser) - A sad custody dispute in Brooklyn is over, with the result being that 2-year-old Thaiya Spruill-Smith will be taken off life support and then buried intact as her father wishes, reports the Daily News . Thaiya was declared brain-dead on Friday, allegedly after being shaken to death by her stepfather. Her...

2-Year-Old Girl Kept Alive as Parents Fight Over Organs

Thaiya Spruill-Smith died after stepfather allegedly shook her

(Newser) - Thaiya Spruill-Smith was declared dead Friday night, two days after her stepfather allegedly shook her violently. But the Brooklyn girl remains on life support as her parents fight over her organs: Mom Teoka Spruill wants them donated, while dad Terrell Smith doesn't want his daughter's body cut up...

Stranger Sees Girls' Plea, Gives Their Dad a Kidney

Donation saves life of Georgia police officer

(Newser) - A Texas man decided to step up and save the life of a total stranger hundreds of miles away after seeing the man's two young daughters plead that "Our Daddy needs a kidney." After Greensboro, Ga., police officer Raleigh Callaway went into stage 5 kidney failure, the...

Kidney Donors Have Brains 'Built for Compassion'

'Empathy zone' is bigger than average, study finds

(Newser) - People who donate kidneys to total strangers aren't just bighearted, they're big-brained compared to most people, researchers say. Neurologists scanned the brains of 39 such donors and found that their brains were 9% bigger than non-donors' brains—with significantly greater volume in the part of the brain that...

Boy's Organ Donation Rejected Because He's Gay

Family of Alexander Betts Jr couldn't give his eyes away

(Newser) - Alexander Betts Jr's heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs all went to recipients when he died following a suicide attempt last year. His eyes, however, did not—because Betts was gay, the Washington Post reports. "My initial feeling was just very angry because I couldn’t understand why my...

After Transplant Saves Son, Mom Returns Favor

She's donating kidney to father of deceased youth

(Newser) - It’s the kind of organ donation that California hospital officials say they’ve never seen before: The mother of a man who had a lifesaving pancreas transplant almost 10 years ago is now donating her own kidney to the father of the deceased pancreas donor. When Bill Millard’s...

Farmer Lets Hunter Use His Land, Gets a Kidney

One stranger saves another's life

(Newser) - There's the donor waiting list, and then there's this: A Mississippi hunter who knocked on a Kansas farmer's door seeking permission to hunt ended up giving the stranger a kidney. As the AP recounts, Rob Robinson first knocked on Gil Alexander's door in 2008 to hunt...

Ohio Rejects Killer&#39;s Organ Donation Offer
Ohio Executes Killer With Untried Drug Combo
UPDATED
Jan 16, 2014 10:43 AM CST

Ohio Executes Killer With Untried Drug Combo

'Prolonged' execution takes 15-plus minutes

(Newser) - Dennis McGuire was put to death today with a two-drug combination previously untested in the US, and at more than 15 minutes, it was one of the longest executions in Ohio since the state resumed capital punishment in 1999. McGuire, whose lawyers had attempted to delay his execution by arguing...

5-Foot 'Snow Kidney' May Have Found Man a Donor

Jim Gorbunow thought sculpture would get him some attention

(Newser) - Jim Gorbunow is thinking outside the box when it comes to finding a kidney donor: To draw attention to his plight, the Minnesota man built a 5-foot snow sculpture of a kidney in his front yard last week ... and named it "Kevin." Gorbunow's brother helped him build...

Ohio Delays Execution to Weigh Organ-Donor Request

Killer Ronald Phillips wants to donate organs to family, others

(Newser) - A convicted child killer just got a last-minute reprieve from Ohio's governor, thanks to the inmate's unusual request to be an organ donor . Ronald Phillips, who raped and murdered the 3-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, was supposed to be put to death tomorrow morning. Instead, Gov. John Kasich...

Ohio: Killer Can't Give Away Organs Before Execution

Ronald Phillips wants kidneys, heart to go to family

(Newser) - Ronald Phillips won't be able to give away his kidneys—and definitely not his heart—before he is put to death tomorrow for the 1993 rape and murder of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Ohio prison officials have decided. The inmate wrote to officials earlier this week saying he...

Kidney Transplant Patient Marries His Donor

Kyle Froelich, Chelsea Clair a good match in more ways than one

(Newser) - Kyle Froelich's kidneys were failing, and he'd been waiting for a good match—little did he know what his plight would bring him. He met Chelsea Clair in 2009; she'd heard about him, and almost immediately decided to give him her kidney. Froelich, then 19, and Clair,...

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>