60 Lives, 30 Kidneys, All Linked

What made the domino chain of 60 operations possible was the willingness of a Good Samaritan, Mr. Ruzzamenti, to give the initial kidney, expecting nothing in return. Its momentum was then fueled by a mix of selflessness and self-interest among donors who gave a kidney to a stranger after learning they could not donate to a loved one because of incompatible blood types of antibodies. Their loved ones, in turn, were offered compatible kidneys as part of the exchange. 

Chain 124, as it was labeled by the nonprofit National Kidney Registry, required lockstep coordination over four months among 17 hospitals in 11 states. It was born of innovations in computer matching, surgical technique and organ shipping, as well as the determination of a Long Island businessman named Garet Hil, who was inspired by his own daughter’s illness to supercharge the notion of “paying it forward.”

Can you believe how unselfish people are? This is not only amazing in a medical point of view, but also great in seeing the good of man kind. Would you be willing to help someone else to this extent? What about 30 other people, and all their families?

Click through for the whole article, it is well worth the read.

Six-Organ Transplant Girl Goes Home Today

After 100 days in hospital and undergoing a complicated 6-organ transplant, 9-year-old Alannah Shevenell, from Maine, leaves Boston Children’s Hospital today and goes home. Alannah has been treated for a rare form of cancer; an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor continued to grow after all possible treatments failed, and was compromising her internal organs.

A team of surgeons, led by Dr. Heung Bae Kim, the hospital’s Pediatric Transplant Center director, performed the transplant procedure of Alannah’s liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, small intestine and esophagus.

This is just an amazing feat, to be able to bring back someone from a complete body failure. Is there anything medicine can’t achieve??