|
 Traveling
by airplane can be a stressful thing for anyone, let alone
a PH patient. You need to be prepared, this article from
the AirSupply Newsletter can help (read
more...)
|
As
recent years have proved, pulmonary hypertension is treated successfully
in many patients, eliminating the need for lung transplantation.
But there are still too many out there with end stage pulmonary
hypertension who have exhausted all treatment options and are in
need of transplant.
For
most patients and families, the prospect of undergoing a lung
transplant produces feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Knowledge
is the best defense in dealing with these feelings. (read
more from the Mayo Clinic on transplantation...)
"It is just like when you plan for a child's
birth. You need to plan for that timewhen you pass on. Discuss organ
donation with your family. Make a commitment. Get your organ donor
card and understand that you are going to make a difference in many,
many people's lives. You have a chance to save lives."
Olympic Track Gold Medal Winner Carl
Lewis,
who became an advocate and educator
about organ and tissue
donation
when the sister of a close friend needed a liver transplant.
"By a simple decision, a bereaved
family can either save otrher families from teh devastation they
themselves are oing through or condemn them to a lifetime of sorrow.
Knowing that, I often wonder how any other decision is possible."
Reg and Maggie Green, who donated
the organs of their seven-year-old son Nicholas
who was killed
by robbers while vacationing in Italy.
Statistics (from US Department of
Health and Human Services)
- As
of Septemebr 2002, more than 80,000 individuals were on the national
transplant waiting list for organs. Each month, the list grows by
more than 300 people.
- In 2001, 24,076 organ transplants were performed -- about 66 each day.
- In 2001, more than 6,000 wait-listed patients died while waiting for
an organ to become available. Seventeen die each day. That is one person
every 85 minutes.
- In 2001, 6,081 donations took place after death. Yet, experts estimate
that as many as 15,000 of those who die each year could be donors.
- Without a donor, transplant surgeons cannot save even one life. With
just one organ and tissue donor, they can save and improve as
many
as 50
lives. In addition to the number of peopel who receive a transplant,
families and friends of recipients also benefit.
- About 60 people receive life-enhancing organ transplants each day.
- Surveys indicate that most Americans approve of organ donation. Yet,
nearly 50 percent of those surveyed said they had never discussed donation
with family members.
- Organs are not matched by race or gender, but anyone's chances of getting
a match are better if people of their own racial group actively donate
organs because people of hte same racial/ethnic heritage often are more
genetically similar.
- More minority organ, tissue, marrow, and blood stem cell donors
are critcally needed.
- On average, minorities wait nearly twice as long as Whites for
organ transplants.
- Ceratin ethnic adn racial minorities have high reates of diseases,
such as hypertension and diabetes, that may lead to organ failure
and the need for transplant. For example, African Americans represent
approximately 12 percent of the population, but they represent approximately
36 percent of patients waiting fo ra kidney transplant.
- A new patient is added to the national organ transplant waiting list
every 13 minutes.
- Signing a legal donor card, joining a state registry, and/or identigying
yoruself as an "organ donor" on your driver's license is importatn. But
it is equally important to tell your family or your desire to be an organ
and tissue donor. Help them to be supportive of your wishes.
- Studies show that 95 percent of families would consent to the Gift
of Life if they knew this was their loved one's wish. Millions of families
are unaware of their loved one's decision about donation. The result
is that only 50 percent of families, when asked, consent to donation.
email
