Michael's last biopsy was a level A1.  This means that there are rejection cells in the heart.  The good news is that this is expected now and again.  The prendizone was reduced by 2.5 mg for a new dose of 7.5 mg per day [original post-transplant dose was 30 mg per day].  The other meds have remained the same with the addition of alopurinol for gout. 

To date, Michael has had two severe gout attacks that have resulted in hospitalization.  Each gout visit has meant a direct joint injection of cortizone.  The gout is common with the tranplant meds.  Next biopsey is in 6 weeks.

NEW Online Organ & Tissue Donation Registration in Ontario

Ontario's Trillium Gift of Life network launched their new online Organ & Tissue Donation Registration in Ontario.  Hopefully, this will be a more effortless & accessible approach to organ & tissue donation in Ontario!  One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance up to seventy-five more.  Watch the inspiring video below on how organ donation saves lives...

Here is a link to a great article written on the new registry by
Chris Powell:  http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/marketer-news/trillium-gift-of-life-promotes-new-online-organ-donor-registry-29078.  The article quotes Versha Prakash, vice-president of operations for the Trillium Gift of Life Network, that currently only 19% of Ontarians are registered organ donors.  The goal is to double that to 370,000 registered donors.

Chinese Teen Sells Kidney for iPad2

A Chinese teenager has reportedly sold one of his kidneys for 20,000 yuan ($3171) so he could buy an iPad 2.

The high school student from Anhui Province, Xiao Zhang, confessed to his mother that he was motivated to sell the kidney after seeing an internet ad offering cash to people who were prepared to become organ donors, according to the Global Times.  His mother had discovered the iPad 2 and forced him to reveal how he was able to afford the gadget.  "I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didn't have the money," the boy told Shenzhen TV. He also bought an iPhone and a laptop with the proceeds from the sale, his mother said.

Xiao Zhang, the iPad 2 and his scar.

Chenzhou 198 Hospital in Hunan Province, where the boy reportedly had his surgery, does not have qualifications for kidney transplantation. It has denied any connection with the organ removal however has admitted contracting out its urology department to a private businessman.

The buying and selling of organs is a growing issue in China and the government has so far failed to stamp out the practice. There have been many reports of "transplant tourists" who come from rich countries to buy much-needed organs from poor desperate people.  The blackmarket trade is driven by the fact that there are many times more people waiting for organs than there are legitimate donors.

Zheng's mother told Shenzhen TV that she took her son to report the matter to police but the agents who had organised the organ trade were uncontactable. Police are reportedly trying to track down the buyers.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/ipad/chinese-teen-sells-kidney-for-ipad-20110603-1fjsr.html#ixzz1OAhYHsJ8

100th LVAD Celebration at TGH

Wednesday, I had the honour of attending the 100th LVAD [Left Ventricle Assist Device] Celebration at Toronto General Hospital.  The event featured talks by Dr. Heather Ross & Dr. Vivek Rao, both of whom are part of the heart transplant team at TGH.

In 2001, Dr. Rao [Surgical Director of Cardiac Transplantation at TGH], implanted the first LVAD on patient, Mike Schmidt.  The 100th was implanted in February, 2011.  Currently, there were two LVAD implants scheduled for this week and one for next.  Ontario recently provided funding to cover the implantation of twenty LVADs.  Prior to that, the cost was covered by donations.

Current & past LVAD patients & transplant patients with Dr. Rao

The LVAD provides a patient with heart failure with three options:

1. A bridge to a recovery [explanting or removing of the LVAD leaving the native heart]
2. A bridge to a transplant
3. Destination Therapy [end of life]

In Canada, heart failure is the number one reason for hospital admission.  Of the five hundred thousand Canadians are living with heart failure, 25-40% are at risk of dying one year after diagnosis.  The average life expectancy after diagnosis is 2.1 years.  Of all those diagnosed with severe heart failure only 5% qualify for a transplant or LVAD

My dad, John, with Dr. Delgado.  Dr. Delgado is a member of the TGH transplant team & one of my dad's cardiologists.

In all, it was a very informative session and celebration on a lovely, sunny afternoon in Toronto & wonderful to be invited to such a great event and see familiar faces.  We really are incredibly lucky to have such a cutting edge, competent and caring team at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital!

Heart to Heart

I just finished a teen novel called Heart to Heart by Lurlene McDaniel.  It is a about heart transplantation, donor family and organ recipient meeting and cellular memory [which apparently occurs more often with heart transplants].  This book was a tear jerker given our family experience with organ donation.  Read below to learn about the inspiration behind the book.

After a bit of digging online, I discovered this review on goodreads.com by Lois Duncan:

Of course, I love it! This young adult novel about a girl who received s heart transplant is dedicated "To Lois, and to Kaitlyn whose heart lives on." 

One evening when my friend Lurlene and I were having dinner together,I told her about my daughter, Kaitlyn Arquette, who was chased down in her car and shot in the head in Albuquerque, NM, in 1989 (case is still unsolved). Kait was an organ doner, and, as the recipient of her heart and lungs came out from under the anesthetic, he described to his mother and to a nurse his vivid "dream" of a terrified girl being chased in her car by dark-complexioned men. Apparently Kait's final memories were transplanted along with her organs. 

I said to Lurlene, "This could be the plot of one of your novels." And, now, it is. (less)

Fourteen Years Ago Today....

Fourteen years ago today, Dr. Cusimano performed my dad's heart transplant surgery at Toronto General Hospital....we think his transplant was a bit of an experiment.  At the time, the cut-off to receive a heart was 65 years old.  My dad was 68 years old.  A donor heart couldn't be over the age of 40 and my Dad's donor heart was 50 years old.  If indeed he was an experiment, it worked!

Leaving Toronto General Hospital post-transplant with his brother, Dennis, wife [my mom], Mary,
and sisters, Mary and Rita.  The large bag on his lap are his meds....

In the last fourteen years my dad has seen his children graduate university, marry, experienced the new lives of four gorgeous grandchildren, fourteen birthdays [and re-birthdays], Christmas', Thanksgivings, many trips to South Carolina together, summers with the pool, and so many other wonderful memories and milestones....

Dad with the classic [puffy] Prednisone face.  This was taken in 1997 post-transplant in Etobicoke.

Dad [affectionally known as Nannan by my kids] last weekend with his four grandchildren.

We are eternally grateful for the generous gift of life given to him by his donor family and the amazing care from the transplant team at Toronto General Hospital and the impact it has had on our family.  Today, we celebrated his re-birthday miracle with family and cupcakes :D

Happy Transplanniversary...fourteen years to the day :D

6 Month Transplanniversary

Our paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, Michael and our parents, Mary & John, at Michael's First Communion in the 1970's.

Today is the six month anniversary of my brother, Michael's, heart transplant.  His biopsies are less frequent, rejection is minimal and his medications have continually been reduced.  Michael is gradually gaining stamina & weight!  My memories of Michael as a kid was of him devouring a can of Coke and a bag of salt & vinegar chips.  Post-transplant, he now has a ravishing sweet tooth...it would seem that it came with the heart :D