Transplant-a-thon '07

From The National Post:

Six doctors took part in a record-breaking 56-hour marathon at the University of Alberta Hospital last month, when they gave 18 new organs to 15 patients.

There were four new hearts, four sets of lungs, six kidneys, three livers and one pancreas -- all from four organ donors whose deaths gave life to others.

Normally, it would take three to four weeks to transplant that many organs. And normally, the hospital only does just one combination heart-double lung transplant in a single year.

Now that's a lot of surgery all at the same time. No word, but they probably took the rest of the month off after this feat.

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On Fair Transplant Rules

From The Chicago Tribune:

For years, the system for parceling out kidneys to those who need transplants hasn't changed all that much. If you need a kidney transplant, you basically get in line and wait your turn. It may take two years or 10, depending on what part of the country you live in, among other things. A 70-year-old may get an organ before a 15-year-old. When your name reaches the top of the list, and a suitable organ becomes available, you receive the transplant, unless you're too sick to survive the surgery. This has been considered the fairest way to distribute a precious commodity in short supply.

But that system is inefficient. It wastes some kidneys. It favors some merely because of where they live. People with short expected life spans receive kidneys that could last much longer, and vice versa. It needs to change.

Fortunately, there's a dramatic new formula under discussion by the nation's organ transplant network that seeks to change how kidneys are doled out. Under this concept, doctors would assess the benefit of a kidney transplant largely by estimating the number of extra years of life a transplant could confer.

More.

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