Colorado man dies after transplant operation

[RICHARD]

http://www.aolnews.com/article/color...edy%2F19593822

Sad story and I am going to venture a guess as to why he passed.

Malpractice....no, that was too easy.....They didn't do a good job with cauterizing a blood vessel.

He may have died from another cause, but that is my guess.

No, I am not a doctor, nor have I played one on TV....

[Grace]

I saw this on CNN the other day - so terribly sad. Livers are so much more difficult to transplant than kidneys and/or hearts.

Have you ever met anyone who donated a kidney - a living donor? I have, and they are very special people. The man I took care of donated a kidney to his best friend since 2nd grade - they were in their mid-30s at the time of surgery. I was honored to have been involved with his care.

And then there are those multiple transplants - some involving up to 12 people from coast to coast. Fantastic!!

While speaking of transplants, did any of you watch Boston Med, on ABC this summer? Fantastic series, ending with the transplant of a man's face. It had me in tears - the emotion involved between donors family and recipient. Think about it - taking a liver, kidney, heart - those are all inside, unseen. But to take a face is to take the person you saw every day.

[Daisy and Delilah]

That is an incredible story. Wow!

Isn't it extremely dangerous to remove 60% of someone's liver? I can imagine anything could have easily gone wrong. It just seems unrealistic to think that would work in the donor or the recipient. Wow!

[Grace]

That is an incredible story. Wow!

Isn't it extremely dangerous to remove 60% of someone's liver? I can imagine anything could have easily gone wrong. It just seems unrealistic to think that would work in the donor or the recipient. Wow!

They can take anywhere from 25 - 60%. Most of the liver, in both donor and recipient, will regenerate within a couple of months.

The big problem with liver surgery is the possibility of bleeding - for both parties.

[pomtzu]

That's a pretty sad story.

I worked with a girl in her 30's, who was a perfect match, and thus donated a kidney to her husband. They both did well following the procedure, but I have lost track of her over the years, so I don't know of any updates.

I don't believe I have what it takes to be a living donor, even if I was younger and healthier. I would always have the thought in the back of my head, that if I did this, and then my one remaining kidney failed - then what??? So I'd definitely say that it takes a strong and special person to do this.

[Bonny]

My neighbor received a donor kidney from a man that was killed in a car accident in Texas. So on my drivers license there is donor permission to harvest whatever they can harvest to help someone else. You can give after you are deceased & still help someone live to see another day.

[pomtzu]

So on my drivers license there is donor permission to harvest whatever they can harvest to help someone else. You can give after you are deceased & still help someone live to see another day.

I also was listed as an organ donor on my license for many years, but had it removed when I last had it renewed. Considering my senior status, there isn't much left of me that would benefit anyone else - believe me!

[Grace]

I also was listed as an organ donor on my license for many years, but had it removed when I last had it renewed. Considering my senior status, there isn't much left of me that would benefit anyone else - believe me!

Oh yes there is. They can use your skin for burn patients; if your kidneys are ok they can be used for a senior citizen who might need one. They can use bones, tendons, veins - lots of stuff.

I'm older than you, and I'm still a potential donor.

[Bonny]

Way to go Grace. Pomtzu almost had me thinking my parts wouldn't be worth it & a waste of time. Now I feel better.

[K9karen]

I know 2 people who had kidney transplants. One being a 7 year old girl.

I'm an organ donor. I figure if they find something that still works, they can have it! I doubt I'll be needing it

[Daisy and Delilah]

They can take anywhere from 25 - 60%. Most of the liver, in both donor and recipient, will regenerate within a couple of months.

The big problem with liver surgery is the possibility of bleeding - for both parties.

Thank you, Gretchen. I can't believe the clear possibility of this happening. The rate of regeneration is amazing.

I would think the bleeding is very hard to control.

[Grace]

I'm reading a book written by a female heart surgeon. She does do transplants. She once had a 63 year old man who needed a new heart. He got it - from a college student who died of head trauma suffered in a fall.

This young man saved or improved the lives of eleven strangers -

1. Corneas to a 14 year old girl who had lost her sight by a corneal perforation. She got to see her parents again.

2. Skin for a temporary graft for a fireman who had 3rd degree burns over 60% of his body rescuing a family from a house fire.

3. Bones, tendons, cartilage, ligaments as grafts to save the legs of a young man who had severe injuries from a car accident. He was thus able to walk again.

4 & 5. Lungs - one each to twin boys dying together from pulmonary fibrosis.

6. Pancreas and one kidney saved a 38 year old woman with brittle diabetes.

7. Other kidney saved a mother of two from dialysis 3X/week.

8 & 9. Liver was split in two - smaller portion to a baby born with biliary atresia who would have died before her first birthday. Larger section to a high school English teacher with Hep C.

10. Small intestine to a child dying of malnutrition 2° to an abnormally short bowel.

11. His heart to this doctor's patient.

One donor - and look at the lives that were saved and/or changed for the better!!

[Daisy and Delilah]

Absolutely wonderful, Gretchen.

[Karen]

I am a donor, they can take whatever they need from me. Sure, my eyes aren't great, and I have worn glasses since the summer I turned 9, but I CAN see with corrective lenses, and that's a whole lot better than being blind!