Just weeks after competing in a mini-triathlon with his three sons, Kurt Person lost the ability to use his right shoulder. Prior to the injury-causing accident, Person could often be found competing in triathlons, barefoot-water skiing, test riding motor cycles, All Terrain Vehicles and snow mobiles, or taking part in his favorite activity: playing ball with his sons.
While testing the brakes on an all-terrain vehicle as part of his occupation, Person crashed, severing the four main tendons and ligaments in his shoulder.
“I was told a break would have been easier to fix,” Person said. “After a month of immobilized healing, it became clear that a total reconstruction would be needed to restore the arm and shoulder function.”
What Person didn’t know was that somewhere, someone who had lost a loved one had donated tissue, making the reconstruction of his shoulder (more…)
Pop sensation Justin Bieber increases organ and tissue donations while helping a young girl in need
While awaiting a lung transplant, 20-year-old Helene Campbell decided to take action and increase donor awareness. Campbell and friends focused on a Twitter campaign with a specific goal in mind: getting Justin Bieber to take notice and spread the word to his 16-million followers.
Well they got Justin’s attention, and with his support via Twitter, a Canadian organ registry received more than 500 new registrants within just a few days. Check out the full story here.
Congratulations to Donor Alliance, the federally-designated organ procurement organization serving Colorado and Wyoming, which this week reported that it increased driver’s license office donor registration in 2011. This maintains Colorado’s position as one of the highest donor designation rates in the country. (At the close of 2011, 67 percent of Colorado’s licensed drivers and ID card holders had joined the registry. Similarly, Wyoming’s registry remained at a strong 59 percent donor designation rate.)
The organization also recovered more bone and joint restoration tissue grafts, allowing roughly 48,000 people to regain mobility and active lives after disease or trauma last year.
Donor Alliance has also launched Donate Life Colorado and Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages, where it will bust myths surrounding donation, and answer questions from the public.
“Participating in the Donate Life Rose Parade Float as a float rider was an amazing time. It was awesome decorating the float with all the other participants. After spending time with the donor families who participated, I decided to pen a thank-you letter to my own donor family. At first I was intimidated but they quickly made me feel comfortable. Hearing their stories convinced me that writing my letter was the right thing to do. All who had received letters from their recipients were happy to have them, and another woman told me that it had been many years since her deceased son had given the gifts of life, but she had never received a single letter and it made her very sad.
“This experience has overwhelmed me with emotion. I can’t wait to get more involved with the cause of organ and tissue donation, and look forward to potentially assisting with an awareness program for my community’s high schools. Maybe seeing a face with a story of recovery and hope will encourage kids to check that donor box when they get their licenses! Thank you to my sponsor AlloSource for all the magic you’ve exposed me to!”
- Susan Cossabone, cellular bone transplant recipient. Read Susan’s story here.
The following story about Rose Parade float rider and tissue recipient Susan Cossabone has been published more than 600 times by newspapers and regional television networks’ websites throughout the country. Additionally, NBC40 in New Jersey produced this segment on her story. Great media visibility promoting the possibilities of tissue donation!
How a woman’s leg was saved by donated tissue
The gift of donated human tissue meant that Susan Cossabone was able to avoid leg amputation and return to her passion of horseback riding following a devastating accident.
Cossabone will join 27 other float riders from around the country Jan. 2 on the Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. The float, now in its ninth year, is a tribute to the millions of people touched by organ, tissue and blood donation. (more…)
At 77 years old, Jane Przedpelski describes herself as “happily active.” A Colorado resident, she finds pleasure in camping, snowshoeing and walking in the mountains and the desert with her husband. However, a fall from a ladder and subsequent broken leg threatened her active lifestyle.
The fall resulted in a broken tibia, or shin bone. Doctors recommended that she have surgery to repair the bone, as it was not likely to heal well enough on its own. The surgery involved implanting a steel plate against her bone for structural support. Additionally, after finding osteoporosis in the bone during surgery, the doctor chose to also transplant bone grafts from a deceased human donor into Jane’s injured bone to allow it to strengthen over time.
An unfamiliar concept to Jane, she questioned her doctor about the bone tissue transplant.
“I asked the doctor if compatibility studies had been done,” Jane said. “He explained that contrary to organ transplants, it was not necessary.” (more…)
As Thanksgiving approaches, please pause with us to give thanks for the selfless tissue donors and their brave families who make the choice to give the gift of life.
Each year, life-saving and life-enhancing tissue is provided by approximately 30,000 tissue donors. Just one tissue donor can enhance the lives of more than 50 people.
Approximately 1.5 million allografts are transplanted each year for a variety of life-saving and life-enhancing surgeries that many are not aware of:
bone grafts for patients with bones degenerated by cancer
cornea transplants to help restore sight
heart valves to replace damaged heart tissues
skin grafts to save the lives of burn victims
tendon, meniscus and soft tissue replacements to help people lead more active lives.
Connie Hilger eagerly anticipated her adult son’s visit home for Christmas in 2009. During his visit, he teamed up with his former classic rock band for a reunion show at a local pub. Connie’s family, as well as the family of another band member, were excited to be together for the holidays and were enjoying the show. Suddenly, trouble broke out in the pub.
Connie says “If one life can breathe easier because of me, then I’ve gained my own measure of success. If I could speak to my donor I would say: thank you for helping to make people at a small county fair smile. You’re a success.”
“An argument erupted behind me,” Connie said. “I stood up to move to the other side of the table but my snow boot caught on the rung of the chair just as one man pushed another into me, knocking me over.” Shortly thereafter, as Connie was still lying on the floor, a large man fell onto her legs. Connie sustained serious injuries: her left leg was broken and her right ACL was blown out.
Aside from the pain and day-to-day struggles that dealing with two injured legs presented, Connie’s injuries also meant she could not adequately do her job, which she had a great passion for. After serving as Montana’s property tax supervisor for 30 years, Connie was at the time working as the local county fair manager. Although the work was taxing (including everything from negotiating entertainment contracts to cleaning horse stalls), she absolutely loved it.
“Seeing smiling faces at a summertime county fair is one of the warmest feelings a heart can experience,” Connie said. (more…)
A reader recently wrote into the San Antonio Express-News to ask this question. She had “heard of families losing a loved one, being pressured to donate the deceased’s organs, then being charged for organ removal.”
In the newspaper’s response, they quote the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance: “It does not cost anything to be a donor. No costs directly related to organ and tissue donation are passed on to the family.”
A Columbus Crew rookie said on Friday that a tissue donation saved his dream of playing soccer in the professional league.
Several years ago Bernardo Anor suffered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, 10TV’s Tracy Townsend reported on Friday.
“I received the ball I was going to turn with the ball when a guy came and tackled me from behind and he basically hit my knee,” Anor said.
Anor’s doctors said that he would be out of the game for nearly a year. His treatment options included a tissue transplant or a series of surgeries to replace the torn ligament with one from his right leg, followed by a lengthy recovery and rehab.
Anor chose the transplant. He said he was grateful for such a gift.
“Since I got that from somebody I’m willing to give it for some other people too that’s why I’m a registered donor,” Anor said.
Families from south central Wisconsin gathered to light candles over the weekend to remember some departed loved ones who brought hope and life to others.
The “Reflections of Life, Reflections of Love” ceremony was a chance for families to honor loved ones who helped save someone’s life through tissue donation.
“When you lose a loved one, you don’t want them forgotten, so it’s a way to have them remembered,” said Loni Wednt, whose departed mother and daughter were both donors. “And you are with people, others who know what you’ve gone through, and they understand that too, so you don’t have to be afraid to cry or share your feelings.”
Following 9/11, Zach felt like many other Americans, “I was tired of watching everything that was happening on TV and thought there had to be a way I could do more to help.” This inspired him to take his EMT experience and passion for medicine and become a combat medic in the army.
After all the necessary training, Zach was sent overseas to the Korengal Valley, in the Kunar Province in Afghanistan. Bordering Pakistan and China, in 2007 the Kunar Province was a mix of terrorist cells, including Al-Qaida, all vying for control. This made it site of some of the heaviest fighting in the Afghan War. Twelve months into his deployment and only a few weeks from his return home, Zach was on patrol when his platoon came under fire from enemy insurgents.
During the attack, one of Zach’s friends had his leg blown off by a rocket propelled grenade and Zach crawled out into an unprotected area, while being fired upon, to bring his friend to safety. While pulling the wounded soldier back behind cover, unbeknownst to him, Zach was shot. He called for a military evacuation helicopter, while stopping the bleeding with a tourniquet and starting an IV on his wounded comrade. Another soldier pointed out blood on Zach’s pant leg and asked him if it was his. Zach said, “I didn’t feel anything until then. But as soon as I saw it, I felt the pain and it was excruciating.” He called the medical evacuation helicopter again and told them to bring a replacement medic. About ten minutes later, the helicopter arrived and both he and his friend were taken for further medical treatment. (more…)
Susan Cossabone always had a gift with horses and a passion for riding. To fulfill that passion, she owned a 10-acre ranch, Hidden View Farm, with 26 horses. Not only did she ride for hours a day, Susan also rode competitively, helped retrain difficult horses, and set up an equine summer camp for at-risk and mentally and physically disabled children. Her passion kept her motivated as she managed most of the ranch alone.
This all changed on a snowy day in 2009. Driving home from dropping off a friend, a car slid out of its lane and struck Susan’s vehicle head on. Witnesses called 911. Due to winter weather the emergency response was slow and Susan’s injuries were grave: on her right leg her kneecap was ripped off, both her tibia and fibula were fractured and her foot was dislocated.
Once at the hospital, Susan’s leg was saved with surgically implanted titanium rods. “I hoped I would be able to walk again,” she said.
Despite this hope, Susan was told that she could never ride again. As a result of her injury, she had to greatly reduce the number of horses she owned, from 26 to 10. Her summer camp was unable to continue, but the remaining horses were taken care thanks to generous help from previous campers.
In a heartbreaking development, her injury then became worse; the metal rods in her leg broke and the doctors began to talk about amputation. Susan refused to accept that option, but nearly every doctor she saw told her the same thing. She could not walk at all by this point, and spent all of her time in a wheelchair.
Desperate to avoid amputation, she found Dr. Mark Myerson through an internet search. Describing her initial conversation with Dr. Myerson, Susan said, “He was the only doctor who did not talk only about amputation. He promised me nothing except his help.” Susan did not have the option of a traditional ankle replacement because when the rods in her leg broke, the screws had become embedded in her ankle, causing even more damage. (more…)
Concerning a “new type of stem cell therapy where live cells, harvested from a tissue donor, are added to an allograph, which then would act like or mimic how the patient’s bone would act.” Incredible to watch how modern medicine continues to find new uses for donated tissue!
When Devin Katacinski was just 12 years old he sustained second-degree burns after spilling a cup of scalding coffee on his arm. The coffee immediately took the skin off from the bottom of his thumb to the middle of his forearm.
Here Devin discusses his injury, and recovery, which was thanks in part to a skin transplant processed by tissue bank AlloSource. Devin reflects on how he feels to have received this gift of life from a donor.
Rachel Frank was a typical college athlete: focused, intense, and determined. When a knee injury threatened her ability to complete her final soccer season, she simply played through the pain.
It wasn’t long before Rachel discovered she could no longer “grin and bear” her meniscus injury. She had to have the injured tissue replaced with an allograft – sidelining her for months from any physical activity.
“It was a difficult decision,” recalls Rachel. “But movement is everything to me. I knew I had to have the procedure.”
Today, Rachel is back in competition. In fact, she completed the Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in May 2009, something she only dreamed of prior to her allograft meniscus replacement. Inspired by her experience, Rachel chose orthopedics as her field of specialty in medical school and currently is an MD candidate at Rush University Medical Center.
A chat with Dr. Richard Kagan about his use of allograft tissue as a burn surgeon, and what tissue donation means to him
Dr. Kagan is the Chief of Staff at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Cincinnati and Professor of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Q: Describe why allograft skin is crucial to save and heal burn victims.
A: It provides a temporary wound cover until the wound is ready to accept the patient’s own skin or until the patient’s limited donor sites are available for autografting.
Q: Why do you use allograft skin for the treatment of burns, versus synthetic materials?
A: I use a combination of both, but 90% of the time fresh allograft is my preference because it will vascularize and adhere to the wound bed better. Allograft tissue creates a temporary wound cover that permits the patient’s condition to improve without the need to create an additional wound from the harvesting of autologous skin. My use is predominantly in deep and/or extensive burns in which case the allograft tissue is potentially lifesaving, but I also use it in the treatment of small burns, abrasion injuries and infected wounds because of its reliable effectiveness.
Q: What do you look forward to in terms of new innovations and new possibilities for tissue transplantation in the future?
A: I’d like to see day when the viability of allograft skin is actually measurable and repeatable so when a surgeon wants fresh or viable skin there’s a measure that implies or guarantees a standard. I’d also like to see more techniques developed to store and maintain the viability of allogeneic tissue, so we don’t have to hope the timing of a donation and a clinical need coincide. (more…)
“As a registered nurse, I have solicited and educated families about organ and tissue donation,” said Margie Mayfield. “However, as a mom receiving this precious gift, it is truly beyond anything I can imagine.”
In 2010, Margie tore her ACL while playing with a child in an inflatable jumping house that she was sponsoring at a church event. Immediately after the injury she was unable to straighten her leg or bear weight on it. Following an MRI that confirmed the tear, Margie decided right away that she would pursue an allograft tissue transplant to repair her knee, if possible.
“I love to bike, play tennis, power walk and swim,” said Margie. “With the injury I was limited. I had a neighbor living with the same injury and I didn’t want to do the same thing.”
However, the gift of tissue donation was not something that Margie took lightly or for granted.
“I was educated in what it means to have donated organs or tissue available, and I trust the system,” said Margie, who works as a parish nurse. “It’s also a faith journey. I want to live my life fully and this offered me fullness and I didn’t want to pass that up.” (more…)
Devin was a typical 12-year-old: an active boy who loved to play soccer and spend time with his friends. Unfortunately, an accident put Devin’s life on pause.
On a Sunday morning at church, Devin was pouring a cup of coffee when the cup slipped and he spilled the coffee on his arm. “When it spilled on my arm, my long-sleeve shirt started clinging to my skin, and my skin was bubbling on my hand,” said Devin. The hot coffee immediately took the skin off from the bottom of his thumb, to the middle of his forearm.
Devin was rushed to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with second degree burns. “They wrapped up my arm, put chemical water on it to cool it and dumped it in a tub, which made it very numb. They also gave me pain killers that put me asleep for a few hours,” explained Devin.
Following treatment at the emergency room, Devin was referred to the Joseph M Still Burn Center at WellStar Cobb Hospital in Austell, Georgia where he remembers noticing that everyone’s burns were so much more severe than his own. Within hours, he was taken into surgery where the doctors removed the burned skin and placed allograft skin on top of it. Allograft skin is a gift of life from a deceased human donor. The days following consisted of a lot of sleep and saltine crackers, but it was the donor skin that really helped in the healing process. The proteins in the donor skin were ideal to help to heal the burn and encourage Devin’s body to regenerate new skin. (more…)
As medicine continues to advance, so too do possibilities for tissue donation and transplant. One of the latest medical treatments available use stem cells from tissue donors.
Check out this exciting story out of Baltimore with Dr. Mark Myerson, director of Mercy Medical Center’s Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction. Dr. Myerson used AlloStem Stem Cell Bone Growth Substitute to re-grow bone in the ankle of a woman from New Jersey who was originally told her leg would have to be amputated following a devastating car accident.
In this Vail Daily article an orthopedic surgeon discusses torn ACLs – a common sports injury, especially among skiers. He discusses the biology of knees, how a torn ACL can be treated (including with an allograft transplant from a deceased donor), as well as the rehabilitation. A good read – especially for our friends here in Colorado!
Tom Cycyota, the CEO of nonprofit tissue bank AlloSource, and tissue recipient Sarah Tomicich, who also works at AlloSource, were interviewed for this important story during Donate Life Month. This is a great reminder that tissue donation can have the same life-saving and life-enhancing benefits of organ donation.
We are honored to share this video blog from donor parents Pat and Jay Landers of Springfield, IL. Here Pat and Jay remember their son, Ryan, who was killed in a car accident and became an organ and tissue donor. So far, Ryan’s gifts have impacted 61 recipients in at least 12 states and Korea through 2 organ, 54 tissue and 5 vascular transplants.
Pat and Jay share in their own words what it has meant to them to be a donor family.
We were so pleased to meet this brave donor family via the Gift of Hope organ procurement organization.
OrthoSuperSite reported this week on promising 7-year follow up results for patients who have received a meniscal allograft transplant – the transplant of a meniscus and cartilage from a deceased donor. This procedure is for treatment of patients who have suffered a torn meniscus, suffer from knee pain and do or may suffer from arthritis.
According to the story: “Brian J. Cole, MD, MBA, presented his group’s findings at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Arthroscopy Association of America … Cole reported that the procedure could reduce pain, increase range of motion and improve joint function in the long term.”
This article from the McCook Daily Gazette includes an important statistic:
98 percent of all adults have heard about organ donation and 86 percent have heard of tissue donation
While the number of adults who have heard of tissue donation is definitely climbing, it still lags behind awareness of organ donation. The uses for donated tissue are a bit more complicated than they are for organs, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that they have the same life-saving and enhancing benefits.
This tissue, referred to as allograft tissue, is donated by registered donors and their families, in the same way organs are donated, and it is used in many medical procedures already, with numerous new opportunities on the horizon.
Donated human tissue is used in many surgical applications, saving peoples’ lives and limbs daily. Allograft tissue is used to replace damaged structures in the body, from the ligaments and tendons of major league sports players, bones and joints of military men and women, to the musculoskeletal structures, teeth, skin, and spinal components of average citizens.
Here at AllograftPossibilities we strive to increase awarness of tissue donation and transplant. Have a question? We’d be happy to answer it!
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