After losing her 17-year-old brother in a car accident, Caitlyn Persinger threw herself into sports. Her brother had always encouraged and pushed her to be the best. She was a gifted athlete and, as a freshman, made the varsity soccer team. Four years after her brother’s death, Caitlyn continued to be active in sports. While playing soccer her senior year of high school, Caitlyn twisted her knee and heard something snap. A trip to the hospital later, Caitlyn was told she had torn her ACL and would likely need a donor tendon to repair the damage. Immediately, Caitlyn’s parents’ thoughts turned to their son who had chosen to be an organ and tissue donor prior to his death. Read the rest of this incredible 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.
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…)
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…)
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.
“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…)
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.”
We are pleased to congratulate tissue recipient May Chen on being named Tai Chi master of the Year 2010 by the 12th World Congress on Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Five years ago, we were fortunate to meet Chen, an internationally recognized martial artist and Tai Chi instructor and a truly inspiring person. Chen risked losing her career following a severe knee injury, but has experienced a remarkable recovery following a transplanted allograft from AlloSource. Chen has returned to martial arts competition with great success and has become a friendly advocate of tissue donation. (Chen represented AlloSource as a float rider aboard the 2009 Donate Life float in the Tournament of Roses Parade.)
Ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at AlloSource? Take a quick behind-the-scenes look at tissue banking R&D, with AlloSource Vice President of R&D, Simon Bogdansky.
A short tour of the leading laboratory where AlloSource develops new life-saving and life-enhancing tissue allografts
Discover the laboratory where AlloSource ensures the safety of its allografts
Take a look inside AlloSources cutting-edge stem cell laboratory, where the company is developing new types of allografts that promote tissue regeneration
Discover the variety of clinical applications for bone and tissue allografts, including orthopaedic, spine, sports medicine, oral maxillofacial, podiatry, periodontal, urology, oncology and trauma.
Or, learn more about skin allografts used for the treatment of burns, including function, structure, donor recovery and clinical application.
The following byline from AlloSource has appeared in hundreds of media outlets around the country
Amidst the constantly changing world of medicine, innovative research from some of the world’s leading surgeons is finding new ways to use donated human tissue to treat a host of medical conditions.
Registered donors and their families donate this allograft tissue in the same way organs are donated. It is used in many life-saving and enhancing medical procedures already, with numerous new opportunities on the horizon.
The following byline from AlloSource has appeared in hundreds of media outlets around the country
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