Showing posts with label kidney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidney. Show all posts

2.03.2007

Organ Donor Waiting List hits 95,000

I just wanted to post this to get you thinking about the need for organ donors. I know it isn't a comfortable topic and not what you want to be thinking about on a beautiful day. There are people out there today who are waiting, wondering if they will get their organ before it is too late. I have been there, I understand. Please consider becoming an organ donor, and if you decide to do become a donor, INFORM YOUR FAMILY OF YOUR WISHES! THEY ARE THE ONE'S WHO MAKE THAT DECISION IN GEORGIA!


Waiting list candidates as of today 11:22am
All 95,066
Kidney 69,983
Pancreas 1,745
Kidney/Pancreas 2,389
Liver 16,988
Intestine 239
Heart 2,857
Lung 2,864
Heart/Lung 135
All candidates will be less than the sum due to candidates waiting for multiple organs

Transplants performed January - October 2006
Total 24,445
Deceased Donor 18,793
Living Donor 5,652
Based on OPTN data as of 01/26/2007

Donors recovered January - October 2006
Total 12,401
Deceased Donor 6,750
Living Donor 5,651
Based on OPTN data as of 01/26/2007

1.29.2007

Organ Donation Project

I added a couple of new links to my "Blogs of Interest" area over on the right hand side of the page. Brent messaged me after he saw my blog on Becky's "Chopped Liver" to tell me about his blog. Brent is a guy who tried to become a living liver donor to his father-in-law but was denied for medical reasons.

Since then, he has developed a project to raise organ donation awareness. His project, One-A-Day 2007, consists of him going up to a complete stranger every day of 2007 and starting a conversation about organ donation. He is then going to try to get them to let him take a picture of them to place on his photoblog. (Quite an undertaking seeing that he will have to get each of these people to sign a release.) He says that the project is not to change people's minds about organ donation (though I am sure he wouldn't mind), but to raise awareness and to get people thinking about organ donation. There is a major shortage of organs in the United States, and the list grows every day. I was one of the fortunate ones to receive an organ. I believe that it is my job to help bring organ donation awareness to the forefront.

The other link, Casual Effect, is his blog that primarily discusses living organ donation. There are some great stories and insight on his blog from the point of view of a living donor. Check out his links.

Brent has gotten me thinking about what I can do to help out with a project of my own or to help out with his. If you have any suggestions, leave me a comment. I have been thinking about maybe starting a smaller scale project like Brent's, but you all know how hard that would be for this extreme introvert!

1.17.2007

Progression of Me

Figured I would post some pics of me showing the change from just before surgery until now!




3 days before surgery....nice tan huh?? haha!! Weighing in around 135!



2 weeks after surgery....probably floating between 125 and 130 pounds.



3 months after surgery



7 months after surgery




9 months after surgery....weighing in around 150 pounds now.