Why do so many people die waiting for a donor organ to become
available? Why aren’t more people willing to donate their
organs? What is being done to raise the public’s awareness
level of organ donation? Who determines which patient will
receive a donor organ?
Byers W. Shaw, Jr., M.D., professor and chairman of the
University of Nebraska Medical Center department of surgery, will
provide the answer to these and other questions when he speaks on
organ donation and the organ distribution system at a noon forum,
April 23, at the Omaha Press Club. The presentation will coincide
with National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, which is
being celebrated April 19 to 25.
The forum is open to the public, and you don’t have to be
an Omaha Press Club member to attend. Cost is $10 with lunch
provided. Reservations can be made by calling the Press Club at
345-8008. An audio recording of the forum is tentatively
scheduled to air at noon, April 27, on KIOS-FM (91.5) and at a
later date on the Nebraska Public Radio Network, a 10-station
network that covers the entire state.
Dr. Shaw, who started the UNMC liver transplant program in
1985, served as chief of transplantation from 1985 to 1996, when
he was named chairman of the surgery department. Under Dr.
Shaw’s direction, UNMC’s solid organ transplantation
program has become one of the leading transplant centers in the
country. In addition to liver transplants, the UNMC program now
includes pancreas, kidney, lung, heart and intestinal
transplants.
Later this year, the Medical Center and the Nebraska Health
System will open The Lied Transplant Center, a unique facility
that will serve as a national model for other transplant
programs. The 14-level building will feature 44 patient care
suites as well as considerable space devoted to transplant
research. Patients staying at the center will be part of an
innovative cooperative care
-over-
delivery system in which family or friends serve as care
partners for the basic care needs of patients receiving solid
organ or bone marrow transplants.
Despite UNMC’s stature as a leading transplant center,
Nebraska only ranks No. 24 among all states in producing donors
based on population. In an effort to bolster the number of organ
donors, UNMC and the Nebraska Health System launched a statewide
advertising campaign last year featuring former Nebraska
championship quarterbacks Jerry Tagge and Tommie Frazier, former
Nebraska volleyball All-American Lori Endicott and Husker
volleyball coach Terry Pettit.
The theme of the ongoing campaign is "Be a Hero for
Life." People can receive a special donor’s kit with
information on how to become an organ, tissue or bone marrow
donor by calling a toll-free number, 1-888-805-1115.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the
state. More than $25 million in research grants and contracts are
awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition, UNMC’s
educational programs are responsible for training more health
professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.