More lives were saved by organ transplantation at The Nebraska Medical Center in September 2006 than in any month ever before. There were 37 solid-organ transplants, topping the previous one-month record of 33 set in July 2004.
The following organ transplants were performed in September 2006:
“A record month for transplants at The Nebraska Medical Center is not surprising. For the past two years, we have seen the program grow steadily,” said Alan Langnas, D.O., professor of surgery at UNMC and chief of transplantation at The Nebraska Medical Center. “We have an extremely talented transplant team that offers the highest level of care for patients who are desperately ill. We are very fortunate to work in an environment that provides us the ability to offer transplant care to so many people. It is always rewarding to see someone’s life changed dramatically because of transplantation.”
The Nebraska Medical Center is home to one of the most successful transplant centers in the nation. People from all over the United States travel to Omaha for transplantation of the kidney, liver, pancreas, small bowel and heart.
“There were only a few places in the country that could help my daughter,” said Laura Hogue. Her 13-month-old daughter, Caroline, received a small bowel transplant on Sept. 8. The Hogue family moved from South Carolina to Omaha in April after determining that The Nebraska Medical Center would be the best hospital for Caroline to receive her transplant.
“We researched the hospitals that offered this type of transplant and we chose The Nebraska Medical Center because this was where the team of doctors was most approachable and the hospital was the most family friendly.”
“The growing number of transplants at The Nebraska Medical Center reflects the increase in organ donation,” Dr. Langnas said. Nationally, the number of transplants has increased rapidly in the last two years. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) attributes this in part to the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, the federal government’s initiative to save or enhance the lives of thousands each year.
“The efforts of the Donation Collaborative have provided more donor organs so we can help more people,” Dr. Langnas said.
The increase in transplants at the medical center is also due in part to the hospital’s successful living donor transplant programs for kidney and liver.
In the past, organ donation was possible only after death. These living donor procedures have helped increase the availability of organs, which gives more patients the opportunity to receive a transplant before they become gravely ill. Earlier treatment can mean a more successful transplant.
“The advantage is that patients don’t have to wait on the transplant list until an organ becomes available for them,” Dr. Langnas said. “We can schedule the transplant as soon as an appropriate living donor is identified. We’re able to help more people, faster.”
After her transplant, Caroline had a record recovery and left the hospital 18 days later.
“That was a little scary to think about going home,” said her mother, Laura. “Caroline has to take 13 different medications because of her transplant, which was a bit overwhelming, but I was really impressed with all of the teaching I received at the hospital. Several different staff members walked me through Caroline’s follow-up care so I left the hospital with no questions.”
Laura and her daughter will stay in Omaha for the next three months for Caroline’s post-transplant care.
“I’m eager to get home to South Carolina to my husband and other child,” Laura said. “However part of me doesn’t want to leave Nebraska because I don’t want to leave the team of transplant doctors here. They’ve been so good to us.”