Donor Numbers Limit Heart Transplantation
Reporting Dennis Douda, WCCO
There is a guy teeing off in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach this weekend who has had to overcome a lot more than his putting game. Thirty-year-old Erik Compton of Florida has had two heart transplants.
Mayo Clinic cardiologist Brooks Edwards specializes in heart failure and transplantation.
"It's a good therapy. It's paid for by insurance and the outcomes are excellent," Dr. Edwards said.
From children to young adults to otherwise healthy seniors, the one year survival rate is nearly 90 percent.
"Good candidates come in all kinds of different packages," Edwards said. "So, it's not just that you're young and physically fit going in. We transplant younger patients and we transplant older patients."
The website for the United Network for Organ Sharing shows about 3,200 patients on the waiting list in need of a heart donor. Since only about 2,200 heart transplants are performed each year in the United States, many of those people will die waiting.
To buy time while waiting for a heart to become available, patients may be given a mechanical heart or a device that assists their own heart in pumping blood. But, ultimately, life will come down to finding a donor organ. Edwards said that's one area where "Minnesota Nice" is for real.
"We have many families (who have experienced) tragedies that are very open to organ transplantation," said Edwards. "So we have a very high rate of organ donation relative to many other areas of the country."
LifeSource is the center that coordinates organ donations for our region of the country, in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. To learn more about signing up to be a donor, check out the website.
Mayo Clinic cardiologist Brooks Edwards specializes in heart failure and transplantation.
"It's a good therapy. It's paid for by insurance and the outcomes are excellent," Dr. Edwards said.
From children to young adults to otherwise healthy seniors, the one year survival rate is nearly 90 percent.
"Good candidates come in all kinds of different packages," Edwards said. "So, it's not just that you're young and physically fit going in. We transplant younger patients and we transplant older patients."
The website for the United Network for Organ Sharing shows about 3,200 patients on the waiting list in need of a heart donor. Since only about 2,200 heart transplants are performed each year in the United States, many of those people will die waiting.
To buy time while waiting for a heart to become available, patients may be given a mechanical heart or a device that assists their own heart in pumping blood. But, ultimately, life will come down to finding a donor organ. Edwards said that's one area where "Minnesota Nice" is for real.
"We have many families (who have experienced) tragedies that are very open to organ transplantation," said Edwards. "So we have a very high rate of organ donation relative to many other areas of the country."
LifeSource is the center that coordinates organ donations for our region of the country, in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. To learn more about signing up to be a donor, check out the website.
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