By Rebecca Moore
Founded by Lisa Stehno-Bittel and Karthik Ramachandran, the Pet Organ Donation Network is an organization dedicated to preserving “research animals’ lives” and sharing “tissues and organs for transplant into dogs and cats in need.” The Newtork works with State Line Animal Hospital and Wayside Waifs to provide organs for Likarda, a bioscience firm located in Kansas. The research at Likarda is primarily on canine and feline diabetes, but …

By Kaitlyn Schaeffer
There’s a new project coming out of technological powerhouse Google. Dubbed Baseline, this innovative venture’s mission is to map out the paragon of human health.
The company will start by collecting genetic information from 175 volunteers for analysis; these initial findings will be bolstered by genetic information from several thousand others. The goal is to analyze this data for patterns, or biomarkers, that can be used to detect diseases …

By Chiru Murage
A new bipartisan bill titled the Living Donor Protection Act was proposed last Wednesday to Congress that would further protect the rights of living organ donors. The bill would protect living organ donors from higher premiums and limited coverage from insurance companies. Reps Michael Burgess, Republican representative from Texas, and Jerrold Nadler, Democrat representative from Brooklyn, state in their bill “living organ donors may unfortunately face discrimination when …

By Jake Stern
The health insurance company Excellus BlueCross BlueShield issued a report this week that shows New Yorkers register themselves as organ donors at less than half the rate of other Americans (22% statewide vs 48% nationwide). This is despite the fact that demand for organs in New York is one of the highest in the country, with over 11,000 residents on the waiting list.
Barb Petersen, a nurse at Bassett …

By Rebecca Moore
Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre have found a regulatory gene believed to be crucial in understanding the regenerative mechanisms of tissues. Known as Sox4 gene, researchers believe that this gene may provide a link between stem cells, aging, and cancer: three elements thought to be interconnected.
Sox4 gene is mainly expressed during the embryonic development phase. This gene plays a vital role in the development of …

By Chiru Murage
INTERPOL is currently investigating a number of Kenyan organizations that have been tied to human trafficking for the purpose of the use of victims as a living supply of organs. Kenya has the highest rate of human trafficking in East and Central Africa, where alleged corruption – possibly including the police, intelligence agencies, and the judiciary – has necessitated an intervention by INTERPOL to shut down this illegal …

By Jake Stern
New York has one of the lowest organ donor rates (as a percentage of the population) in the country, which has raised serious concerns about current enrollment practices. According to a 2012 study by the non-profit Donor Life America, New York ranks in the bottom three states for donor registration with 18% of adults signed up compared with a national average of 42.7%. The same study found Alaska, Montana, …

By Kaitlyn Schaeffer
Generally, transplantation is the last line of defense for treating a failing organ. This is not so with kidneys.
“A kidney transplant is not a last resort; it’s a first resort,” said nephrologist and kidney transplantation expert Emilio Poggio, MD. “For people who meet the requirements for kidney transplantation, it’s the best option for treatment.
Unfortunately, as with most other organs and tissues, demand for kidneys exceeds the current supply. …

By Rebecca Moore
Bioheart Inc. recently announced a groundbreaking achievement in the field of cardiovascular cell technology. Using a combination of AdipoCell™ and MyoCell®, Bioheart Inc. has been able to advance its capabilities in cell regenerative therapy. The process involves injecting AdipoCell™ (stem cells obtained from adipose), and MyoCell® (stem cells obtained from muscle) into patients suffering from congestive heart failure. The injection of AdipoCell™ is aimed at stimulating new blood …

By Marc Beuttler
Many animals in the animal kingdom have developed ways to survive being frozen alive. Take for instance the North American wood frog, which can stay alive in a state of decreased cellular activity – a suspended animation – at a temperature of -2 degrees Celsius. Such animals have tricks to either survive being frozen alive, or to prevent internal freezing so that they don’t freeze at all. These …