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 …

By Chiru Murage
A group of Australian politicians from different parties have united under the name Parliamentarians Against Forced Organ Harvesting (PAFOH) to raise awareness across the world about this emerging issue. The newly formed group met for the first time on July 16 this summer on lifting the rate of organ donation in Australia to combat the huge supply and demand imbalance in organ transplants.
The group also focused on addressing …

By Marc Beuttler
A new study in mice suggests that the hormone oxytocin, often associated with the “warm fuzzy” feelings in psychology, counteracts age-related decline of old muscles. By injecting oxytocin under the skin of aged mice, scientists were able to restore the regenerative potential of muscle and help old rodents heal at up to 80% the rate of young mice.
Muscle regeneration declines with age and leads to a gradual loss of …

By Marc Beuttler
In 1859 Charles Darwin set down his theory of evolution, an idea that revolutionized and continues to challenge science and philosophy. Along the way we adopted and refined Mendel’s genetic studies on pea plants to explain the inheritance of genes in Darwin’s model of natural selection, and a little over 60 years ago, Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA. With that knowledge, we first sequenced every A, …

By Abrigul Lutfalieva
A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation suggests that actions by insurers may create unnecessary burden and stress for those choosing to donate and could negatively impact the likelihood of living  kidney donation. The impact of living kidney donation on the ability to change or initiate health or life insurance is not clear.
Dorry Segev, MD, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, …

In 1989, the number of people on the waiting list for an organ was 16,000; this number has skyrocketed to more than 120,000. This increase is due in part to advancements in medical technology – doctors are better equipped now more than ever to detect cancer and other disorders. Other factors, such as increased longevity, higher rates of obesity, and a growing population have all contributed to this jump.
However, growing …

By Chiru Murage
Transplant Genomics Inc.has acquired the rights to what could lead to clinical tests that would drastically improve the care of organ transplant recipients, extending their lives and reducing costs of healthcare. These tests would « use genomic markers of transplant graft status as part of a surveillance program to detect and respond to early signs of graft injury. » The tests will be used to monitor kidney transplant recipients, improving …