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By Caroline Song Sara James, for PBS Newshour, interviewed several individuals in Australia about organ donation. Her published segment, “Can policy changes lead to an increase in organ donations?” showcased the impact of the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA) on the general public. The interview starts with the story of Damien Blumire, whom at [...]
By Marc Beuttler Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) and United Therapeutics Corporation are teaming up to develop humanized pig lungs. Each year, 400,000 people die from lung disease, and the aim of this partnership is to create organs that are safe to use in humans and effective for transplantation as a treatment for terminal lung disease. [...]
Harvard Stem Cell Research Institute (HSCI) scientists have recently demonstrated that the protein GDF11 improves brain and skeletal muscle function in aging mice. Two studies, one led by Professor Amy Wagers, PhD, and one led by Lee Rubin, PhD, of Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (HSCRB), demonstrated the regenerative capacity that higher [...]
By Caroline Song Kelly Grant, a health reporter for The Globe and Mail, has recently published the article “Nova Scotia eye making organ donation automatic,” which looks at the Nova Scotia governments’ move towards presumed consent in deceased organ donation. The Health Minister Leo Glavine hopes to work in concert with the deputy health minister [...]
By Kayla Santos A new, federal kidney allocation system will reduce the amount of donated kidneys that are discarded by surgeons as well as better match the donor organ to the recipient. In 2012, it was determined that 1 in every 5 donated kidneys was discarded by surgeons because they were deemed unsuitable for transplantation. [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer The great demand for organs worldwide has many serious consequences. Chief among them is the creation of an organ black market; as of 2014, more than 27 million people have been killed for or forced into giving up their organs. In India, instances of black market organ trafficking are skyrocketing. Vulnerable populations, [...]
By Noushaba T. Rashid The Saudi Gazette recently reported from Dammam that for the past 2 years, as many as 410 Saudis have turned to black market organs, mainly kidneys, for illegal transportation. Dr. Faisal Shaheen, the director of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplants (SCOT) states that 220 Saudis bought organs for transplants from [...]
By Marc Beuttler Members of the Scottish parliament and other leaders are calling on the Scottish government to switch to an opt-out system of organ donation. In response to these calls for change, the British Medical Association, the British Heart Foundation and the Kidney Federation, among others met on April 22, at the Scottish parliament [...]
By Zoe Martina Siegel 95 percent of Americans subscribe to believing in organ donation; however, only 40 percent of qualified donors actually register. Dr. Jason T. Siegel, PhD, a lead researcher of Claremont Graduate University, has found that there is a significant difference between people who feel strongly about organ donation and people who feel [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer Two new studies in the most recent edition of The Lancet suggest progress in the transplantation of lab-grown organs. “They both show that by using fairly simple tissue engineering techniques, you can get real tissue forming where it’s supposed to,” said Dr. Margin Birchall of University College London. The simple engineering methods [...]
