#Organ Transplant

[reasonsforhope]

"The first modern attempt at transferring a uterus from one human to another occurred at the turn of the millennium. But surgeons had to remove the organ, which had become necrotic, 99 days later. The first successful transplant was performed in 2011 — but even then, the recipient wasn’t immediately able to get pregnant and deliver a baby. It took three more years for the first person in the world with a transplanted uterus to give birth. 

More than 70 such babies have been born globally in the decade since. “It’s a complete new world,” said Giuliano Testa, chief of abdominal transplant at Baylor University Medical Center.

Almost a third of those babies — 22 and counting — have been born in Dallas at Baylor. On Thursday, Testa and his team published a major cohort study in JAMA analyzing the results from the program’s first 20 patients. All women were of reproductive age and had no uterus (most having been born without one), but had at least one functioning ovary. Most of the uteri came from living donors, but two came from deceased donors.

Fourteen women had successful transplants, all of whom were able to have at least one baby.  

“That success rate is extraordinary, and I want that to get out there,” said Liza Johannesson, the medical director of uterus transplants at Baylor, who works with Testa and co-authored the study. “We want this to be an option for all women out there that need it.”

Six patients had transplant failures, all within two weeks of the procedure. Part of the problem may have been a learning curve: The study initially included only 10 patients, and five of the six with failed transplants were in that first group. These were “technical” failures, Testa said, involving aspects of the surgery such as how surgeons connected the organ’s blood vessels, what material was used for sutures, and selecting a uterus that would work well in a transplant. 

The team saw only one transplant fail in the second group of 10 people, the researchers said. All 20 transplants took place between September 2016 and August 2019.

Only one other cohort study has previously been published on uterus transplants, in 2022. A Swedish team, which included Johannesson before she moved to Baylor, performed seven successful transplants out of nine attempts. Six women, including the first transplant recipient to ever deliver a baby back in 2014, gave birth.

“It’s hard to extract data from that, because they were the first ones that did it,” Johannesson said. “This is the first time we can actually see the safety and efficacy of this procedure properly.”

So far, the signs are good: High success rates for transplants and live births, safe and healthy children so far, and early signs that immunosuppressants — typically given to transplant recipients so their bodies don’t reject the new organ — may not cause long-term harm, the researchers said. (The uterine transplants are removed after recipients no longer need them to deliver children.) And the Baylor team has figured out how to identify the right uterus for transfer: It should be from a donor who has had a baby before, is premenopausal, and, of course, who matches the blood type of the recipient, Testa said...

“They’ve really embraced the idea of practicing improvement as you go along, to understand how to make this safer or more effective. And that’s reflected in the results,” said Jessica Walter, an assistant professor of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who co-authored an editorial on the research in JAMA...

Walter was a skeptic herself when she first learned about uterine transplants. The procedure seemed invasive and complicated. But she did her fellowship training at Penn Medicine, home to one of just four programs in the U.S. doing uterine transplants. 

“The firsts — the first time the patient received a transplant, the first time she got her period after the transplant, the positive pregnancy test,” Walter said. “Immersing myself in the science, the patients, the practitioners, and researchers — it really changed my opinion that this is science, and this is an innovation like anything else.” ...

Many transgender women are hopeful that uterine transplants might someday be available for them, but it’s likely a far-off possibility. Scientists need to rewind and do animal studies on how a uterus might fare in a different “hormonal milieu” before doing any clinical trials of the procedure with trans people, Wagner said.

Among cisgender women, more long-term research is still needed on the donors, recipients, and the children they have, experts said.

“We want other centers to start up,” Johannesson said. “Our main goal is to publish all of our data, as much as we can.”"

-via Stat, August 16, 2024

[horygory]

The Peripheral (2022)

[tentacion3099]

Albanian Jason Statham POV, after he decides to take a look inside the refrigerated container in the trunk of his Mercedes.

[109moons]

Was really feeling myself today.

[coffinup]

Trying to get a sense of people's opinions on this!

[blueiscoool]

Groundbreaking Pig Heart Transplant is Performed for the Second Time

For the second time ever, a pig heart has been transplanted into a living human recipient, the University of Maryland Medical Center announced on Friday.

The groundbreaking surgery was done on September 20 at UMMC by the same transplant team that preformed the first such experimental surgery in 2022.

In a news release, the hospital said the recipient, 58-year-old Lawrence Faucette, “is currently breathing on his own, and his heart is functioning well without any assistance from supportive devices.”

Faucette had end-stage heart disease. He had pre-existing peripheral vascular disease and complications with internal bleeding making him ineligible for a traditional heart transplant, the hospital said in the release. He was admitted to UMMC on September 14 after experiencing symptoms of heart failure.

“My only real hope left is to go with the pig heart, the xenotransplant,” Faucette told the hospital in an internal interview several days before the surgery.

The experimental xenotransplant surgery was green lit under the US Food and Drug Administration’s “compassionate use” program. According to the FDA, the program is “a potential pathway for a patient with a serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition to gain access to an investigational medical product (drug, biologic, or medical device) for treatment outside of clinical trials when no comparable or satisfactory alternative therapy options are available.”

The pig heart used came from a genetically modified pig from Revivcor, a subsidiary the United Therapeutics Corporation. The pig had 10 genes edited, including three genes “knocked out” or inactivated to eliminate the alpha gal sugar in the pig’s blood cells, which can trigger a severe reaction in the human immune system, causing organ rejection. An additional pig gene was modified to control for the growth of the pig’s heart while 6 human genes were added into the pig’s genome to increase acceptance by the immune system. The FDA first approved the gene edited pigs in 2020 for potential therapeutic use and consumption.

Doctors are also treating Faucette with an experimental antibody treatment to further suppress the immune system and prevent rejection. He will be closely monitored for any signs of rejection or any development of pig related viruses. The donor pig was also closely screened for any signs of virus or pathogens.

“We are once again offering a dying patient a shot at a longer life, and we are incredibly grateful to Mr. Faucette for his bravery and willingness to help advance our knowledge of this field,” said Dr. Bartley Griffith, in the release. Griffith is the surgeon who performed the transplant and is a professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The hospital said Faucette fully consented to the experimental treatment and was informed of all the risks. In addition, he underwent a full psychiatric evaluation and discussed his case with a medical ethicist.

According to the hospital’s news release, Faucette is a married father of two from Frederick, Maryland and a 20-year Navy veteran who had most recently worked as a lab technician at the National Institutes of Health before retiring.

“We have no expectations other than hoping for more time together,” said his wife Ann Faucette, in the release. “That could be as simple as sitting on the front porch and having coffee together.” There are currently no clinical trials that utilize pig organs for transplants in living human beings. The University of Maryland performed the first such experimental surgery on 57-year-old David Bennett in January 2022. Bennett died two months following the surgery.

While there were no signs of rejection in the initial weeks following the transplant, an autopsy concluded that Bennett ultimately died of heart failure from “a complex array of factors,” including Bennett’s condition prior to the surgery. Bennet had already been hospitalized and kept on a heart lung bypass machine for 6 weeks prior to the transplant. However, a case study by the doctors published in the Lancet also noted there was evidence of pig virus that had not been identified previously.

According to the federal government, there are more than 113,000 people on the organ transplant list, including 3,354 people in need of a heart. The group Donate Life America says that 17 people die each day waiting for a donor organ.

By Nadia Kounang,

[shame-is-a-wasted-emotion]

A new one shot !!

Hey guys!! I am back again. This time,not with an update on the Valentine fic but with a new one shot

She Gave Me Two Hearts (read it on AO3)

Rating:Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:Glee,Klaine-Fandom,Glee Klaine

Relationship:Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Words:3674

Characters:

Blaine Anderson,Kurt Hummel,Original Characters,Original Child(ren) of Kurt Hummel

Summary:

Kurt Anderson-Hummel found some reports pertaining to Blaine Anderson-Hummel about his past medical records which contained a very shocking secret. What would happen when Blaine finds it? How would they handle it together?

Older! Klaine

so the things that might trigger you: Organ transplant mention, incredibly heart breaking. You might cry (or you might not)

Things you dont have to worry: Blood, injury description.

[purplefiction-ao3]

Sorry to all of you who are patiently waiting for the final chapters of my WIP. I’m in the hospital again (developed a hiatal hernia that had me rushed to the ER because of pain and low O2 sats). Now, I’m pretty drugged up rn so anything I write for “Tender is the touch” has a high likelihood of making zero sense. I’ve literally been trying to write this post since yesterday but I keep going in and out sleep and waking up to find I’ve written nonsense.

I’m still struggling to breathe and the new tracheostomy will probably happen soon in the next week or so, before I have the hernia repair surgery. The anesthesiology team are worried that my airway won’t tolerate an endotracheal tube very well, too much scar tissue.

Honestly, this all really fucking sucks. I don’t want any more surgery and I don’t want a new trach. Being in the ICU with its sounds and smells is super triggering for my medical trauma, tbh. I’m so tired and I’m so scared. But I am grateful for my sweet, angel of a nurse who has been sitting with me when she has time to help me through the extreme anxiety and panic attacks. She’s been holding my hand and giving me cool cloths for my forehead. She’s even told me stories about her little baby, and shared photos with me, since I told her I love babies. It’s helped a bit. It’s a good distraction at the very least.

Please send any good thoughts, vibes, prayers or whatever you prefer to send. I need good vibes for better seizure management (already had two tonic clonic seizures since being admitted to the hospital yesterday morning), good vibes for my heart to continue to handle the extra stress my body is under right now, and good vibes for the hernia surgery I’m going to have in the coming days.

Thank god for the cocktail of heavy meds that are keeping me comfy and calm and the extra breathing support I’m receiving now to help with the air hunger.

Hopefully I’ll be back to my writing sometime in the next week or so. I have to remind myself that these hospital stays never last forever. Thanks for all of your continued patience. 💜

(Hope this wasn’t just one big long wall of nonsense-text. lol)

[augustrenfelt]

Anita

My Patreon page, featuring free access to my Eye Siren cartoons: https://www.patreon.com/AugustRenfelt

An overview of my erotic domination stories and where to buy them:

Arabic Femme Fatale Fantasy

Sci-Fi Futanari Domination and Impregnation  

Sexy Agent of a Female Conspiracy  

Furry and Scaly Fantasy  

Sci-fi Mini-Giant Women novels

[reasonsforhope]

"In a highly-anticipated world-first, the Texas Heart Institute has successfully implanted an artificial titanium heart that uses the same technology as bullet trains to pump blood mechanically throughout the body.

Called the Total Artificial Heart (TAH), the feat is seen as a major step in keeping people alive for longer and longer periods while they wait for heart transplants.

Texas Heart partnered with the medical tech company BiVACOR to create the TAH. It’s a titanium-constructed biventricular rotary blood pump with a single moving part that utilizes a magnetically levitated rotor that pumps the blood and replaces both ventricles of a failing heart.

The benefit of using magnetic levitation is that none of the moving parts ever scrape or slide against each other, reducing friction, and dramatically increasing the longevity of the device. But what’s really cool is the TAH can pump blood at a rate of 12 liters per minute, enough to allow an adult male to engage in exercise.

The first-in-human clinical study, overseen closely by the FDA, aims to evaluate the safety and performance of the BiVACOR TAH as a bridge-to-transplant solution for patients with severe bi or univentricular heart failure. Following this first implantation completed at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center, four additional patients are to be enrolled in the study.

“The Texas Heart Institute is enthused about the groundbreaking first implantation of BiVACOR’s TAH. With heart failure remaining a leading cause of mortality globally, the BiVACOR TAH offers a beacon of hope for countless patients awaiting a heart transplant,” said Dr. Joseph Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Texas Heart Institute and National Principal Investigator on the research.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of this medical breakthrough, working alongside the dedicated teams at BiVACOR, Baylor College of Medicine, and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center to transform the future of heart failure therapy for this vulnerable population.”

Heart failure is a global epidemic affecting at least 26 million people worldwide, 6.2 million adults in the US, and is increasing in prevalence. Heart transplantations are reserved for those with severe heart failure and are limited to fewer than 6,000 procedures per year globally. Consequently, the US National Institutes of Health estimated that up to 100,000 patients could immediately benefit from mechanical alternatives.

The successful implantation of BiVACOR’s TAH highlights the potential of innovative technologies to address critical challenges in cardiac care, such as long transplantation waitlists.

“This achievement would not have been possible without the courage of our first patient and their family, the dedication of our team, and our expert collaborators at The Texas Heart Institute,” said Daniel Timms, founder and CTO of BiVACOR."

-Article via Good News Network, August 1, 2024. Video via 7News Australia, July 26, 2024.

[jewishrat420]

steddie ‘consumption as love’ blurb

tags: blood, guts, surgery, death, organ harvesting/transplant, graphic descriptions of violence, just generally grey’s anatomy type shit if they were really weird, very graphic

gang this one is real fucked up i BEG of you to proceed with caution. READ THE TAGS!!!

eddie would start out asking steve for a vial of his blood to wear around his neck. it’s certainly not the craziest thing he could ask, and by no means goes anywhere near the depths of his desires. these bone-deep, animalistic desires that threaten to overtake him every time he’s around him.

it’d start off with a vial of blood.

steve would reluctantly agree, if only because his boyfriend is weird as fuck and like, what’s the harm? they’ve all seen enough of each other’s insides, lord knows steve’s overdue for a blood test anyways. may as well, right?

it starts off that way.

in the end, steve’s decrepit body lay cold and pale in the bed they used to share.

he’s breathing, barely, his lungs rattling with the effort. messy stitches stretch across his abdomen like song lyrics scrawled in eddie’s journal. the handiwork is uneven, done by amateur fingers.

eddie’s tongue pokes out in concentration as he drags the knife across steve’s stomach. careful not to break the scars that have so tediously worked themselves into closure, his hand barely shakes this time around.

it takes a long time. harvesting organs is excruciatingly difficult, especially for someone with no formal training.

but he gets it.

after hours or days, steve’s raspy breathing only interrupted by weak moans, eddie’s hands wrap tenderly around one of the last viable organs in his body. he grips it carefully, fingers digging into the soft tissue.

eddie carries it over to a metal tin, laying on a bed of ice. he places it inside and makes his way back to his boyfriend.

he picks up the needle, a line of thread, and lovingly, painstakingly, stitches his lover back together.

the line is straighter this time, and he pats himself on the back. thinks steve will be quite proud of this one.

but steve’s long since stopped breathing. eddie doesn’t know when the rattling turned into gasping, when he started imagining it instead.

but he’s not worried about that right now.

right now, he’s laying down on the bed next to steve.

he’s bringing the tray over and placing it next to him.

he’s grabbing a scalpel, the same one he used on steve, and he’s gritting his teeth as he drags a red line across his own abdomen.

he’s looking past the dizziness, gasping against the pain, as he repeats the procedure on himself.

he’s careful not to drop his own organ as he takes it out and places it in the empty tin next to him, tinged red with steve’s blood.

he’s taking steve’s organ, he’s placing it into the cavity of his own abdomen.

he’s relishing in the feeling of his boyfriend’s blood beating beside his own. of the relentless ebb and flow of their shared vitality.

he doesn’t bother sewing himself back up. he simply holds steve’s hand, lets his, their blood bond their skin, and closes his eyes.

he joins steve in the afterlife with mismatched organs and hearts that beat in tandem.

[vierss-herondale]

I saw this book recommendation on twitter that I started friday just to try and break my reader's block... imagine my surprise when I actually liked it so much I couldn't stop reading!

It felt so good to be able to read a whole book again! So I decided that I'm gonna post some of the books I read as recommendations (just like with the Clace fanfics) in case some of you are looking for new books to read! ☺️📚

I don't really like to rate books with stars but I can say I loved this book!!! I mean, it's not the best book I ever read but I really liked it. The female protagonist it’s amazing and strong and brave just like I like them 🫶🏻 And her male interest surprised me for the good after wanting to punch him in the face at the beginning lol They truly are an interesting match, I got so invested in their story that I want more 😭♥️

I cried like five times due to the protagonist going through some reaaaally hard times. I feel like maybe it can be a little tough read for some people but it’s totally worth the read, it leaves you with a different perspective in life. Specially if someone close to you has health problems.

Also, what a good best friend the protagonist has!! He rules and he also finds love with a very cute and nice guy 😭💕

If you are into slow burn romance with rivals to lovers, and found family, you’ll probably like it!

Only bad thing it’s the cover, I hate those kind of covers 😭🤷🏻‍♀️

Taken from Goodreads: 👇🏼

Could the man I hate be the perfect match I need?

I’m Jules Kelly, a certified bohemian boss babe, whose hip tech company just won subsidized office space in the coolest co-working space in town. From a distance I seem poised to take over the world (or at least the travel industry), and I would be if it weren’t for two big complications:

1. A rare and seriously inconvenient disease is tanking my health by the day, and my only hope for a cure—a transplant—is moving further from my grasp.

2. A soulless database company is sharing my new office space, and its coldly gorgeous, judgmental, CEO is on a path to world dominance (at least in his mind).

Tom Davenport represents the very worst of bro culture in the start-up world. Naturally, we despise each other.

The thing is, as much as Tom's antagonism annoys me, he has an uncanny ability to conjure up my fighting spirit and vitality at a time when my illness is robbing me of both. I'm drawn to him in ways I can't (or would really rather not) understand.

A mysterious angel investor forces our companies to compete for a life-changing amount of money just when my relationship with Tom becomes infinitely more complicated. To make matters worse, things get cutthroat just as my time starts to run out.

In order to survive, I must decide if I can truly trust my most unlikely ally of all.

Unlikely Match is a high-stakes and steamy workplace romance that will leave you feverishly turning pages.

For those of you who love wry (and sometimes a wee bit dark) humor, emotional intensity, loyal friendships, insane chemistry, and forced proximity in the context of high medical stakes, Unlikely Match is for you.

[109moons]

My scar makes me feel empowered now. If I can live through this, I can live through anything.

[cynicalone94]

Sending hugs always!

Time After Time: Send me a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of [that fic], or sometime in the past before the story started, and I’ll tell you what happened then

A few years later!

For living donation, please and thank you!

five years later

Jay glances at Hailey with tired eyes before turning back and knocking on the door. 

It’s been a busy couple of days in the city and there just aren’t patrol officers available to canvas the street for them which means they get to do it themselves. 

Which isn’t the worst thing in the world but it does take a lot of time away from the hundreds of other things they need to do today. 

He pushes down those thoughts as the door opens, a teenage girl standing behind the screen door. 

“Hi.” he says, plastering a smile across his face. “I’m -”

“Mr. Jay!” she says, eyes lighting up. 

He stutters to a stop, studying her face and trying to figure out where he knows her from. 

“J-Jennifer?” he asks, his own eyes going wide. “How are you doing?”

“It’s been amazing!” she says, swinging open the screen door and motioning them inside. “The liver has been incredible. I was able to start taking dance lessons after I recovered and now I do dance, cheer and tennis.”

“Yeah?” Jay asks, glancing around the room at the photos and trophies. “You look a lot more energetic and just healthy than I remember.”

She nods. 

“Absolutely.” she agrees. “And it’s all thanks to you. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I was happy to help.” he tells her. “And even more happy to see how well you’ve been able to use it.”

“I knew that I was getting such an incredible gift and it was very important to me to make sure that I made good use of it.” she says, cheeks filling with color. 

“Jennifer.” he says seriously. “This is all incredible but you know that all I wanted for you was that you lived past the age of nine. Everything else is you going above and beyond and living your best life and I am so happy for you.”

“Can I hug you?” she asks with a shy smile and he’s quick to nod, opening his arms for her to step into them. 

When she steps back, he bites his lip. 

“As much as I’d love to spend the rest of the day catching up,” he says reluctantly. “We are here for work. Is your mom here?” 

“You guys are here about the home invasion down the street, right?” she asks. 

“That’s right.” he confirms. “We’re talking to everyone on the street to see if anyone saw anything or maybe has outdoor cameras that might have picked something up.”

“I was away at cheer camp when it happened.” she says. “Just got home this morning but let me grab mom. Even if she didn’t see anything she can get you the tapes from the cameras.”

He nods and she hurries down the hall. 

Hailey steps up, putting a hand on his arm. 

“You okay?” she says quietly. 

“I never even thought about how different her life would be after the transplant.” he whispers. “But she’s so… so happy and healthy.”

“You did something so special and beautiful.” she tells him. “And in case I haven’t told you lately, I am so proud of you. And not just for what you did for Jennifer.”

He offers her a slightly overwhelmed smile and she squeezes his arm before letting her hand fall as Jennifer and her mother come back into the room. 

“Detective Halstead.” Eleanor says warmly, her face lighting up. “It’s so wonderful to see you.”

“Call me Jay.” he insists, smiling at her. “It’s amazing to see how well you guys are doing. And I so wish that I wasn’t here for work because I have a case to solve or I really would love to stay and catch up.”

“You’ll need my number for your report.” she says easily. “We can make plans to do dinner another time. Jennifer said you guys were asking about the home invasion.”

“We are.” Hailey confirms. “Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary last night?”

“There was an unusual truck that spent a lot of time up and down the street.” she says. “Some early in the morning but it showed up again just after dinner. There wasn’t a logo and I didn’t get a plate but it was a blue pickup truck. And I can get you the outdoor cameras from the last couple of days and hopefully you can get more of what you need from that.”

“Thank you.” Jay says, taking the flash drive that she’s holding out. “I’ll reach out about dinner. It’ll be great to catch up properly.”

“Agreed.” she says, stepping forward to hug him quickly, stepping back before he has a chance to truly respond. 

He and Hailey step toward the door, knowing that they have a lot more people to talk to before they can get back to the district and start piecing together what they might have found on the canvas but he feels a lot better about this canvas already. 

“Bye Jay.” Jennifer calls and he glances back to wave at her, breaking into a wide smile when he sees her holding a familiar teddy bear, waving it’s little hand at him. 

“Bye Jay.” he echoes, shaking his head at the bear that she’d named after him. 

She’s laughing when he finally steps out of the door and the sound fills him with unbelievable warmth. 

It had been a difficult recovery but he’d never once stopped believing that it had been one hundred percent worth it. 

And seeing the happy, thriving life that Jennifer is living just makes it even more so. 

[kenniegeex2]

Brb, just busy running ORs for organ transplants nowadays.