Author - glcp

Recipients Developing Cancer from Donated Organs – What are your thoughts?

Hi, everyone! This is Rhea and I recently read this article on CNN called “Four people get cancer from donated organ in ‘extraordinary rare’ case.” This is the full article if you are interested: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/18/health/organ-donor-cancer-transmission-europe-intl/index.html This CNN article is about how four European patients developed breast cancer after they received organ transplants from the same donor. This is very strange as the “donor had no known medical conditions, and the malignancy was unknown when her kidneys, lungs, liver and heart [...]

September 29, 2018 Blog 2 Comments Read more...

Development of an iPhone App for Organ Donation – What are your thoughts?

Hi, everyone! This is Rhea and during my summer vacation, I plan on creating an iPhone app for this Gifting Lives initiative. In the app, I will include an About Us section to inform users about the initiative and what our primary goals are. I also plan on including sections containing information about organ donation and myths about organ donation in order to encourage more users of the app to register to be donors. In order to increase the usability of [...]

June 5, 2018 Blog 4 Comments Read more...

Applying Precision Medicine to Organ Donation – What are your thoughts?

Hey, everyone! This is Rhea and I recently attended the Predictive, Preventative and Personalized Medicine (PPPM) Conference that was held by Stanford Students in Biodesign at Stanford University. This conference was an amazing experience, as the panel speakers included Dean Lloyd Minor from Stanford University, Dr. Michael Zwick from Emory University, Ms. Charlotte Weaver from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Mr. Chris Lunt from the All of Us Research Program, Dr. Lou Garrison from University of Washington, Dr. Shuji Ogino from Harvard [...]

April 10, 2018 Blog 4 Comments Read more...

Opt-in vs Opt-out – What are your thoughts?

Currently, there is a large debate about whether an opt-in or an opt-out system is a better way to encourage more people to become organ donors at the DMVs. An opt-in system, also known as explicit consent, for organ donation means that people are required to actively sign up on the form to register themselves as organ donors. This is the current system in California. An opt-out system, also known as presumed consent, means that everyone is automatically registered [...]

April 2, 2018 Blog 5 Comments Read more...

Myths about organ donation – What are your thoughts?

One of the primary factors that hinder people from registering as an organ/tissue donor is common misconceptions about organ/tissue donations. According to the 2010 Donate Life America/Astellas independent poll, 52% of people incorrectly believe that doctors may not try as hard to save their lives if they know they wish to be organ or tissue donors, 48% of people believe a black market exists in the U.S. for organs and tissue, and 61% of people mistakenly believe it may [...]

April 2, 2018 Blog 4 Comments Read more...

Increasing awareness about organ donation – What are your thoughts?

Our initiative is mainly focused on increasing awareness about organ donation in order to drive up the rates of registered organ/tissue donors throughout California. In order to increase overall awareness about organ donations, we plan on implementing Drivers’ Education curriculum that is focused on informing teenagers about organ donations when they are getting their first drivers’ license or driving permit. We will combine this approach with special efforts to clearing up misconceptions about organ donation that will increase people’s [...]

April 2, 2018 Blog 3 Comments Read more...

Organ donation – What are your thoughts?

Organ and tissue donation is the process of taking healthy organs and/or tissues from a donor (either living or deceased) and transplanting the organs and/or tissues into another person. Every year, more than 8,000 Americans die while they are waiting for an organ transplant. Just in California, more than 22,000 residents are currently waiting for donated organs. One organ donor can save the lives of up to 8 people, while one tissue donor can save/enhance the lives of as [...]

April 2, 2018 Blog 4 Comments Read more...

Apple & Donate Life America bring national organ donor registration to iPhone

Cupertino, CA and Richmond, VA — Apple and Donate Life America announced today that, for the first time ever, iPhone users will be able to sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor right from the Health app with the release of iOS 10. Through a simple sign up process, iPhone users can learn more and take action with just a few taps. All registrations submitted from iPhone are sent directly to the National Donate Life Registry [...]

March 20, 2018 In the News Comments Off on Apple & Donate Life America bring national organ donor registration to iPhone Read more...

Could 3D printing solve the organ transplant shortage?

Scientists are racing to make replacement human organs with 3D printers. But while the technology’s possibilities are exciting, already there are fears we could be ‘playing God’ Erik Gatenholm first saw a 3D bioprinter in early 2015. His father, Paul, a professor in chemistry and biopolymer technology at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, had bought one for his department. It cost somewhere in the region of $200,000. “My father was like, ‘This thing can print human organs,’” Gatenholm recalls, [...]

March 12, 2018 In the News Comments Off on Could 3D printing solve the organ transplant shortage? Read more...