Liver patients' billboard appeals

[Guest guest]

I have a friend who sends me these items..And I am reading a lot of these lately..Just wondering what every one things of this kinda advertising...Hmmm kathy b.

Liver patients' billboard appeals By Cooke BBC New York Correspondent December 23, 2004Waiting for an organ to become available can be a long and traumatic experience for patients who need a life-saving transplant. But some patients in the US are hoping to bypass the system. Miranda, 44, who has advanced liver disease, was told three years ago he had three years to live. He is on the waiting list for a liver transplant, but is making a direct appeal for an organ using billboards around his home town of Chicago. 's liver was punctured in 1976 and he received a blood transfusion. In 2001, the family learnt he had contracted an extremely vigorous strain of Hepatitis C. The family is using money provided by an anonymous donor to fund the adverts. Mr Miranda told the BBC: "My main objective is to be here

for my children, my wife. I have always been a provider. "To see those things dwindling away is pretty scary." 'I'd do anything' But doctors are concerned that such direct appeals subvert the existing voluntary donor system, where recipients of donor organs are prioritised because of factors including need, the length of time they have spent on the waiting list and age. There are fears that a successful advert may mean that someone on the official list, who is sicker and who needs the organ more, may miss out. Dr Greenstein, of the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), said: "You may advertise that you need a liver, but you may not be the sickest person on the list." In a statement, the OPTN added: "We strongly oppose public or private appeals that effectively put the needs of one candidate above all others and pose concerns of fairness. "Transplant candidates rely on the public's trust in the

fairness of the allocation system and support of that system through donation. Public appeals may jeopardise that trust." But 's wife said the family does not regret appealing for a donor: "I would do anything to keep my husband alive. I'm sure anyone would." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4122191.stm

[Guest guest]

I'm still thinking about this one. One one hand, I think you should be able to do whatever you can afford to improve your health or your situation in life. But on the other hand, the people that need the organ the most are not necessarily the people who can best afford it, and it's too close to selling organs.

What do our transplant people say?

De

Faith is the ability to not panic.

Liver patients' billboard appeals

I have a friend who sends me these items..And I am reading a lot of these lately..Just wondering what every one things of this kinda advertising...Hmmm kathy b.

Liver patients' billboard appeals By Cooke BBC New York Correspondent December 23, 2004 ... He is on the waiting list for a liver transplant, but is making a direct appeal for an organ using billboards around his home town of Chicago ...

[Guest guest]

De when I first started to get these articles..I thought organ thieves, strange thinking huh..But in the past century's cadaver theft was common..Some thing about these makes it seem a little not kosher.. While it helps bring the problem to light, it still just doesn't seem right...Kathy b Motley <dmotley@...> wrote:

I'm still thinking about this one. One one hand, I think you should be able to do whatever you can afford to improve your health or your situation in life. But on the other hand, the people that need the organ the most are not necessarily the people who can best afford it, and it's too close to selling organs.

What do our transplant people say?

De

Faith is the ability to not panic.

Liver patients' billboard appeals

I have a friend who sends me these items..And I am reading a lot of these lately..Just wondering what every one things of this kinda advertising...Hmmm kathy b.

Liver patients' billboard appeals By Cooke BBC New York Correspondent December 23, 2004 ... He is on the waiting list for a liver transplant, but is making a direct appeal for an organ using billboards around his home town of Chicago ...

Kathy Brunow

[Guest guest]

On a recent CSI Miami the story was about Hispanics selling a kidney to send the money back home, but someone got greedy and killed one to get all the organs. It could happen. People kill for less every day. Scary.

De

Faith is the ability to not panic.

-----Original Message-----From: kathy brunow [mailto:kathy-boo@...] Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 12:05 PMHepatitis CSupportGroupForDummies Subject: RE: Liver patients' billboard appeals

De when I first started to get these articles..I thought organ thieves, strange thinking huh..But in the past century's cadaver theft was common..Some thing about these makes it seem a little not kosher.. While it helps bring the problem to light, it still just doesn't seem right...Kathy b

[Guest guest]

Hey De I saw that one too..But being an avid reader I have read where in 19th century England where they killed people for their body's.. Prety gruesome stuff huh.. But I do releize that this alot different.. One guy I read about in Tucson AZ.. got a liver that way.. I think it was a liver.Kathy

Kathy Brunow