I Heart Guts » organ donation

Print Me a Liver

gutsy — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:40:58 +0000

So they can print blood vessels now — but how about hearts? It could be coming sooner than you think. Wired magazine has a great photo essay covering company Organo’s fascinating bioprinting business. The printed veins will soon undergo testing in animals, and later, clinical trials in humans. Amazing stuff! Photo by Dave Bullock/Wired.com.

Give My Kidney Back!

gutsy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:36:44 +0000

Thought you donated your liver, but somehow ended up giving your left eye? Oops. Organ donations in the UK have taken a kidney punch after the wrong organs may have been taken from donors. “I decided I was happy to donate my liver, lungs, pancreas and kidneys,” student Stephen Banks told the BBC. “But a few days later… I received a letter from the NHS (National Health Service) thanking me for donating and telling me I had also donated my eyes. I feel a bit embarrassed to call up and say, ‘I want my eyes back.’” Most of the 17 million donors agree to give any and all of their organs, but having the option to pick what organs you’d like to give sure beats the US system, where it’s all-in or nothing. {Thanks, Codi!}

Kidney Parties!

gutsy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:58:43 +0000

Eleven years after a successful kidney transplant, Jim Wallace still appreciates his kidneys. So much so, in fact, that he and his wife have thrown a Kidney Party in celebration of his fabulous filtering organ every year since. They make kidney pie and serve kidney bean salad in honor of the organ. Very cute! {via Los Angeles Times. Thanks, Mom!}

Liver 2.0

gutsy — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:01:35 +0000

Somehow we missed the newsy tidbit that Apple head Steve Jobs had a liver transplant back in April. “As you may know, I had a liver transplant,” Jobs told the audience assembled for Apple’s music event in early September. “So I have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash, and was generous enough to donate their organs. And I wouldn’t be here without such generosity.” And here this whole time we thought his pancreas was the one giving him trouble. {via Wall Street Journal}

Hooters at the Hospital

gutsy — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:51:04 +0000

Sexy nurses and quadruple-deck burgers come together at the Heart Attack Grill, a burger place in Chandler, Arizona, famous for its Double Bypass Burger, waitresses that dress like slutty nurses, lard-fried potatoes, and free meals not for kids, but for people who weigh in at over 350 pounds. Whether you think it’s digusting or hilarious, you gotta admit it’s brilliant marketing.

Organs in the News

gutsy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:08:17 +0000

You knew that you can sell your old adirondack chair, get a job, buy some orange juice or find a boyfriend on Craigslist. But did you know you can also find a human kidney? Two sisters’ ailing father was looking at a 2-6 year waiting list for a donor until they looked to Craigslist to connect dear old dad with a kidney donor. Someone stepped up to the plate and dad got his organ. On the less legal side, another person looking to connect with some cold hard cash tried to sell his own kidney on Craiglist for $75,000. Not so legal.

Kasper The Friendly Kidney

gutsy — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:07:35 +0000

Holly’s got guts — she’s having a kidney transplant on the 17th after a four year long wait for one. Major guts on this girl. At least now she has a plushie kidney, which she’s named Kasper the Kidney. Very Kute. Hopefully all will go well, we are rooting for her over her at Guts HQ. She writes a great blog called Quest for a Kidney, so check it out and send her some love + support in the comments section! And be sure to send her awesome donor friend love and support, too!