The National Kidney Registry, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center,
and The Rogosin Institute Announce the Continuation of the Donor Chain That Started on Valentine's DayFriday May 2, 5:00 pm ET
New York Assemblyman Phil Boyle Commits His Support to the National Kidney Registry
NEW YORK, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--May 2, 2008 -- Today, the National Kidney Registry, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and The Rogosin Institute announced the successful completion of two simultaneous living donor transplants continuing one of the nation's first donor chains. The surgeries took place yesterday and all four donors and recipients are doing well.
Yesterday's transplants were made possible by Cynthia Marshall, who started the National Kidney Registry's first donor chain on Valentine's Day when she traveled from California to New York to donate her kidney to a stranger, setting in motion a chain of events which, to date, has facilitated five life-saving transplants -- and, going forward, has the potential to facilitate hundreds of transplants, helping to reduce the nations severe kidney shortage. There are currently over 74,000 patients on the national wait list in need of a kidney.
"As a representative of the state of New York, I am pleased to announce my support for the National Kidney Registry. We believe the innovative approach to paired exchange being pioneered by the Registry will revolutionize the transplant industry, saving thousands of lives and reducing health care expenses by billions of dollars," said New York Assemblyman Phil Boyle.
"Donor chains are a breakthrough approach to kidney transplantation which holds the potential to facilitate thousands of life-saving transplants annually. Not only can this new approach eliminate the problems of incompatible donors, but it has been demonstrated that, at scale, donor chains can find perfect HLA matches for a large portion of participating recipients, improving patient outcomes," said Garet Hil, Founder of the National Kidney Registry.
About the National Kidney Registry
The National Kidney Registry is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with a mission to save and improve the lives of people facing kidney failure by increasing the quality, speed, and number of living donor transplants in the world.
Contact:
Contact:
Tom Mollo
National Kidney Registry
800-936-1627 x 707
Email Contact
http://www.kidneyregistry.orghttp://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080502/0393259.html