Wellness Center

90.3 WCPN ideastream

Transplant History
Organ Donation: Late Congresswoman Leaves Lasting Legacy
LifeGiving Nursing
LifeGiving Transplant Stories: Frank's Donation
Tuesday Checkup: What to Consider Before Donating an Organ
ideastream Documentary Preview - LifeGiving: Transplant Stories
Organ Donation For Research
Transplants: Who Decides, Who Pays?
The Risks of Donation

Morning Edition on NPR

In-Depth Reports

Thursday, January 13th
Transplant History (Gretchen Cuda)

The first successful human organ transplant - a kidney from one identical twin to another - took place in Boston over 50 years ago. The patient lived for nearly a decade. Since then, more than half a million organ transplants have been performed in the Uniteds States alone. In fact, organ transplants are so common, that it's easy to forget how revolutionary they once were.

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Monday, January 17th
Organ Donation: Late Congresswoman Leaves Lasting Legacy

Just over half of all drivers in Ohio have indicated on their license that they are willing to be organ donors. Cleveland Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was one of them. It's a part of her legacy that continues to inspire and bring comfort to others, particularly her son Mervyn Jones II. ideastream's Kathryn Baker produced this report as part of our week-long series on organ donation.

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Tuesday, January 18th
LifeGiving Nursing (Katie Baker)

Perhaps no other part of medicine is more dependent on teamwork than organ transplants. The multiplicity of highly coordinated players includes lab technicians, pharmacists, teams of surgeons, networks of hospitals and specially trained nurses. Nurses like the Cleveland Clinic's Keith Stevens, a Lung Transplant Coordinator for patients in the recovery phase of transplantation.

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Care After Organ Donation

Wednesday, January 19th
LifeGiving Transplant Stories: Frank's Donation (David C. Barnett)

Sometimes, the death of one person can give new life to another. That reality took a very sudden and personal turn recently in the life of ideastream reporter David C. Barnett. Today David shares his story... and that of his brother.

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In-Depth Interviews

Tuesday, January 18th
Tuesday Checkup: What to Consider Before Donating an Organ (Eric Wellman)

Of the tens of thousands of organ transplants that take place in the United States every year, the vast majority come from deceased donors. But for the past 20 years, the number of living donors has been on the rise. There are calls on the health community to do more to explain the risks for living donors and keep better track of their recovery after surgery. Angela Townsend writes about this issue in the Plain Dealer.

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Thursday, January 20th
ideastream Documentary Preview - LifeGiving: Transplant Stories

Preview the TV special airing on WVIZ/PBS. Conversation will include how stories in the TV show will cause every viewer to reflect on difficult questions such as:

Are you willing to be an organ donor and have you had such discussions with your family?
Would you give one of your kidneys to your brother-in-law or another family member in need and just as importantly - can you afford to?

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Friday, January 21st
Organ Donation for Research (Eric Wellman)

The process for donating your body to medical research is totally different and separate from signing up to donate an organ (whether you are living or deceased). This interview will focus on the different types of organ/tissue donation and how it's done.

The Sound of Ideas

Tuesday, January 18th
Transplants: Who decides, who pays?

Life saving organ transplantation has become common medical practice, but for transplant recipients, it's anything but routine. This program talks about how patients become eligible for transplants and how the process works for donors and recipients. The program will also look at the costs: What will insurance cover? Does your ability to pay factor into whether you get the transplant?

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Before Transplantation - Getting on the Transplant List

Wednesday, January 19th
Transplants: The Risks of Donation

A kidney donated to a save a loved one, a friend or even a stranger is a precious gift. But it isn't made without risks. Most living donors recover fully, but some develop complications. On the next Sound of Ideas, we'll examine the risks and talk about the need for donors to make informed decisions. Recipients who are sick rightly get intensive medical attention. What about donors? Will problems crop up years down the road?

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Last Reviewed: Jan 20, 2011