Sunday, January 15, 2017

HELLO!My name is Philip. At the end of 2013 I was unfortunate enough to be so ill that I needed a liver transplant ... yet I was fortunate to be able to qualify for and receive a liver transplant in the late summer of 2015 at Indiana University Medical Center (or University Hospital) in Indianapolis.As a result I, along with many others, can say that we are "livering proof" that the organ donation system in the United States does and can work for anyone, all due to the thoughtfulness of just one person, the organ donor.If you want to know more about what it is like to get a organ transplant in general or at University Hospital in particular, this is a place to discover more from at least one patient's perspective, mine.Yet if you are new to the world of needing a liver transplant, you are not alone, by any means. As I write this nearly 149,000 people have had a liver transplant, and that is just in the United States. Just think what the number must be when all liver transplants from all around the world are taken into account.The links to the right are arranged by topics that should help you to get to some interesting websites, which are arranged by topics that should be helpful to anyone who is in need of a transplant or just curious about the many issues involved in getting one. You might think of them as a "transplant toolbox" of websites.The following items are the links that will take you to some more recent stories and news about the transplanted world.TRANSPLANTED!

CONTROVERSIESMarijuana can cause health problems, if you smoke it and need a transplant. Some criminals in prison need transplants and can't get one, and China has executed prisoners for people who need an organ transplant. These are just some of the controversies involved in the U.S. and around the world with regards to organ transplantation.

Ursodiol (mentioned in these articles) is a drug used by liver patients pre- and post-transplant, and it is one of those drugs which has made the news of late due to inordinate price increases, especially for a generic drug.

GETTING TO STAGE 4 & THE NEED FOR A TRANSPLANTHepatitis C has historically been the cause for the need for most liver transplants, but with a cure now available, NASH is ready to take its place as the number one "liver killer."

Intro

In 2015 I was fortunate enough to receive a liver transplant at Indiana University Hospital. My name is Philip, and I and many others can say that we are "livering proof" that the organ donation system does and can work for anyone, all due to the thoughtfulness of just one person, the organ donor. If you want to know more about what it is like to get a organ transplant in general or at University Hospital in particular, this is a place to discover more from one patient's perspective.