DR. ALLEN MORRIS OF THE University of South Dakota at Sioux Falls presented an informed and touching presentation regarding organ transplants. Dr. Morris was a heart transplant recipient at the Mayo Clinic in 1997. Dr. Morris began his speech by stating that he was lucky to be alive. He was discovered to have amlodiosis, a disease which is usually fatal within six months of diagnosis.

Dr. Morris recounted the history of his illness. It began in the Spring of 1995. After feeling unusually fatigued, he underwent treadmill testing. A coronary angiogram was then performed showing dilated cardiomyopathy with heart failure. By the winter of 1996, Dr. Morris had been accepted as a Mayo Clinic heart transplant candidate. Screening included many diagnostic tests as well as psychological screening. By December, 1996, his heart failure became worse. He was transferred to the Mayo Clinic to await transplant in February, 1997. Dr. Morris explained that people waiting for transplants are placed into different categories. A patient rated as category two is someone who is still walking about. By the time someone reaches category one they are in a cardiac care unit.

On April 12, 1997 he received his transplant. Dr. Morris related that the hardest part of the ordeal after transplant was taking the transplant rejection medication. "It's like having a flu with fevers and chills," says Dr. Morris. The first few days after transplant the patient is watched very carefully and is kept in a sterile environment due to the patient being immunosupressed. It was a big victory to start walking down the hall holding onto a wheelchair. After one week Dr. Morris was released from the hospital. However, the patient must stay near to the hospital for up to a three month period for close monitoring and observation. A heart biopsy is usually required to check on the status of the transplant. After some scheming with his physicians, Dr. Morris was allowed to go home one and one-half months from his discharge from the hospital.

There are one and one-half persons waiting for every organ made available. Two out of three persons waiting for a transplant die while they are waiting.

There were other people at Mayo waiting for transplants while Dr. Morris was there. Cheryl was a six year old who had been at the hospital for 18 months. She had congenital heart disease and had previous surgeries. The previous surgeries made it more difficult to find a suitable donor. It was difficult for Cheryl to wait for the transplant as others who had arrived at the hospital after her had already received their transplants and had been released. During the time Dr. Morris was there, Cheryl had several arrests. She did eventually have the transplant, but died due to rejection shortly after. Gene was another patient from Indianapolis. He had the transplant and did well. Kevin was 20 years old. He died on the unit waiting for a heart. As can be understood, there is a fair amount of stress involved in waiting for a transplant. Dr. Morris presented information showing that organ transplant is a successful program. Ninety-three percent of those who receive kidney transplants are alive after one year. After one year, 82 percent of heart recipients and 69 percent of lung recipients are still alive.

The waiting lists for transplants are getting longer and longer. There are one and one-half persons waiting for every organ made available.Two out of three persons waiting for a transplant die while they are waiting. The waiting period may be very long. Waiting list are increasing progressively. Why has there been such an increase in the numbers on the waiting list? The answer lies in the fact that transplants are getting to be such a doable thing. However, the number of persons needing transplants is also increasing.

The most common reason for heart transplants is due to cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. When an organ donor has been identified, the organ procurement team will go out and talk to the family members. If the family agrees to the donation, a team will fly to the donor and will do a number of blood tests. If all goes well, they will then take out the organ.

There is a set amount of time that an organ will survive. Kidneys can survive approximately 72 hours; hearts, five hours; and lungs will survive only for a very short time. Currently, there are about 2000 additional people being added to the transplant list each month.

There are certain issues that will come into play in the organ transplant system. One thing that will become very apparent from the beginning is the cost. The patient must either have very good insurance, or none at all. Loss of income is also a major problem. Some family members may have to move closer to the transplant center to aid in the care of the patient. Blood typing for the transplant is also important. Due to matching programs, type O blood types usually wait longer for a transplant. The set up of regions can also be a concern. A patient may wait on the list in their region even if another region may actually be closer in proximity to the patient. There are some exceptions to this. Usually children are transplanted all across the nation and do not necessarily have to wait in just one region. Other factors playing a part in the transplantation are the size of the donor and recipient.

The ethnic groups of the region and their related blood types may also play a part in the availability of donors.Of course there are also personal issues to be dealt with.There is an ethical dilemma that you can only get a transplant after someone dies and this always lies heavy on the recipient.

A big surprise for Dr. Morris was the disability after transplant. He related that it took much longer to get back to normal than he had anticipated. During his stay in the cardiac care unit he lost a lot of his muscle. He still cannot go up stairs readily. He continues to have problems with fatigue. He has no stamina at all. On most days Dr. Morris can only work 6 to 8 hours at a time. If he over does it on one day it takes longer for him to rebound. In short, Dr. Morris was glad to be alive even if he could not do all the things he had done before he became ill. Organ donation can be a wonderful thing!