Heart Transplant Patient Support: Monthly Virtual Meetings

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February 10, 2022 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The HeartBrothers, in collaboration with several Heart Failure Centers and Hospitals throughout New England, is now offering monthly *virtual* Patient Support Group Meetings. The meetings are held the second Thursday of every month @ 6:00 pm (Eastern Time).

  • Who: ALL Heart Failure patients—regardless of where they currently are on their Heart Failure journeyLoved ones are also welcomed. Members of Team HeartBrothers and social workers/staff from our partnering Transplant Centers will also be present.
  • What: This monthly meeting exists so we can provide Heart Failure patients and loved ones with first-hand knowledge, information, shared experiences, and strategies on how to live life with Heart Failure and all its complications.
  • When: Monthly | Second Thursday | 6:00 PM Eastern
  • Where: Virtual
    • Meeting ID: 871 2553 4600
    • Passcode: hearthelp

HeartBrothers Foundation

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Heart Transplants & Motherhood: Hope for Women Struggling with Heart Failure

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January 20, 2022 @ 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Hear brave and awe-inspiring patient stories of women who overcame the challenges of Heart Failure and Heart Transplant yet persevered in their role as mothers.

  • How Heart Failure and Heart Transplant have impacted their life as a mother.
  • How each person has overcome the challenge through commitment, perseverance, and resiliency.
  • See how patients have risen above their Heart Failure limitations to excel in motherhood

HeartBrothers Foundation

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First successful pig-to-human heart transplant may offer new options for patients

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  • A team of surgeons from the University of Maryland School of Medicine recently transplanted a genetically-modified pig heart into a 57-year-old male from Baltimore, MD.
  • The patient, who had arrhythmia, was not a viable candidate for the heart transplant list or an artificial heart pump.
  • The pig heart had 10 genetic modifications, including the removal of four pig genes and the addition of six human genes.
  • The surgical team hopes the continued success of this transplant will provide a new way to help those on the organ donor list.
  • However, some in the medical community question the ethical considerations of this type of transplant

Read more, here.

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FAQ: COVID-19 Basics for Transplant Patients

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“If you or a loved one is a UCSF transplant patient, you can find answers here to questions about the COVID-19 vaccines and how to otherwise minimize your risk of infection.

Should I get a fourth dose of the vaccine?

Yes. For immunosuppressed individuals, a series of three mRNA doses is now considered a “primary” series of vaccination against COVID-19. The CDC has approved a fourth dose, as a booster, that you can, and should, get six months after the third shot.

Does vaccination protect against the latest variant of the virus?

Existing vaccines likely do provide some immunity against omicron, the newest known variant of COVID-19, but boosters are important to maximize protection, according to a CDC statement issued when omicron was first detected in South Africa on Nov. 26, 2021. Omicron is now circulating in the United States and is variant has been labeled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization. It’s considered more contagious than earlier variants, though it’s not yet clear to what extent it poses risk of severe disease.”

Read more here.

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20 Common Kidney Transplant Q&A

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“When your kidneys fail, treatment is needed to replace the work your own kidneys can no longer do.  There are two types of treatment for kidney failure: dialysis or transplant. Many people feel that a kidney transplant offers more freedom and a better quality of life than dialysis.  In making a decision about whether this is the best treatment for you, you may find it helpful to talk to people who already have a kidney transplant. You also need to speak to your doctor, nurse and family members.”

Learn more here.

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Temporary MCS a Safe, Effective Strategy for the Transplant Waitlist

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“Use of temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) as a bridge to transplantation was a good strategy for many people following implementation of the 2018 national donor heart allocation policy, yet hemodynamic criteria may need to be modified to better identify the most urgent transplant candidates.

Within 14 days of status 2 listing, people with either a percutaneous endovascular MCS device or an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) received a heart transplant in 64.2% of cases, and only 1.9% died or were delisted for worsening clinical condition (a figure that rose to 3.1% at 30 days on the waitlist).”

Learn more here.

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Lung Transplant After COVID-19: What Patients Need to Know

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“COVID-19 is a complex disease. In some people, it can be a mild respiratory illness that is easy to recover from. In others, it can be severe and lead to a lengthy hospital stay. Patients with severe COVID-19 might need intensive care and a ventilator to help them breathe.

For people with severe illness, sometimes the only life-saving option is a lung transplant. As a pulmonologist who specializes in caring for both patients with severe COVID-19 and those who receive a transplant, I’ve seen firsthand the difference a lung transplant can make.

Here’s what our expert lung transplant team at the Temple Lung Center knows about performing these critical procedures”

Learn more here.

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Naperville Couple: Life After Husband & Wife Match for Kidney Transplant

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“It’s the story of two people who are a match in a perfect and unexpected way. In July 2019, Naperville resident Aaron Rhoden suffered a stroke due to his high blood pressure. Afterwards, his kidney functionality was so low that he needed a transplant. That’s when an “unusual alignment” happened according to his doctor.

His wife, Tonya Rhoden, didn’t hesitate to take the tests necessary and the two found out they were a perfect match. The couple, married since 2016, said one in every between 50,000 and 100,000 spouses will be a match. The two are “six out of 10 markers identical,” said Aaron in a story we did with the two back in April before the kidney transplant.”

Read full story here.

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How does your heart work?

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“The heart is a strong and muscular organ that is about the size of a fist in adults. It pumps blood throughout the body and is located behind the breastbone between the lungs. Deoxygenated blood flows from the heart to the lungs where it gives up carbon dioxide and is freshly oxygenated. From there, the blood returns to the heart and is pumped to the rest of the body.”

Learn more from UNOS, here.

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She Died With Long Covid. Should Her Organs Have Been Donated?

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“Covid-19 ravaged Heidi Ferrer’s body and soul for over a year, and in May the “Dawson’s Creek” screenwriter killed herself in Los Angeles. She had lost all hope.

“I’m so sorry,” she said in a goodbye video to her husband and son. “I would never do this if I was well. Please understand. Please forgive me.”

Her husband, Nick Guthe, a writer and director, wanted to donate her body to science. But the hospital said it was not his decision to make because Ms. Ferrer, 50, had signed up to be an organ donor. So specialists recovered several organs from the body before disconnecting her from a ventilator.”

Read full story, here.

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