FEATUR ES | Breaking the Silence: Organ Transplantation
Some living donors are Good Samaritan or altruistic donors — people like Christoffer Friend, who donated a kidney to an unknown recipient. Christoffer was confident that donating an organ would be safe, and he felt empowered and grateful to be able to save a life in this way. We could make a huge dent in the waiting list if more people considered organ donation, either living or deceased. In the U.S., 95 percent of adults say they support organ donations, yet only 54 percent actually sign up as donors by checking the box on their driver’s licenses or visiting www.donatelifevirginia.org
Where do I start if I need a transplant or want to donate an organ? Richmond is fortunate to have two transplant programs. The Virginia Transplant Center was established in 1990 and offers kidney transplants. It is located in HCA Virginia’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital. To learn more, contact: Virginia Transplant Center at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital Professional Office Building, Suite 303 1602 Skipwith Road | Richmond, VA 23229 804.289.4941, or toll-free, 877.626.4581 henricodoctors.com/service/transplant-services VCU Health’s Hume-Lee Transplant Center was one of the first organ transplant centers in the country and is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year. Hume-Lee performs kidney, liver, pancreas, and islet cell auto-transplants. VCU Health’s Pauley Heart Center performs heart transplants too. VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center Gateway Building, Seventh Floor 1200 East Marshall Street Richmond, VA 23219 804.828.4104, or toll-free, 800.762.6161, ext. 4104 vcuhealth.org/transplant VCU Health Pauley Heart Center 1200 East Marshall Street Richmond, VA 23219 804.828.4571 | vcuhealth.org/pauley EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR Lisa Matthias, RN with Virginia Transplant Center at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital
REFERENCES U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transplantation: organdonor.gov Donate Life America: donatelife.net United Network for Organ Sharing: unos.org
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