What: The need for organ donors has never been greater. In the United States, there are more than 114,000 people currently in need of organ transplants. And each year, thousands of people die while waiting for a transplant, because no suitable donor can be found for them. But you can help. Here in the New York metropolitan area, there are nearly 8,000 people waiting for an organ transplant. Yet, in 2011, there were only 264 deceased organ donors. Such a disparity leaves many potential organ transplant recipients without much hope for a better future.

Our chat will feature experts from Montefiore Medical Center (@MontefioreNews) and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University (@EinsteinMed) discussing the clinical and research aspects of transplantation. The chat will also feature The New York Organ Donor Network (@SaveLivesNY) as well as Roxanne Watson, a patient advocate for organ donation.

When: Tuesday, May 22, 1pm EST

Where: Follow the chat on Twitter at #DonateLifeNY (We encourage you to leave questions in advance of the chat)

Who:

Milan Kinkhabwala, MD, is Chief, Division of Transplantation at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation. He is nationally known for his work in liver disease, liver cancer surgery, and liver transplantation. He leads a large multidisciplinary team involved in liver cancer care. He is an expert in liver resectional surgery as well as innovative procedures such as minimally invasive surgery of the liver and live donor liver transplantation. He is a leader in clinical research in liver cancer. Dr. Kinkhabwala completed medical school at Cornell University and training in liver surgery at UCLA. He was the surgical director of the live donor liver transplant program at Columbia before coming to Montefiore-Einstein to lead the Center for Transplantation.

Allan W. Wolkoff, MD, is professor of medicine and associate director of the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and chief, division of gastroenterology and liver diseases at Einstein and Montefiore Medical Center. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in 2006 and served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Liver Foundation from 2007-2011. A graduate of Einstein and the author of more than 100 original research articles, Dr. Wolkoff served on the editorial boards of several journals including the Journal of Hepatology and the American Journal of Physiology.

The New York Organ Donor Network is dedicated to the recovery of organs and tissues for people in need of life-saving and life-improving transplants. They work to increase awareness and foster understanding of organ and tissue donation among health care professionals and the general public in an effort to make organ donation a fundamental societal value. With respect and compassion, they provide individuals and their families with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about donation. They strive towards the goal of saving and improving lives.

Roxanne Watson is a strong advocate for minority organ donation. One afternoon in May 2006, Roxanne was sent home from work after her co-workers had clearly seen how fatigued and nauseas she seemed. She was quickly admitted to the hospital where a cardiologist in the ER asked her how long had she been in pain for. She responded that she had been in pain for six weeks. Roxanne was un-prepared for what happened next, the cardiologist said “Young lady, you had a heart attack six weeks ago.” Roxanne was floored that she had missed all the signs, but women don’t exhibit symptoms like men do. Roxanne was eventually admitted to the Montefiore Hospital Advanced Cardiac Care Program and after setting the record for longest in patient waiting for a heart (78 days) she was finally receiving her second chance at life. The gift of life was a major decision for Roxanne’s donor family, the Bovill’s. 23-year-old Mike Bovill, a coastguard servicemen on active duty was unfortunately killed in a motorcycle accident on the George Washington bridge. In death, Michael Bovill made the ultimate sacrifice, saving the lives of 5 others including Roxanne Watson.

Resources:

Become an Organ Donor Today!

Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation 

The United Network for Organ Sharing