Ron Lizama of Mount Vernon, Wash., had wanted to be an organ donor, but health problems made that mostly out of the question when he died in 2016, but tissues such as skin, bone, tendons and ligaments could be donated through LifeNet Health. "Now he's got parts of him in Canada, South Korea. A lady from California got one of his corneas. I'm just glad he got what he wanted," said his wife, Lynda Lizama.
Cox Medical Center South is Missouri had 218 eye donors last year, resulting in 161 tissues for cornea transplants, an increase from 2016, according to Saving Sight. Tissue and organ donors can register online in Missouri.
Lantieri (right) with the transplant team and Hamon (seated) (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)
Jerome Hamon, a 43-year-old man with neurofibromatosis type 1, received a face transplant in 2010, but that face was removed in November after his immune system began rejecting the tissue. Hamon stayed in a Paris hospital until a suitable donor face was available, and the same transplant surgeon, Laurent Lantieri, led the latest procedure.
Massachusetts-based BlueRock Therapeutics received a $1 million economic development incentive from New York State to establish a neuroscience research hub in New York City, where scientists will collaborate with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center researchers. The company is developing stem cell-derived neural cells to treat Parkinson's disease and other disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
An experimental therapy that cleared Zika virus from the blood of pregnant monkeys did not stop the virus from crossing into the amniotic fluid and infecting the fetus, researchers reported in Nature Communications. Researchers will now modify the antibodies so that they can cross the placental barrier and protect the fetus, said lead author Diogo Magnani.
Columbia University researchers have developed a novel technique to regenerate damaged heart tissue using extracellular vesicles secreted by cardiomyocytes. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, could help scientists develop new treatments for cardiac medical conditions.
AATB is now accepting submissions for the annual Communication & Education Awards. If your organization has a project or initiative that raised awareness or provided education about tissue donation or transplant, submit it for consideration using the online submission site. Learn more about the C&E Awards.