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ChristianaCare Earns National Recognition for Support of Life-Saving Organ and Tissue Donation

ChristianaCare has earned the highest level of national recognition from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for its outstanding support of organ and tissue donation. HRSA grants the Platinum Award, its top honor, to health systems that promote donation in their workplace and community through a national campaign known as DoNation. This campaign focuses on raising awareness of the critical need for organ and tissue donors. “This recognition belongs to all the ChristianaCare caregivers, especially the critical care nurses and physicians who help with compassion and generosity in supporting the gift of life to those in need of a transplant,” said Jason Rolls, M.D., FACS, chief and surgical director of the Kidney Transplant Program at ChristianaCare. “This recognition also is a testament to the generosity of our communities, who have said ‘yes’ to organ donation.” Delaware’s Only Kidney Transplant Program Based at Christiana Hospital, ChristianaCare’s Kidney Transplant Program is the only adult transplant center in Delaware and the only one between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Since opening in 2006, the program has performed more than 400 transplants. The program also helps more than 1,000 patients each year by providing services for kidney transplant, living donation evaluation and waitlist management, as well as post-donation and post-transplant care. The program is approved by Medicare and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. “The sooner we can provide kidney transplants to patients on dialysis, the better the chances to improve both the extent and the quality of their lives,” Rolls said. “Along with our clinical teams at ChristianaCare, we also are grateful to HRSA and the Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia for their commitment to healing lives through the support of organ transplantation.” ChristianaCare works closely with Gift of Life Donor Program, the region’s nonprofit organ procurement organization, to support donation. ChristianaCare’s engagement and advocacy includes monthly donation council meetings, tabling events and educational sessions for its health care team. In addition, ChristianaCare holds an annual flag-raising ceremony each April as part of National Donate Life Month. “ChristianaCare and our hospital partners are vital to our life-saving mission,” said Rick Hasz, president and CEO of Gift of Life Donor Program. “In fact, ChristianaCare is one of the leading hospitals for donation in our region; its Newark and Wilmington campuses have combined to provide compassionate care and support for 50 donor heroes and their families, resulting in 120 life-saving organs for transplant for waiting patients during the first eleven months of 2023. We thank the ChristianaCare team for its outstanding commitment to saving lives through donation and caring for the health of our community.” In the United States, more than 90% of adults support organ donation, but only 60% have signed up to become donors. With a new person added to the national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes, more organ and tissue donors are needed to help save lives. Visit www.organdonor.gov to learn more about organ and tissue donation, and sign up as a donor at www.donors1.org/register.

Georgia Southern student recognized for registering 300 bone marrow donors

Brianne Dollar (pictured center-right) receives the Steve Bochco Award at the Gift of Life gala in Los Angeles. She received the honor thanks to her being responsible for more than 30 fundraising drives and registering over 300 bone marrow donors. A Georgia Southern University student is saving lives, and is now receiving national recognition for her work. In May 2022, Dollar attended a gala in Los Angeles for Gift of Life, an organization supporting bone marrow transplants. Dollar has been an ambassador for the organization for years and is responsible for organizing events in the group’s name. While there, she was surprised with the Steve Bochco Award, named after the late television writer and producer, who had leukemia. The accomplishment is the culmination of hard work and passion for the cause. For Dollar, the journey was far from an easy one. Brianne Dollar's story is attached below - it's a great story and a must read: If you're a reporter looking to know more about Brianne or if you're looking to speak with her directly - then let us help. Simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

Anti-mask ordinances amount to disability discrimination

University of Rochester health policy expert Mical Raz says anti-mask ordinances amount to disability discrimination for individuals with compromised immune systems—that includes people who have cancer and autoimmune disease, as well as those who have received organ transplants. As Dr. Raz explained in a recent Washington Post essay, immunocompromised individuals—even those who are vaccinated—may now find themselves inadequately protected in workplaces where mask requirements are legally banned and there are no vaccine requirements. Dr. Raz also co-authored a piece in the JAMA Health Forum discussing the implications of some states banning attempts to mandate masking. As she points out, vaccines have been less effective in individuals with different categories of immunosuppression. Dr. Raz concludes that allowing mask requirements is an important form of disability accommodation.

CRISPR is the genetic game changer – but are we ready?

CRISPR is here to stay – and the daily advances of this technology and stem cell therapy seem to be moving at a near exponential speed. “CRISPR Therapeutics of Zug, Switzerland, reported that one patient with sickle cell anemia and another with beta thalassemia appear to have benefited from the same CRISPR-based intervention for up to 9 months, STAT reports. (The company gave STAT an early look at the data but did not allow outside commenters to see the results.) Before the treatment, both patients required multiple infusions each year of red blood cells. CRISPR Therapeutics, collaborating with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, removed blood stem cells from their bodies and modified them with CRISPR to knock out a gene that shuts down production of fetal hemoglobin. When the edited cells were put back in each patient’s body through a stem cell transplant—which required a toxic chemotherapy to kill their own stem cells—both people produced high levels of fetal hemoglobin and no longer needed transfusions.” November 19 – Science Mag CRISPR and how it will shape the future of genetics, health care and society are the subject of great debate, hope and concern and if you are a journalist covering this topic and need an expert source for insight and perspective – let us help. Dr. Michael Davis researches cardiac regeneration, stem cell therapy and preservation at the Georgia Tech College of Engineering where he also is the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in Biomedical Engineering. Michael is available to speak to media regarding this topic, simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.