Florida Hospital Transplant Center (see more articles like this)

WHAT: This morning at Florida Hospital Transplant Center, Titusville resident Shirley Kopinski received a kidney from Ohio resident Melissa Miller.  At the same exact time, Melissa’s mother was receiving a kidney from another donor 1,000 miles away at Ohio State University.  These donations were made possible through a relatively new concept in organ donation – the paired donor transplant. 

Paired donation occurs when a patient who needs an organ has a donor, but they do not match.  The incompatible pair is entered into a database of others, where doctors can then match them with another pair in a similar situation – basically, the pairs swap donors.  According to www.paireddonation.org, “…paired donation will one day allow for an additional 3,000 living donor renal [kidney] transplants per year in America.”

Shirley had her surgery this morning and is looking forward to recovery and spending the holidays with her family that includes six children, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren!  As a result of her transplant this morning, Shirley’s daughter Ethel, who was not a match to her mother, will act as a bridge donor and ‘pay it forward’ to another patient in need of a kidney.

BKGRD: This marks the first time Florida Hospital Transplant Center has performed a paired donor transplant and the first time an institution in Florida has performed a paired donation with another state.

The Florida Hospital Transplant Center has transformed lives for more than 30 years through personalized care of patients awaiting transplantation. The program offers kidney, liver and kidney/pancreas transplantation services, patient and professional education, and dedication to those in need of lifesaving organ transplants. Last year more than 28,000 lives were saved due to the generosity of organ donors. Today, nearly 100,000 children and adults await organ transplantation. 

WHEN: Florida Hospital Transplant Center and Ohio State University performed the surgeries simultaneously this morning. 

VIDEO/
I’VIEW: *Interviews available today Dr. Bobby Nibhanupudy, Florida Hospital Transplant Center Surgeon and Surgical Director of Pancreas Transplant Services. 
*Tape with B-roll and interviews with Dr. Nibhanupudy and Melissa Miller, donor at Florida Hospital Transplant Center, is available today upon request. 
*Patients may be available for follow-up interviews at a later date.