Methodist Healthcare System | Keeping Well | Summer 2015

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In celebration of Organ Donor
Month, Methodist Healthcare
introduced its 5,000 for 5,000
Organ Donor Initiative on the
steps of the Texas Capitol.
Through this initiative, Methodist
Healthcare’s goal is to register 5,000 new
organ donors, a figure closely matching
the number of solid organ transplants
Methodist Healthcare has completed, and
to raise awareness about the importance
of all able-bodied Texans becoming organ
donors.
Organ transplants offer patients a new
chance at healthy, productive and normal
lives and return them to their families,
friends and communities. According to
Donate Life Texas, the need for organ donors
remains incredibly high within the state of
Texas, with as many as 11,000 Texans cur-
rently awaiting transplantation.
A NEW HEART—TWICE! At 47, trans-
plant recipient and Methodist Healthcare
San Antonio patient Earl Taylor was told
he had 6 months to live unless he received
a new heart. In 1997, his prayers were
answered, thanks in part to a donor fam-
ily in Austin, who selflessly donated the
organs of their loved one, who lost his
life to trauma. Taylor lived with this heart
for 17 years, when an unexpected illness
Our liver transplant program
The Liver Transplant Program
at Methodist Specialty and
Transplant Hospital (MSTH),
a campus of Methodist
Hospital, is one of the best
in the country. We have had
the highest 3-year survival
rates among programs in
Texas and excellent patient
survival rates over the last
6 years, based on the Scien-
tific Registry of Transplant
Recipients
January 2015 Program
Specific Report. More than
400 transplant procedures
have been performed since
the program began in 2001.
“Key to becoming one
of the top programs in the
country is having a hospital
and staff devoted to ab-
dominal transplant surger-
ies with both outpatient and
inpatient services,” says
Preston Foster, MD, FACS,
surgical director of the liver
disease and transplant pro-
gram at Texas Transplant
Institute, a department of
Methodist Hospital. “Our
highly experienced and
devoted team of physician
specialists, nurses and care
coordinators considers each
patient’s individual needs.
We provide a continuum
of care from diagnosis of
liver disease [to] evaluation
for transplant, transplant
surgery and recovery.”
Liver transplant proce-
dures can be especially
complex because many pa-
tients are at life-threatening
stages of liver disease and
prone to complications. The
liver transplant team has
implemented several tech-
niques that have resulted in
more successful outcomes:
■ ■ Preservation techniques
used during transplantation
of the donor liver.
■ ■ Revascularization tech-
niques of the donor liver.
■ ■ Venous bypass machine
used to prevent low blood
pressure and low body
temperature during the
transplant.
■ ■ Techniques to reduce the
number of immunosuppres-
sive drugs post-transplant.
■ ■ Multi-disciplinary care
of patients throughout the
transplant process.
■ ■ Aggressive treatment to
protect the donor liver from
hepatitis C.
Our program also pro-
vides dedicated clinical re-
search trials that allow liver
disease patients access to
the newest developments in
transplant medications and
management.
For more information
on the program, visit
.
A CHANCE TO
SAVE
LIVES
attacked his organs. In 2014, after being
on dialysis for 6 months, Taylor received
a second heart and a kidney transplant.
“Organ donors and their families have
been one of the biggest blessings in my life
and are the reason I am able to stand before
you today,” said Taylor, speaking at the kick-
off of the Methodist Healthcare 5,000 for
5,000 Organ Donor Initiative at the Texas
Capitol. “I thank God and my organ donor
families every day for the life I live today.”
Taylor was joined by Zeke Martinez, of
Austin, the brother of his first organ donor.
ON THE WAITING LIST Jeremy Roberts,
of Odessa, was also on hand to tell his
story at the Capitol. Roberts, who has a
rare autoimmune disorder, underwent
a treatment that caused his liver to fail
8 years ago and eventually led to kidney
failure 2 years ago. Roberts has been on
the transplant list for 8 years now. What
makes his case more difficult is that his
organs must come from the same donor.
“I’ve been on the waiting list for eight
years,” Roberts said. “I’m here today to ask
you for your help, not only for me, but for
the thousands like me who have been wait-
ing years for organ donation to help save
our lives.” Roberts’ new worry is if he does
not receive the two organs he needs soon,
his heart could begin to fail and he could
need a heart transplant, as well.
“Despite our great strides, there are still
hundreds of patients throughout
Texas, manywith life-threatening
illnesses, like Roberts’, awaiting
an organ donation,” says Suzy
Miller, executive director for
Donate Life Texas.
WORLD-CLASS TRANSPLANT
CENTER Methodist Health-
care, through its Texas Trans-
plant Institute, a department
of Methodist Hospital, was the
first program in the U.S. to es-
tablish a comprehensive trans-
plant program that combines
both stem cell and solid organ
transplant programs since 1999.
Since that time, the institute
has performed just over 5,000
solid organ transplants—which
include heart, kidney, liver and
pancreas—making it a top des-
tination for people from all over the world
for organ transplant.
Transplant services are provided at
Methodist Hospital and its campuses,
including Methodist Heart Hospital,
Methodist Children’s Hospital, and
Methodist Specialty and Transplant
Hospital, along with numerous satellite
clinics, including the adult blood and mar-
row stem cell clinic in Austin and the solid
organ satellite clinics in Corpus Christi,
Lubbock, Temple, McAllen and Laredo.
Methodist Healthcare transplant team at the State
Capitol to promote the 5,000 for 5,000 organ donor
initiative. From left: Chandra Kunavarapu, MD,
FACC (cardiologist); Carla Sierra (director, public
relations); Senator Jose Menendez; Francis
Wright Jr., MD (transplant surgeon); Earl Taylor
(transplant patient) with Mrs. Taylor; JJ Piper
(director, heart transplant); and Joe Gonzalez
(manager, cardiac valve center).
GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE A single organ
and tissue donor can save or improve the
lives of up to 50 different people. Methodist
Healthcare San Antonio celebrates the
individuals who have received a second
chance at life—and their generous donors.
Organ donation is one of the most self-
less acts we can do, and each of us, by be-
coming an organ donor, can give the gift of
life to people who have been waiting. Please
become an organ donor today by registering
at .
METHODIST HEALTHCARE KICKED OFF TEXAS’ LARGEST ORGAN DONOR CALL TO ACTION INITIATIVE AT STATE CAPITOL
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M e t h o d i s t H e a l t h c a r e