When they come here. Five news stories about your health tonight. We are desperately looking for organ donors. There are more than 4,000 names on the waiting list here in Massachusetts, including nearly 500 people who need a new liver. But now, for the first time in New England, liver donors at one hospital in Boston can opt for a simpler surgery with smaller scars and a faster recovery. This was a big milestone in my life. Diego Gutierrez is a proud father, a loving son, and now an organ donor. Here is a photo of him leaving Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a few days after donating to have part of his liver removed. His surgeon, Dr. Martin Dib, used a minimally invasive technique called laparoscopy. Because we only make small incisions, the donors' recovery is very fast. They can return to normal activities very quickly. For Diego, that meant visiting the patient who was gifted a healthy new organ: his mother, Alejandra Gutierrez. This is too big a deal. Alejandra was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis seven years ago. The disease damaged her liver function over time, and although her son and daughter, Ximena, both offered to be donors, doctors decided Diego's liver was a better match. And now here is Alejandra. Today, exactly three weeks after her life-saving surgery. I said I'm happy. I'm happy for everyone. I mean overall, everything is happy, including them of course. And the prognosis for mother and son is good. Would you donate half your liver? But if it regenerates completely, it fills the liver's capacity just like it did before. And usually the patient keeps a normal quality of life. And a normal lifespan. Yeah. How about it, Dr. Dib hopes that this new, less invasive option will encourage more people to share their liver with someone, even a stranger who needs one. Today we know someone who might volunteer as an altruistic donor.
In Massachusetts, more than 4,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ transplant, with nearly 500 of them in need of a new liver. But in a first in New England, a Boston hospital is offering liver donors an easier surgery option with smaller scars and quicker recovery. Devoted father and son Diego Lobero Gutierrez recently became organ donors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His surgeon, Dr. Martin Dib, removed part of Diego's liver using a laparoscopic technique, a less invasive procedure that involves only small incisions. “Because we only make small incisions, the donor's recovery is very quick,” Dr. Dib said. “They can return to their normal activities immediately. Diego's liver donation was especially meaningful because it was given to his mother, Alejandra Gutierrez, who had been battling autoimmune hepatitis for seven years. Diego and his sister Ximena both volunteered to be donors, but doctors decided Diego was the better fit. Alejandra expressed her joy just three weeks after the life-saving surgery. “When I say happy, I mean happy overall. Happy for everything, including them, of course,” Alejandra Gutierrez said. According to Dib, liver donors usually donate half of their liver, which regenerates completely over time, allowing them to enjoy a normal quality of life without the need for long-term medication. Encouraged by the success of the less invasive surgery, Dib hopes that more people will consider becoming liver donors, even for strangers. Diego's sister Ximena is already considering becoming an altruistic donor.
In Massachusetts, more than 4,000 people are on the organ transplant waiting list, including about 500 who need new livers.
But in a first for New England, a Boston hospital is offering liver donors a simpler surgical option that means less scarring and a quicker recovery.
A devoted father and son, Diego Lobero Gutierrez, recently became organ donors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Diego's surgeon, Dr. Martin Dib, removed part of Diego's liver using laparoscopic techniques, a minimally invasive procedure that requires only small incisions.
“We only make small incisions, so the donors recover very quickly,” Dib says. “They can return to their normal activities right away.”
Diego's liver donation was especially meaningful because it was donated to his mother, Alejandra Gutierrez, who had been battling autoimmune hepatitis for seven years.
Diego and his sister Ximena both volunteered to be donors, but doctors decided Diego was the better choice.
Alejandra expressed her joy just three weeks after the life-saving surgery.
“When I say I'm happy, I mean happy overall, and I mean everyone is happy, including them of course,” Alejandra Gutierrez said.
Dib said liver donors typically donate half of their liver, and over time the liver regenerates completely, allowing the patient to enjoy a normal quality of life without the need for long-term medication.
Encouraged by the success of the minimally invasive procedure, Dib hopes that more people will consider donating their livers, even if they are strangers.
Diego's sister, Ximena, is already considering becoming an altruistic donor herself.
