Monday, January 23, 2012

Who would you give your kidney to?

Transplant surgery is incredible. I saw a living donor kidney transplant, which is  a win-win because no one needs to die and the person still gets a new kidney! I would definitely donate my kidney if the situation every came up. Now, thanks to the strong immunosuppression drugs (thanks tacrolimus, the infamous IL-2 inhibitor!), you  only need to have the same blood type to donate your kidney. Amazing.

What was even more impressive is that the surgery to transplant the new kidney took under 2 hours! Transplant surgery is really impressive, including the doctors, nurses, PAs, pharmacists and of course the patients, and the altruistic donors.  It takes a TEAM to get someone a new organ!

On to cardiothoracic surgery. Great first day, should be an exciting two weeks! I somehow got two of the most intense surgical specialties, really enjoying it so far.

In other exciting news, I think I've just about beat the cold I've been battling, went on my first run in a while. Felt SO GOOD.

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