Would-be transplant patients turn to social media for organs

[Clark]

http://www.wcvb.com/health/wouldbe-transplant-patients-turn-to-social-media-for-organs/-/9848730/21956648/-/14djq2v/-/index.html

Would-be transplant patients turn to social media for organs
By J.C. Monahan

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Right now on Facebook, more than 600 pages are devoted to finding a kidney. According to a recent Loyola University Medical Center study, one in eight page subjects actually reported finding one. One in three people at the very least had potential donors stepping forward.

"It works. It provides an avenue for people to become donors," said Dr. Nahel Elias, surgical director of Mass General Hospital's Kidney Transplant Program.

Mother of four, Anne Casale-Skinner, found her kidney through a social media campaign her husband Mike Skinner launched two years ago, "Right at the last moment," she said. At one point, 4.5 million people got a tweet.

"One of the posts I put out there is, 'I'm not asking you to throw a kidney on the table. I'm just asking you to share our page,'" said Skinner.

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"A living donor will provide a much better kidney in general," said Elias.

As long as, doctors say, donors are fully informed about the medical risks and the cost.

"We're going under the knife for somebody else's sake, so we have to be a lot more careful," said Elias.

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