Charles Okeke made headlines here and around the country last May when he became the first US heart patient to leave a hospital--in this case, the Mayo Clinic--with an artificial heart.
The Mayo Clinic announced Friday that Okeke now has a new heart and kidney and is once again home with his family in Phoenix.
Okeke had a successful double transplant January 15. This is his second heart; in 2008, his body rejected a transplanted heart received nine years earlier. This led to nearly 600 days tethered to a 400-pound articifical heart that prevented him from leaving Mayo for more than the briefest visits home.
Last May, Okeke left Mayo with a smaller, 13-pound experimental artificial heart that allowed him to live at home while waiting for another transplant. He became the first US heart patient to leave a hospital with an artificial pumper intended to keep a patient alive while waiting for the real thing. Doctors attributed his successful treatment to the fact that, despite obvious organ defects, Okeke kept himself in excellent physical condition, adhering to a prescribed diet and exercise regimen.
Okeke's new heart and kidney came from the same donor.
Last month, Mayo announced that it set a new record for solid organ transplants in 2010 with 307, including 22 heart transplants.
Nationally, more than 110,200 patients are on a transplant wait list, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. If you are interested in donating an organ after your death, you can have this noted on your driver's license or other state ID. You can also state this in a will & testament and/or living will. For more information, visit the state's donor information page.
Comments