UPMC transplant chief wants more live donors

Levittown - The transplant chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says he wants to increase the use of organs from living donors in liver and kidney transplants.Dr. Abhinav Humar (ahb-HIN'-ahv HOO'-mar) says about two-thirds of kidney transplants and more than one of every four liver surgeries could be done using organs from healthy donors.Humar says half of UPMC's kidney transplants came from live donors this year, up from 34 percent last year.About 11 percent of liver patients got partial organs donated from living people, up from 4 percent last year.A study by UPMC transplant pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl showed some live donor transplants resulted in significant complications. Starzl says he doesn't condemn the procedure for some patients with cancer and end-stage liver diseases.___Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com

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