Holy crap - Dick Cheney had a heart transplant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that a 70 year old man can get to the top of the donor list while a child with Down syndrome can't even get on the list at all tells you everything you need to know about health care in this country.

indeed ... and in his case, the surgery should have been done by a federal prison doctor.

[Anonymous]

Pretty disgusting all these responses..shows what dc people are like. I would say shame on you but ou wouldn't get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like I need to put an asterisk next to the donor symbol on my driver's license...

[Anonymous]

Dick Cheney is the ultimate "DC" person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought he was too old to receive a heart on the transplant list? Isn't there always way more demand than supply, and someone of advanced age has virtually no chance? Are former VPs exempt from this?

Yes, they are exempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize people are skeptical about this, but trust me on this one. There is no way to "jump the line" in organ donation, unless you have a family donor. It just doesn't work that way. The article I saw said that Cheney was on the list for 20 months. Been VP has nothing to do with anything.

Yeah right!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize people are skeptical about this, but trust me on this one. There is no way to "jump the line" in organ donation, unless you have a family donor. It just doesn't work that way. The article I saw said that Cheney was on the list for 20 months. Been VP has nothing to do with anything.

Yeah right!

Agreed. David Crosby got a new liver. Given his history with drugs and alcohol, being famous doesn't hurt.

[Anonymous]

Love how he's pro-gay because his daughter is gay, but anti-everything else because it doesn't impact him, so he doesn't care. He really bothers me. GW isn't even that bad; I honestly think his heart might have been in the right place, even if the execution was awful. But Dick Cheney? He's just all bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like I need to put an asterisk next to the donor symbol on my driver's license...

Lol! me too:

* my organs can go to anyone with the exception of tea party members, sarah palin, rick santorum, or any other 2012 republican candidate. Plus Rush Limbaugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize people are skeptical about this, but trust me on this one. There is no way to "jump the line" in organ donation, unless you have a family donor. It just doesn't work that way. The article I saw said that Cheney was on the list for 20 months. Been VP has nothing to do with anything.

Trust me on this... What exactly are your credentials or area of expertise that gives you the knowledge that you can't "jump the line"?

Do tell.

[Anonymous]

Okay, after reading transplant guidelines I am going to go with "used his clout for a heart"... The upper age limit is 55 years old. Older patients are taken but it seems a crock of shit that Cheney would meet the considerations.

Google it, do some research. It's not common in people his age.

Age

Age limit is perhaps the most controversial aspect of candidate selection for heart transplantation. The age of 55 years has traditionally been the accepted upper limit beyond which heart transplantation should not be considered.4 However, with advances in surgical and immunosupression techniques, older patients are often considered for transplantation. Heart transplantation in patients as old as 72 years of age have been reported.5 However, a study comparing carefully selected heart transplant recipients greater than 65 years of age to those between the ages of 55 and 64, show that although survival is similar, the number of hospital days and infections during post-transplant year one is significantly greater for the older group. In addition, patients greater than 65 years of age had more severe functional limitations after transplantation and had difficulty returning to full functional capacity. Patients between the ages of 60 and 65 should be carefully scrutinized, because the incidence of co-morbidities that would limited life expectancy or quality of life increases with age. These co-morbidities include cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, renal disease, hepatic disease, pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, malignancy, benign prostatic hypertrophy, diverticulosis, obesity, loss of mental acuity and deceased rehabilitation potential.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Data here:

http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/latestData/viewDataReports.asp

For those that want to comb thru it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize people are skeptical about this, but trust me on this one. There is no way to "jump the line" in organ donation, unless you have a family donor. It just doesn't work that way. The article I saw said that Cheney was on the list for 20 months. Been VP has nothing to do with anything.

Trust me on this... What exactly are your credentials or area of expertise that gives you the knowledge that you can't "jump the line"?

Do tell.

I am a transplant recipient and active in the transplant community.

[Anonymous]

I'm not necessarily offended by the transplant because of his politics, but I know someone on the list whom I would have considered more deserving (a young dad whose minor child needs him)... and I'm sure there are many others.

So it does sound fishy that someone who has already had the privilege of making it to his twilight years can qualify. I can't imagine the technical match-up requirements indicated Mr. Cheney before someone else who ought to have many years ahead of him if it weren't for the heart trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize people are skeptical about this, but trust me on this one. There is no way to "jump the line" in organ donation, unless you have a family donor. It just doesn't work that way. The article I saw said that Cheney was on the list for 20 months. Been VP has nothing to do with anything.

Trust me on this... What exactly are your credentials or area of expertise that gives you the knowledge that you can't "jump the line"?

Do tell.

I am a transplant recipient and active in the transplant community.

I respect your self imposed credentials but I am in the belief that money can buy anything, and I am fairly certain, despite your disagreement, that Cheney and his doctors were able to finagle this so he was guaranteed a heart.