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Dr. Darling gave the FAIR Foundation presentation to the
Ventura County West Valley
Chapter of TRIO: Transplant Recipients International Organization.
Below Dr. Darling
points out that the increase alone in research funding for HIV/AIDS
since 1999 is
greater that the entire 2007 budget for diabetes, even though diabetes
kills more Americans
than HIV and breast cancer combined. Diabetes also affects 22 million of
our citizens
compared to one million for HIV.
The Chapter honored UCLA liver transplant surgeon,
Mark Ghobrial, MD, for his decade of excellence
in saving the lives of patients with end-stage liver failure--many of
them in the audience.
Dr. Ghobrial
is Professor of Surgery in the Division of Liver and Pancreas
Transplantation, Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine
at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also the Director
of the Living Donor Liver Transplant Program and the Pancreas
Transplantation Program at UCLA.
Dr. Ghobrial is seen below with kidney-pancreas
recipient, Ron Taubman. Ron is the President of the Ventura Country West
Valley Chapter of TRIO, he is also the
TRIO National Board of Directors
Region 5 Representative and a member of the OPTN/UNOS Pancreas
Committee.
Dr. Ghobrial kindly exhibited his surgical skills for the audience by
cutting the cake that was provided
to help celebrate his new position as the Director of
Liver Transplant Program at Methodist
Hospital in Houston, Texas.
One of America's most productive organ-donor
advocates, liver recipient, and immediate
Past-President of this TRIO chapter, Jackie Colleran, is see here with
her husband, Jack,
as they present a beautiful photo album of the many years of Dr.
Ghobrial's friendship
with Southern California citizens and TRIO members.
Think you are too old to receive a liver? And how old
do you think Margaret is?
Dr. Darling marvels that Margaret is 81 years young, having received a
liver transplant at the
age of 73 from a 70 year-old patient! Margaret recently retired, but not
voluntarily. The man
she worked for, Mr Barbera of
Warner
Brothers Studios' Hanna/Barbera, died last year at age 95.
Margaret was finally forced into taking life easy. Bravo
to her for showing what a wonderful life
one can have with a transplant at a later age!
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