A SERVICE
OF 
Patient
Firsts
October 15, 1998 · by TNN Medical Reporter Virginia
Baskerville
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Early October brought news of a serial heart transplant, a heart
transplant patient giving birth to her second child, and a worker giving a
kidney to her boss.
- The British Broadcasting Corporation reported on October 1 that an
unidentified man is faring well after receiving a third-hand heart in August.
The BBC said that the heart was originally transplanted from a Swiss woman into
a 52-year-old Italian woman. The Italian woman died five days later after an
artery in her brain burst, and the heart was then given to the man. Because the
man also received heart tissue from the Italian woman, his body needs to adjust
to receiving tissue from two donors.
- The BBC said on October 12 that Julie Padgett, a 25-year-old heart
recipient, has given birth to her second child in three years. The baby girl
weighed more than five pounds and was born on October 9. Ms. Padgett, who
received a new heart in Manchester, England, nine years ago, had been warned
not to become pregnant again after the birth of her son three years ago, but
she was determined to lead a normal life, the BBC said. However, the BBC added
that Ms. Padgett has decided against having any more children due to the risk
to her health.
- The Washington Post and the Associated Press reported on
October 5 that a 42-year-old woman has donated a kidney to her boss. Nancy
Nearing's kidney was removed laparoscopically on September 10 at Georgetown
Transplant Institute in Washington, DC, before being transplanted into
49-year-old Art Helms. The Post reported that another employee had
been considering donating her kidney had Mrs. Nearing's not matched that of her
boss. Because Mr. Helms' condition, polycystic kidney disease, is hereditary,
Mr. Helms and his wife ruled out Mrs. Helms as a potential donor, deciding that
she should save her kidneys in case one of their children eventually needs one.
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