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Entry bubble Stolen Kidneys? Desperate for an Organ Transplant

By: Nancy | January 31, 2008 | Category: Health

donate life logoIt's a story I've heard around the internet for years: unsuspecting people are abducted and anesthetized. When they come to, they find that one of their kidneys has been surgically removed. Til now, it was dismissed as an urban legend. 

But this week, the story proved true as law enforcement near New Delhi broke up a ring that reportedly tricked more than 500 poor Indian workers over the last decade into going to a particular address in search of a job. When they got there, they were knocked out and awakened later to find that they had stitches in their side and were missing a kidney. The surgeon who is thought to have performed all those operations is now on the run. And at a guest house owned by the doctor, police found five wealthy foreigners awaiting transplants, including two Americans.

Reports like this are really horrifying. And they sure highlight the lengths that people will go to, to get a new chance at life with an organ transplant. 

This morning, more than 98,000 people in the US were on waiting lists, hoping to receive a donated organ.  Seventy-five percent were waiting for a kidney.

It's hard to think about becoming an organ donor because most often, organ donation happens following death. But hearing stories about lives being restored through transplants made the decision to register as a donor a little easier for me.

If you're healthy and meet certain other criteria, you can donate a kidney, part of your liver or parts of other organs right now, and continue to live a normal, healthy life. Donating tissue like bone marrow is just an outpatient procedure. And it could mean the difference in someone's survival.

OrganDonor.gov and DonateLife.net have lots of information to answer your questions about organ donation from practical and moral perspectives. And OrganDonor.gov has links to information on how you can register in your state to donate. Many states make it really easy; they have a place you can check on your driver's license application to register as a donor.

What are your thoughts about organ donation? Are you a registered donor? Do you know anyone who's received a transplant?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: kidney   nancy   organ   transplant  

 

Entry bubble Go Ahead, Wear Red on Friday

By: Sam | January 30, 2008 | Category: Health

Friday is the kick-off to American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day.  So grab your favorite red dress, tie, socks, sweater, or even lipstick and show your support for research and education about women and heart disease.red dress

Heart health is an important issue for me not only as a woman but also as someone who suffers from a heart condition. As a teen, I had open-heart surgery to repair my mitral valve and to remove a bacterial infection. After more than 10 years, I am, thankfully, doing very well, but the experience made me more mindful of learning as much as I can about heart disease.

So why should you wear red? Because heart disease is not just a “man’s disease”—it’s the number one of killer of women. In fact, one in four women dies of heart disease. But even with these shocking statistics, there’s hope. No matter if you’re 20 or 60, there are steps all women can take to lower their risk and protect their heart.

Here are some to start with:

And don’t forget to help spread the word about National Wear Red Day, and please feel free to share any heart health stories that you may have.

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: cholesterol   diabetes   disease   exercise   health   heart   sam   stress  

 

Entry bubble Did You Register to Vote Yet?

By: Joanne | January 29, 2008 | Category: General

Almost all states require you to be registered to vote before election day, and voter registration laws vary from state to state. I think I’m going to change my party affiliation this year and I know that I want to vote in the primary, so I’ve got to complete my registration 30 days before the primary.

Voters at a Polling Station

You can register to vote by filling out a form and sending it in the mail, or you can contact your state election office for other options.  If you want to vote by absentee ballot, there’s paperwork you need to do for that as well, and a special process for voters overseas who want to vote by absentee ballot. Confused yet? To make it worse, deadlines for all this stuff vary from state to state so get the facts from your state elections office early—like now.

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: election   joanne   primary   register   vote  

 

Entry bubble Where to go when getting gouged at the gas pump

By: Jake | January 28, 2008 | Category: Money

Gas pump
I saw a blog post in the Consumerist the other day about a man getting cheated at the gas pump in Connecticut and it hit close to home.

A gas station I used to go to would always pump gas really slow, but it would ring up the dollars and cents really fast. I thought it was strange and I was right. One day I went there and the Virginia Product and Industry Standards Office had posted notices on a couple of gas pumps stating they failed inspection because they were not properly calibrated.

The Department of Energy (DOE) says you should contact your local authorities and fill out their gas price watch reporting form if you suspect gasoline price gouging or price fixing. The DOE collects this information and then sends it to the Department of Treasury, Department of Justice and State Attorneys General for investigation and prosecution when they think those actions are appropriate.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: gasoline   gouging   jake   price  

 

Entry bubble Parking Tickets

By: Colleen | January 25, 2008 | Category: General

parking ticketI got a parking ticket the other week because I have high arches in my feet.

Kind of.

While home in Philaburbia, I was on a quest for new sneakers. But not just ANY kicks.

A daily runner, I beat up my footwear pretty quick. And my feet? They're "special." (read: I have an insanely high arch - making me the ideal en pointe ballerina. Having the grace of an elephant hinders this somewhat, however.)

Thus, I buy running shoes made specifically for people with Everest-like arches. These are not always available at general sporting goods stores that have sprawling free parking lots.

My mission led me to a running-specific store in Bryn Mawr, PA. I park at a meter. It was Saturday. I checked for signs indicating whether or not one had to pay meters on weekends. No such sign existed. Proceeded to store. Bought shoes. Everyone wins.

Not so much.

Back at my car I was greeted by a crabby meter-maid and a hand-written bright yellow ticket. (Apparently Lower Merion Township is pretty old-school.)

Ticked off but distracted, I tossed the ticket onto my passenger's seat and there it remained.

Yesterday, my Dad called. "Colleen, do you care to explain the letter I received in the mail from the Lower Merion Police Department?" Apparently a township that still hand-writes their tickets likes to be paid rather promptly, and when your Dad's name is also on the title of your car, they send failure of payment notices his way.

The meter thing still bothers me. I decided to do some local government research to see what the real deal is with parking meters.

Turns out, "All may park, all must pay"- including Saturdays. I stand corrected, even with my high arches.

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   government   local   parking   running   shoes   ticket  

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