Children's Hospital Trumpets Organ Donor Program With Spotlight on 2 Young Recipients
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia today kicked off its observation of "National Donate Life Month" by highlighting two of their recent success stories.
The hospital announced that five-year-old Khadijah Patel is going home just two weeks after she received a liver transplant. She suffers from the same rare genetic disorder that also afflicts her 12-year-old brother, Yusuf. He is now healthy and happy nearly two years after a liver and kidney transplant.
"Since I got my liver and kidney I can run fast," he said proudly today.
Yusuf's father says the turnaround has been dramatic.
"Before the transplant, he would get up in the morning and, within half an hour, he would look as if he had spent 35 hours running. Now he's able to lead a normal life."
Nearly 80 kids are current awaiting organ transplants at CHOP. Howatd Natgan, president of the Gift of Life program, says the need for organ donors is great.
"We want to make sure people know that it's their friends and neighbors who are waiting for transplants," he said, "over six thousand people just in our region."
