Mark Johnson has been married 29 years, has four kids, and years of ventricular tachycardia -- a rapid heartbeat that led to sudden deaths -- but he would always come back. His wife Lori knew he needed a new heart and fast.
"I just knew that he wasn't going to last much longer if he didn't receive a new heart," Lori Johnson told ABC30.
Mark's doctor labeled him "sickest of the sick."
"We kept him in the hospital until we could find the right heart based upon the blood type, the height, and the weight," Robert Higgins, MD, MSHA, Director, Comprehensive Transplant Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told ABC30.
A good organ match is only one of the criteria doctors use to decide on a transplant. Others are: is the donor near the patient? Is the patient compliant -- good at following medical regimen? Is the patient urgent and emergent, or sickest of the sick?
"It was a matter of waiting until you're sick enough to be on the list, but not so sick that the transplant's not going to help you," Mark Johnson told ABC30.
After four months, Dr. Higgins gave Mark a new heart, a second chance.
"In doing so we save lives, hopefully for 5, or 10, or maybe even 20 years," Dr. Higgins said.
However, thousands of people on the list die waiting.
"Only about 10,000 organ donors are available in the United States. The challenge is there are 120,000 people waiting for life-saving, life-enhancing organ transplants," Dr. Higgins explained.
With those odds, Mark feels blessed.
"Just being able to have a heart at this point is, is just beyond words," Mark said.
Dr. Higgins says it is critically important for good donor candidates to give their organs, but adds that tissue donation is even more needed. Donated corneas, skin, and bone tissue enhance even more lives. To learn more about becoming a donor visit the united network for organ sharing's website at www.unos.org.
For more information, contact:
Robert S.D. Higgins, MD, MSHA
Chairman, Department of Surgery
John H and Mildred C. Lumley Medical Research Chair
Director, Comprehensive Transplant Center
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
(614) 293-4558
