Calling All Activists...and everyone else, too!

On Friday, December 12th, we received a call from the UC Davis Transplant Clinic. After eighteen years, the Liver Tranplant program is being shut down. The reason depends on who you talk to. One person told me it was funding - the economy. In the Sacramento Bee, the excuse was the drop in transplants over the past year, which has an effect on Medi-Care funding and the surgeon's ability to maintain their skills.

Whatever the reason, dozens of patients are being left out in the cold. Each facility has their own set of standards that must be met by the patients before they will be listed for transplant. Regardless of what stage in the process, all of UCD's patients are being told they need to transfer to one of the three remaining centers in Northern California: UCSF, California Pacific Medical Center (San Francisco) and Stanford (Palo Alto). The closest of the three is 76 miles from Sacramento.

Dennis was due to be listed following his next appointment, on December 21st. Another gentleman, interviewed for KXTV 10 News last Friday, would have been listed the same day. It is very likely that they will have to complete the same scans and tests again before being this close to receiving their livers again, if they can survive that long.

Now, here's where the activism comes in. I would like to ask each and every one of you to help me. I want to let the Director of the UC Davis Liver Transplant Program know that these aren't dollars they're cutting, they're lives. These are men and women (and children) who have lived up to their end of the bargain. They've been poked and prodded and tested and scanned, over and over again, even when they were too sick to get out of bed. And for what? Because the easy money made doing boob jobs and face lifts is more important than people's lives?

Sorry, I know I'm ranting and raving, but I get a little bit emotional about this.

So, how about it? If you can write a letter, fantastic. An e-mail? Perfect. The more people who question this closure, the better.

Here's the info:

UC Davis Transplant Center

Attn: Dr. John McVicar, Liver Transplant Program Director

2315 Stockton Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95817

e-mail: transplant@ucdavis.edu

Even if you don't know Dennis, there are at least a dozen or more people waiting for listing that may be helped by your efforts.