[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1930]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            REMEMBERING THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL HAND TRANSPLANT

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                          HON. ANNE M. NORTHUP

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 1, 2000

  Ms. NORTHUP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an extraordinary 
event that took place in my district, Louisville, Kentucky, one year 
ago. The horizons of medical possibilities were expanded when an 
amazing team of doctors performed America's first successful hand 
transplant at Louisville, Kentucky's Jewish Hospital. I am pleased to 
report that one year later, everything is going well for the patient 
and four other hand transplants have taken place around the world. We 
are moving into a new frontier where transplant medicine's boundless 
capabilities to heal are no longer restricted to the life threatened, 
but can also apply to those with mechanical ailments. This giant leap 
in the application of surgical research reflects the dauntless will of 
doctors to bring the total health of the individual on par with the 
available science of today.
  Such an outstanding achievement is just one example of what can 
happen when people work together to achieve a common goal. The hand 
transplant was a joint project of Jewish Hospital, the University of 
Louisville, and Kleinert and Kutz Associates. This remarkable local 
partnership is the only one in the country capable of doing a hand 
transplant. This pioneering accomplishment and other research efforts 
will have a multiplier effect that can create 1,000 medical jobs in the 
next five years. But this is just in Louisville, for the effects 
worldwide are infinite.
  We are also reminded to maintain profound respect for those who give. 
None of this would have happened without the hand, which came from 
Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, the organization that coordinates 
donation and distribution of body parts in Kentucky, Southern Indiana, 
and Western Virginia. One person's decision to become an organ and 
tissue donor can benefit as many as 200 lives. One organ donor can 
enhance or save the lives of one heart patient, one liver recipient, 
two lung patients, two kidney patients, one diabetic, two people with 
impaired vision, three or four burn victims, and over 100 recipients of 
bone grafts. That is why in February, the House passed a resolution 
supporting the goals and ideas of National Donor Day. Miracles don't 
just happen--people make them happen.
  As the success of this hand transplant demonstrates, a family's 
contribution of their loved one's organs can not only save a life, but 
improve the quality of life for others. I salute all those, doctors and 
donors alike, whose contributions help patients worry less about the 
little things in life that most people take for granted.
  I am forever impressed by the kinds of medical miracles we can 
achieve when we support research endeavors in this country. I am 
honored to have such a fine team of doctors in Louisville and hope that 
the contribution of Jewish Hospital, the University of Louisville, and 
the doctors of Kleinert and Kutz can continue to be built upon by 
others. Their enthusiasm and dedication add to the vitality of the 
Louisville community and create a can-do attitude for all to follow.

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