The Jennifer Hart Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Miami Teen Desperately Seeking Lung Donors

Miami, FL., February 25, 2002. Jennifer Hart, 15, is not happy. She lives just 30 minutes from Miami Beach but has never been able to play there. If a few grains of sand or a drop of water get into her tracheotomy tube, the results could be fatal.

Jennifer spent her first 22 months of life at Miami Children's Hospital, after being born two months premature. She suffers from End Stage Chronic Lung Disease and is on the waiting list for a cadaver donation of both lungs. But that may take too long for her, according to her pediatric pulmonologist, Mario Rub, M.D. as the wait is approximately two years. "She is stable but fragile. She must have this transplant within a year if she is to have any chance at survival," states Dr. Rub.
There is another way for Jennifer to get her needed lungs. Live donors could step forward and give her approximately 1/3 of one lung. She needs three donors who are non-smokers, at least 5' tall, under age 50 and have blood type A positive or type O. A minimum of three potential donors are needed before testing is done. In addition, three donors are needed before surgery for a living lung transplant can be scheduled in the event that one donor does not qualify at that time. Her mother, Virginia will be tested as a possible donor. Her father, Frank, has been ruled out as a potential donor due to his history of asthma.

"Lungs are like shoes, you need a left one and a right one," according to Ann Doyle, R.N.,Living Lobar Transplant Coordinator at Washington University School of Medicine. St. Louis Children's Hospital is associated with Washington University and is one of the few hospitals in the world that do both pediatric and live lung transplants and where Jennifer will, hopefully, have her transplant done soon. Another trip to St. Louis is needed in mid-April to assess her condition and see if she has deteriorated or maintained her 18% lung function.

Climbing up the list for a cadaver donor is going to cause serious financial hardship for the Hart family. They will soon have to relocate to St. Louis so that Jennifer can be no more than 45 minutes from the hospital. That means maintaining their homes in Miami as well as a home in St. Louis. In addition, Virginia will have to commute to her job with the Community Blood Centers of South Florida where she has worked for over 21 years. Frank does not work; he stays home to care for his 86-year-old mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, and for Jennifer. Virginia cannot even think of changing her job as it is her insurance, furnished through her employer, that will pay for Jennifer's surgery as well as the costs incurred in harvesting the donor lungs for Jennifer.

There are two ways to help Jennifer. If you wish to donate a part of one lung, contact Ann Doyle at St. Louis Children's Hospital, 314-454-8728 to make arrangements to be tested as a potential donor. If you wish to make a donation to the Jennifer Hart Foundation, to help defray those expenses not covered by insurance, mail checks to PO Box 43-2784, So. Miami, FL 33243-2784; or log onto the Jennifer Hart Foundation's website, www.jenniferhart.org to donate using credit or debit cards. The Jennifer Hart Foundation can be reached by phone at 305-740-0064.

For further information, contact Ted Nathanson, 954-486-7007. or at tednathanson@aol.com.