Carmichael Griffin didn't think anything of it when his face began to swell. He assumed he had just gained a couple of pounds.
Could the FDA have done more to prevent the death of a healthy kidney donor? Elizabeth Cohen reports.
When Manuel Reyna developed a deadly kidney disease, his sister, Florinda Gotcher, didn't hesitate to give him one of her kidneys. When she found out they were a match, she cried.
Dr. Gupta explains Robin Roberts' blood disorder. He says it's difficult for minorities to find bone marrow donors.
A 31-year-old Oklahoma woman helped make medical history and started a chain of "paying it forward" when she decided to donate her kidney to a stranger halfway around the world, a man in Athens, Greece, officials announced Friday.
The "Survivor" winner talks about growing up Korean American, and why he uses his fame to promote bone marrow donation.
Registering to become a bone marrow donor just became as simple as tending to a paper cut.
On average, 18 people in the United States die each day waiting for an organ transplant.
Mark Zuckerberg talks to ABC's "Good Morning America" about Facebook's new feature promoting organ donation.
Within just a few days, Ray Fearing went from the height of ecstasy -- he had just gotten a much-needed kidney transplant -- to the depths of depression, after finding out his transplant would need to be removed.
Elizabeth Cohen reports on a medical first- a kidney transplanted twice.
Before dawn on her 57th birthday, Lorraine Hawks and her husband, Paul, piled into their brother-in-law Tim Wilson's Lexus in Pelham, New Hampshire, with Lorraine and her sister Susie in the back seat and the men up front. As the two couples drove to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, Lorraine and Paul teased Tim mercilessly.
CNN's Brian Todd looks at Dick Cheney's heart transplant and speaks to a doctor and another patient who's waiting for one.
Former President George W. Bush was happy that heart transplant surgery for his vice president, Dick Cheney, went well, according to a statement Sunday from Bush's spokesman.
Elizabeth Cohen reports on former Vice President Dick Cheney's heart transplant after 20 months on the waiting list.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney was recovering Saturday evening after undergoing heart transplant surgery, his office said.
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal is to undergo surgery to replace his liver, according to a statement released on the Spanish club's website on Thursday.
By the time Lindsay Porter had her kidneys removed two years ago, they were bulging -- covered in cysts -- and together weighed 16 pounds.
Authorities late Sunday located a 14-year-old kidney transplant patient who was taken by her father from a St. Louis hospital, where she was undergoing medical treatment, a police spokeswoman said.
Surveillance footage shows a patient's father removing her IV, walking her out of the hospital and driving off.
Can a patient be rejected for a kidney transplant based on a developmental disability? A New Jersey mother alleges in her blog that this happened to her 3-year-old daughter, and it has sparked an Internet uproar.
Elizabeth Cohen reports on the controversy surrounding a hospital denying a young girl a kidney transplant.
A terminally ill convicted shoplifter was released from jail this week for a second time -- this time to live out her last days in hospice, according to a Nassau County Court spokesman.
Millions of young people want to change the world. These three actually did it, and at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," they were honored for their efforts.
Rachel Beckwith's ninth birthday wish was to raise $300 for charity. After her death, people donated $1.25 million.
Photojournalist John Torigoe explains that one familiy's loss is a gift of life to another.
A tender smile frames the face of Eva Perez as she remembers the life of her 6-year old son.
George Lopez is helping to create positive change for underprivileged children, adults and military families.
George Lopez explains how his foundation creates positive change for children and families in need.
Taxpayers could be bankrolling a kidney transplant for wealthy white-collar convict Raj Rajaratnam, who was recently sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for insider trading.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses Steve Jobs' ongoing health issues.
Steve Jobs has been notoriously private about his health, but as he steps down as CEO of the company he helped invent and re-invent, speculation abounds that he has gotten very sick.
Taiwan's health department is investigating how the organs of an HIV-positive donor were cleared for transplant for five recipients at two hospitals.
A convicted shoplifter caught stealing while released from prison for a life-saving heart transplant has been ordered back to jail, destroying her eligibility for the treatment.
"It feels natural," says Dallas Wiens, who has a new nose, lips and skin
America's first full-face transplant recipient says he didn't think getting a new face was medically possible.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on Kathy Ritvo, who overcame a heart transplant to train a Kentucky Derby horse.
Five who desperately needed new kidneys got them Friday in an unusual five-way kidney transplant swap at a San Francisco hospital made possible by a computer program.
A proposed kidney transplant that got two sisters released from jail has been put on hold.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take another medical leave of absence beginning on Monday, two years after a six-month sabbatical during which he received a liver transplant.
After 16 years behind bars in Mississippi, two sisters were released Friday on the condition that one donate a kidney to the other.
Jamie and Gladys Scott reflect on their imprisonment and say they hold no grudge against those who put them behind bars.
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Two people have already died in Arizona and another 96 are waiting for a life-saving transplant they may no longer be able to afford after the state slashed money reserved for the procedures.
The recent death of a patient denied a liver transplant because of Arizona budget cuts has prompted a Democrat legislative leader to charge that the state is now home to "death panels," he told CNN Thursday.
Two Mississippi sisters who have spent 16 years in prison over an $11 armed robbery will be released with an unusual stipulation: One must donate a kidney to the other.
CNN's Jill Dougherty reports on allegations the Kosovo Liberation Army trafficked prisoners' organs.
The actor will reportedly miss at least two episodes of 30 Rock that are airing in March
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen looks at two liver donation procedures that took a very wrong turn.
When Ryan Arnold died after donating a piece of his liver to his brother, Chad, his friends and family mourned the loss of a hero who risked his life to save his brother.
Some 911 calls that involve cardiac arrest or stroke could bring a second emergency crew to the scene as part of a pilot program in New York intended to more quickly recover organs from potential donors, the mayor said Wednesday.
A three-year-old with a death sentence hopes for help beyond laws and politics. Paula Hancocks reports.
The second Aya abu Mouwais opens her eyes she starts crying. The 3-year-old is in pain every waking moment and has been for two years.
Two men were recovering Saturday after their plane carrying a donor organ crashed in central England, police said.
When Leidy Sanchez and her husband, Carlos Reyes, went to the hospital last week to deliver their baby, a nurse got her a gown, hooked her up to a fetal monitor and asked an unexpected question: Would they like to donate cells from their baby's umbilical cord blood to a public bank?
Like many Americans, you probably think you're pretty charitable. Perhaps you donate money to the needy or ill, give away your old clothes, volunteer at your child's school or participate in holiday gift drives in December.
"I wanted to see my 11-year-old son grow up," says the 7-ft.-tall TV star
Chad Arnold clearly remembers the day he received the call from his older brother, Ryan, telling him they were a perfect match for a liver transplant.
CNN's Don Lemon talks with a terminally-ill patient who wants to donate his organs while they are still healthy.
A Georgia man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease says he wants to die by having his organs harvested rather than wait for his degenerative nerve ailment to kill him.
The world's first full face transplant recipient appeared in public for the first time Monday. The patient, identified only as Oscar, appeared at a press conference at University Hospital Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona, Spain.
Rock and blues icon Gregg Allman has a new liver to replace the organ destroyed by hepatitis, a statement from his publicist said Wednesday.
Eight months after enduring a double-lung transplant and open heart surgery, opera soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick returned to Cleveland Clinic to serenade her doctors.
When Charity Tillemann-Dick was 4, her parents took her to her first opera.
CNN's Kiran Chetry talks to a New York lawmaker who wants to make everyone in his state an organ donor.
A California bill may soon create a living donor registry -- the first for any state.
The former beauty queen stared into the camera, but this was no pageant or performance. She looked frail and thin, and her hair was rumpled. But Eva Markvoort smiled weakly.
Every morning, Christy Farley rises from bed and feels relieved.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted the former director of the liver transplant program at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, for allegedly lying about a liver accepted for one patient but transplanted instead into another patient who was lower on the waiting list.
A widespread shortage of organs for transplantation means surgeons are forced to use "less than ideal" organs -- a practice that can have deadly consequences.
A shortage in organ donations forces doctors to accept the use of organs from marginal donors.
Grizz Chapman, who plays a security guard on the hit show, is battling severe hypertension with support from Dr. Oz and friends
Beloved "30 Rock" cast member Grizzwald "Grizz" Chapman is undergoing dialysis treatment while on the wait-list for a kidney transplant.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on a new donor networking program that is helping people who urgently need kidneys.
Renee Patterson's most precious present this Christmas won't be under her tree, and it didn't come from a store. This holiday, she said, she got her life back.
News that a British soldier died after he received the cancerous lungs of a heavy smoker has sparked intense debate as to whether organs from people with unhealthy lifestyles should be used in transplants.
A leading UK hospital has defended its practice of using organs donated by smokers after the death of a soldier who received the cancerous lungs of a heavy smoker.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs makes his first appearance at an Apple event since receiving a liver transplant.
The rumored Beatles songs were a no-show, but Steve Jobs -- Apple's own rock star -- is back.
"It's a miracle night for me," says the singer, who recently had a kidney transplant
CNN's Drew Griffin investigates allegations of global trafficking of kidneys centered on Israel and the U.S.
Four years ago, a young, cash-starved Israeli answered an ad in a newspaper for a kidney donor.
In a CNN investigation, a kidney broker explains the black market for human organs.
In a dank Tel Aviv hospital room, you can see at a glance just how desperate some Israelis are for a new kidney.
It's not just for French kissing or for showing your dissatisfaction.
China has launched an organ donation system that it hopes will eliminate illegal organ trading and encourage people to become donors, according to reports in China's state-run media.
Dwight Kroening became the first heart transplant recipient to finish an Ironman triathlon at last year's Ironman Canada.
Surgeons at two Washington hospitals have performed seven kidney transplants involving 14 recipients and donors who did not match, using a process that virtually eliminates the chances of organ rejection.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains a groundbreaking kidney transplant involving 14 people.
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