Frank Torre Celebrates Heart Transplant with Dr. Oz and Cardiac Staff
Mehmet C. Oz, MD |
Mehmet C. Oz, MD celebrated with Frank Torre on the 10-year anniversary of the former major league baseball player's heart transplant, which Dr. Oz performed in 1996.
The 74-year-old Mr. Torre, who was implanted with the heart of a 28-year-old, commemorated the event on October 26, 2006 with family and medical staff at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
Dr. Oz took the podium to say a few words at the event.
"What really happened that day 10 years ago is we started thinking differently about what heart transplantation can do. In 1971, no one survived heart transplantation a year. Today, 10 years after his transplantation, I can say Frank Torre is not an exception. He's the norm. Most of our patients who are transplanted live 10 years. . . . One of the reasons folks don't donate organs is they figure this is just an experiment anyway, just a couple of months, maybe a year or two of end-of-life support for people who have no other options. Frank Torre is here to celebrate the fact that is no longer the case. Heart transplantation is not an experiment. It is a way of life for a lot of Americans who are thriving with the realization they can live normal existences with organs borrowed from another human being."
Frank Torre |
Click here to view a video of the celebration.
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An October 26, 2006 Newsday article about the event included an interview with Dr. Oz.
"We would have enough hearts if people would donate," said Dr. Oz in the article, stressing that it's not just about signing the back of a driver's license.
"Family must know how you feel about organ donation." He also appeared on WABC-TV CH 7 (ABC) New York Eyewitness News and WNBC-TV CH 4 (NBC) New York Live At Five coverage of the occasion.
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