The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) was founded in 1986 when residents of Bloomington, Indiana, rallied around a toddler who needed a life-saving liver transplant.  In less than eight weeks, the community raised $100,000 to place the boy on the organ waiting list.  But the child died before an organ became available.  Those community volunteers, along with his parents, turned tragedy into triumph by using the funds they raised to help other transplant families. That was the beginning of COTA.

Since that time, COTA has assisted thousands of patients by helping to raise funds for transplant-related expenses.  COTA has built extensive volunteer networks across the nation in an attempt to ensure that no child or young adult needing an organ or tissue transplant is excluded from a transplant waiting list due to a lack of funds.

COTA needs your help to make sure that tragedies, like the one that was the catalyst in founding COTA, are not repeated.

Every day 21 people die waiting for an organ transplant here in the United States.  April is National Donate Life Month.  One organ donor can save eight lives. Please register today to become an organ donor by going to www.donatelife.net and registering to be an organ donor in your state.

You can do more. Find out how you can help a COTA family living nearby who needs your help by visiting www.cota.org and clicking on the COTA Families link at the top of the page.

The Children's Organ Transplant Association is a national charity based in Bloomington, Indiana, which is dedicated to guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses. COTA's priority is to assure that no child or young adult is denied a transplant due to lack of funds. 100% of all funds raised in honor of patients are used for transplant-related expenses.

The changes in medical care over the last five decades have been dramatic.

Technological and scientific advances gave patients access to a level of medical diagnosis and care previously undreamed of.

During this time, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act provided more people with the opportunity to take advantage of that care.

Yet despite all that extraordinary progress something is missing, says J. Joseph Marr, author of the book "Fall From Grace: A Physician's Retrospective on the Past Fifty Years of Medicine and the Impact of Social Change." (www.jjmarr.com)

The role of the physician as healer and patient confidant has degenerated to manager of a health care team. The personal interaction of physician and patient has largely disappeared as well.

The problem as Marr sees it is this: The entry of corporate for-profit health care destroyed the soul of medicine; it destroyed the doctor-patient relationship through its demands for brief patient encounters; and, most important, changed the focus of medicine from patient care to quarterly earnings.

"The tragedy in the past half century is that the astounding improvements in technology have cost us the human touch," he says. "That's almost completely because of corporate business practices in the health-care and insurance industries."

The system is not going to change, Marr says, but the medical community could improve it by injecting more humanity into the system.

"The interaction between a person with a medical problem and the physician who attempts to heal that person is one of the most human and personal of relationships," he says. "But it does not lend itself to accounting ledgers, quarterly earnings postings and visits per hour."

Marr says there are several ways the medical community can try to make a difference:

•  Shine the light on misinformation. Physicians can educate the public to counter direct advertising about drugs and talk show misinformation. This would require a conscious change in attitude and a rededication to the physician-patient relationship that once existed, Marr says. This attitude change would communicate itself quickly to the patient. What was once a brief, impersonal office visit would become more personal, even if still brief.

•  Create a relationship. Physicians can put that attitude change into practice with an extra question about family, some advice beyond drugs or surgical procedures, and the kinds of human inquiries that we all appreciate, but are largely absent from current patient encounters. "Physicians still are shocked by what has occurred and cowed by the pronouncements that come from the corporate philistines in charge of health care," Marr says.

•  Speak up. Most people recognize the high cost of care as a very serious problem for the country. Physicians, individually and collectively, must speak out against these costs and advocate measures to mitigate them, Marr says. A demonstration by the medical profession that it is as appalled by the changes in health care as is the general public would go far toward restoring the public trust in physicians, he says.

"Fifty years ago we physicians were accustomed to speaking out against injustice and expressing our opinions openly," Marr says. "When did we become so passive and pliable? Are we as concerned about money and perquisites as those in the corporate suites? Let us hope not and begin to behave accordingly."

About J. Joseph Marr, MD

J. Joseph Marr, MD is a retired academic physician and pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Xavier University in Ohio, and his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Marr has been a member of Boards of Directors of public, private, and nonprofit organizations. He is the author of more than 200 academic publications; authored and edited six books; and published short stories, essays, and poems. He lives near Denver, Colorado.

(April 1, 2015) ?The American Red Cross encourages eligible blood donors to make a difference in the lives of patients this spring by giving blood.

Donated blood is perishable and must be constantly replenished to keep up with the demand. Red blood cells, with a shelf life of only 42 days, are the most frequently transfused blood component, and are always needed by hospitals.

Eligible donors can give red cells through either a regular whole blood donation or a double red cell donation, where available. Double red cell donations yield twice the usual amount of red cells in a single appointment and are accepted at select donation locations. Double red cell donors must meet additional eligibility criteria, which will be determined at the donation appointment.

Donors with all blood types are needed, especially those with types O negative, A negative and B negative. Whole blood can be donated every 56 days, and double red cells may be donated every 112 days, up to three times per year.

To find a donation opportunity or make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming blood donation opportunities

Carroll County

Mount Carroll

4/17/2015: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., United Methodist Church, 216 S. Main Street

______________

Clinton County

Clinton

4/18/2015: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Prince of Peace Academy Grade School, 312 South 4th Street

Goose Lake

4/20/2015: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Northeast High School, 3690 Hwy 136

_______________

Henry County

Galva

4/24/2015: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Black Hawk College - East, 26230 Black Hawk Road

_______________

Lee County

Dixon

4/21/2015: 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, 403 E. First Street

_______________

Mercer County

Aledo

4/21/2015: 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., VFW Hall, 106 SW 3rd Ave.

_______________

Scott County

Davenport

4/20/2015: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m., Christ's Family Church, 4601 Utica Ridge Road

_______________

Whiteside County

Fulton

4/28/2015: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m., Robert Fulton Community Center, 912 4th Street

Rock Falls

4/22/2015: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., American Red Cross, 112 W. Second St.

4/29/2015: 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., American Red Cross, 112 W. Second St.

_______________

How to donate blood

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. The Red Cross is supported in part through generous financial donations from the United Way. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.