what does it matter how old the donor is

I wonder if it's a question of how much wear is left to an organ.

I am crying tears of happy.

The best kind of tears.

My mom spent most of Friday at UC Davis going through test after test to get on their Kidney Transplant list.

Bleh. I'm glad they've restarted the program but it's silly that they can't look in a computer for her earlier info rather than make her go through all of that.

No clue about the benefits/disadvantages of older vs. younger organs, other than the obvious disadvantage of one having been used quite a bit more than the other.

Continued peace and coping vibes for {{{Bev and family}}}.

Beverly, I am so very sorry. I love you, and am keeping your family in my thoughts.

No clue about the benefits/disadvantages of older vs. younger organs, other than the obvious disadvantage of one having been used quite a bit more than the other.

Part of me is thinking that she is 65, so even if the organ is over 40 but younger than her - hey, bonus time.

Also, I used to think there was ONE organ donor list, but no - each program has its own list. She had her choice of going to UCSF's program, which has a longer list and does more transplants or UC Davis, which has a shorter list and smaller number of transplants. But, even if she were to hop back and forth between lists, she would keep the date she was first added to the first list as her "priority date".

Beverly, I am so terribly sorry and saddened by your loss. I wish peace and continued strength to you and your family. Love you.

My written assignment this week goes along well with the discussion here the other day. I have to write a 2-3 page paper on the importance of infant and toddler nutrition. Does anyone have any good links?

If I had to point fingers at a single entity, I'd blame government corn subsidies for just about every declining health statistic in this country over the last quarter-century. HFCS isn't actually any worse for you than table sugar (it's only "high fructose" in relation to normal corn syrup), but it's so damn cheap that it gets put in zillions upon zillions of products that wouldn't otherwise be sweetened with anything.

Fructose as opposed to other simple sugars, yes. But your average table sugar is higher in fructose than HFCS -- it's just easier to over-consume HFCS because it's such a common additive, and you can put it in things and still label them "No sugar added!"

There is some evidence, actually, that it IS worse for you than sugar. The theory goes that the body doesn't register the calories, that they don't satiate the appetite.

Ah, here's the wikipedia article: [link]

Unlike sucrose, HFCS consists of a mixture of glucose and fructose, which doesn't require an enzymatic step to break it down before absorption in the intestine.

grr. I feel like ita. I woke up this morning (actually before my alarm, but I went back to sleep hoping I was wrong) with a migraine. Fun. Was hoping it was just a regular headache, so tried taking tylenol, but that came back up. Called in to work, tried to sleep...am slept out, but my head still hurts, and am hungry, but v. queasy at the same time. Damn you, body!

The theory goes that the body doesn't register the calories, that they don't satiate the appetite.

Wikipedia aside, there's very little actual science that supports this. The studies that have been done have focused almost exclusively on fructose alone, not on HFCS (which has a lower fructose-glucose ratio than sucrose does). And because HFCS is so prevalent in processed foods, it's impossible to compare statistical correlations of HFCS & obesity vs all sweeteners & obesity. Nutritionists are unanimous that HFCS should be avoided, but not that it should be avoided more than other sugars.

I had my job interview today. The job was about 20% what they advertised and 80% other stuff I wouldn't really want to do. I wouldn't hire me for that job, now that I know what they really want. However, the director told me about another job, that pays better, that I would probably find challenging and should be hiring soon. So, I'm going to apply for that. The hiring person already knows me and seemed to like me so that bodes well.

Ellie fell down the tile stairs this morning. I was in front of her. She fell down about four steps and then I caught her. I *saw* her head hit the step, but miraculously, she wasn't hurt at all. She was scared and crying, but not hurt. It's been quite a week for her - thrush, pool, and now the stairs.