It makes the operation and the actual procedure more appealing to potential donors.

Over the past several years, this (advance) has enabled us to do this from wife to husband, friend to friend, cousin to cousin.

You don't have to be a blood relative but you do have to be an appropriate blood-type match.

On rare occasions, someone will call up and say they would like to donate a kidney to someone they don't know.

I think 'community' is what will make the difference in all this, and where the potential is. Washington can create environments and Augusta can do the same, but where it all gets done is at the community level. . . . I keep trying to get more banks to care at this level. (It's) a challenge.

We are all concerned about the potential impact of H5N1 should it arrive in our region. We are all keenly aware of the need to coordinate our efforts to ensure they are as effective as possible.