Topangan Receives 5000th Organ Transplant

By Flavia Potenza

October 23, 2010

PHOTOS BY WWW.DAVIDFUKUMOTO.COM

Maurice Bourget, along with his wife Ardell, cheerfully celebrated the 5,000th liver transplant at The Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center with Executive Chairman Dr. Ronald W. Busuttil and his team from the Department of Surgery.

Two days after The Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center, one of the nation's leaders in solid organ transplantation, celebrated its 5,000th liver transplant on October 12, Topangan Maurice Bourget, the recipient, spent six hours at the facility - he called it "an excursion" from 6 a.m. to noon - following his surgery on Sept. 26, 2010.

"I walked about half a mile today, saw my doctor, my nutritionist and came home and took a nap for an hour," he said. "I feel like a Mack truck ran over me and I haven't had a real good night's sleep since the operation because of all the [rejection and other] drugs. Today they cut the dosage in half of the one that might be causing the insomnia."

Bourget wasn't complaining, just stating the facts of post-operative protocol following a transplant. "I'd be dying if I didn't have the transplant," he says. "I went into the hospital six times in six weeks as first backup in case the primary recipient didn't work out." Over a period of a year and a half, he had eight "offers." This was the ninth.

Bourget was diagnosed with cancer in April 2009 and doctors knew right away he would need a liver transplant. "It's a process to qualify," he says. "I went through an evaluation, drug and alcohol testing, psychological testing and lots of other tests." Before he could qualify, he says, "I had to climb a lot of lists."

For Dr. Ronald W. Busuttil, distinguished professor and executive chairman of the Department of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and chief of the division of liver and pancreas transplantation, it was a red-letter day. He established the liver transplant program, one of the first five in the nation, in 1984 and has directed the program from its inception. Since that time, the Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center has developed into one of the largest and most respected programs in the world in the areas of research, education and patient care. He led the operating room team after flying in from Italy where he was vacationing to perform the milestone surgery. This is only the second program in the world to reach this milestone.

Busuttil, an internationally renowned liver surgeon who also serves as the director of the Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center and the Dumont-UCLA Liver Cancer Center, noted that a team-based, multidisciplinary approach provides the highest level of care for patients. As a result, his team includes well over 100 dedicated surgeons, physicians, nurses and other professionals.

"I am a very happy man," says Bourget. "I have another lease on life. Nobody could have more gratitude to UCLA than I have."

To show his gratitude, Bourget commended the hospital and team for the excellent care he received during his stay and presented Busuttil with a crystal and gold sculpture created by his friend, Topangan Steven Correia of Correia Art Glass and Crystal.

At the "Red Letter Day" celebration, Busuttil recalled his first transplant and the 26 years of hard work that followed.

"These 5000 liver transplants reflect the work of our incredibly dedicated team here at UCLA and also underscore the importance of organ donation for the many thousands of patients who await the gift of life," he said. "I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished together thus far-saving lives. That's what it's all about."

This year alone the program's surgeons have performed more than 200 liver transplants, with nearly 600 patients on the UCLA waiting list. The program has trained more than 250 transplant surgeons and physicians, many of whom currently lead top centers in the U.S. and abroad.

Asked if he is inspired to promote organ donation once he recovers, Bourget responded, "I'll be preaching the gospel, no doubt about that. I don't mind giving up a weekend a month to promote organ donor programs. I certainly hope more people will donate. This person gave me another life."

For more information, visit the liver transplant program's website or call (310) 825-5318.

This article posted October 23, 2010.

Topangan Receives 5000th Organ Transplant

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