Two-way video hookup puts Lodi students in transplant operating room
Students at Liberty Science Center were able to ask questions of a transplant surgeon as the operation was going on miles away.
Kristie CattafiLodi High School senior Gimelyn Yray is already enrolled in a pre-med program at William Paterson University and has dreams of being a pediatric surgeon. After seeing a live kidney transplant, she said she is now more motivated than ever.
High school students were able to get an up-close look at a kidney transplant surgery at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City on Tuesday, when they were virtually inserted into an operating room at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
Students were able to interact in real time with Dr. Stuart Geffner as he performed the kidney removal and transplant as the students watched and asked questions.
Liberty Science Center shows four live transplants a month: Geffner performs two kidney transplants, and two heart transplants are shown from Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark. The high-definition viewing is two-way, so Geffner can also see and hear the students and answer their questions as he is performing the surgery.
Lodi High School had 42 students in attendance who are members of the pre-med club, which was created just this year. Biology teacher Virginia Fasulo said that during Advanced Placement classes, students began asking about medical school and process, which led to the club's creation. "It was something we didn't know we needed," Fasulo said. "This is a highly motivated group of students."
Students watched Geffner remove a kidney from a 32-year-old woman. She was donating it to her 34-year-old husband, who has kidney disease.
As the procedure was going on, Liberty Science Center was passing around the tools used in surgery so students would also have a hands-on feel.
Geffner walked the students through every step, from laparoscopically removing the donor kidney to cleaning and prepping it for transplant to sewing up the blood vessels.
During the operation, students asked a range of questions about complications, risks, follow-up procedures, future technology like stem cells, and medical school.
Yray asked the doctor how he stayed motivated and focused during the first couple of years of medical school and how he works through any complications or negative outcomes.
Geffner told her that students aren't always studying fields of interest, but they must keep the bigger picture and goal in mind to stay motivated. He also shared a story from his residency years about asking a surgeon if he was OK after losing a patient.
"You just need to keep going and stay focused," he said. "There's another patient that needs your help."
Yray said she will carry that advice with her to college next year. Other students said the day was an "eye-opening" experience. Junior Mikela Lickollari said she is considering being a surgeon but had never seen a surgery before. "This really helped me see it firsthand and understand it," she said. "He gave a lot of information and answered every question."
Junior Dyomhara Hernandez said she was interested in neuroscience research, but now is also interested in neurosurgery.
Geffner said kidney transplants from live donors are increasing because there is a "tremendous shortage" of deceased donors. He said the waiting list for a kidney in New Jersey is five years, which has increased from one year when he started his career 22 years ago.
Before the two-hour surgery started, students were also given an inside look at what it means to be a donor. Reenie Harris, a volunteer with NJ Sharing Network, recounted her journey of donating a kidney to a stranger four years ago, when she was 70 years old.
Harris, a Morristown resident, said she was inspired to donate after her 39-year-old daughter donated a kidney five years ago in Los Angles. Geffner also performed Harris' surgery. Harris said being a donor hasn't slowed her down and that she still tries to go skydiving once a year.
Before the surgery began, Harris asked students approaching the age of 18 and getting their licenses to open up the dialogue and talk about donor options. Harris said one person agreeing to be a donor can save seven lives.
“Let this be a take-home message," Geffner said. "There is a tremendous shortage of donors, especially with issues of getting consent. When you turn 18, think about. Go home and talk with your family. Know what everyone’s wishes are.”
On the web
Watch a video of doctors performing a kidney transplant as Lodi High School students watch. Visit njersy.co/kidneylive