Monthly Archives: October 2014

Surgeons successfully transplant ‘dead hearts’

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1Surgeons at a Sydney-based hospital have performed a miraculous feat – bringing ‘dead hearts’ back to life and using them in two successful transplants.

The surgical team at St Vincent’s Hospital Heart Lung Transplant Unit’s work could have helped to put an end to the shortage in the number of organs able to be donated – something which has the potential to transform countless lives. Their work – which was achieved thanks to research carried out in conjunction with the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute – has been described as the ‘biggest heart transplant breakthrough’ in a decade.

Professor Peter MacDonald, director of St Vincent’s Hospital Heart Lung Transplant Unit, confirmed that a ‘heart in a box’ machine called the ex vivo organ care system (OCS) coupled with a new preservation solution created by researchers at the hospital and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute allowed the dead hearts to be brought back to life following circulatory death (DCD). These measures allow the heart to be “reanimated, preserved and assessed” until the recipient is ready to receive it.

One of the recipients of the hearts was Campsie-based Michelle Gribilar, 57, who was suffering from congenital heart failure. She now says she “feels like she is 40” following the procedure. “I was very sick before I had it. Now I’m a different person altogether”.

Halloween’s most tasteless costume: Ebola suits

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95th Civil Support Team and 95th Chemical Company Joint Training

 

US shoppers on the look out for the perfect Halloween costume for this year will now have a range of Ebola-themed outfits to choose from, with the range sparking much controversy across the country.

Emergency protection clothing has been touted as the most popular costume for Halloween 2014, with a range of hazmat suits, respirators, rubber gloves and gas masks going on sale despite the Ebola crisis raging on.

For sale at costume shops across the US, the yellow and white hazmat suits, which are most commonly donned by health workers who are coming into contact with Ebola samples or patients as part of their work, have proven a hit with buyers.

Richard Parrott of Ricky’s costume confirmed that “people are definitely asking about an Ebola-type costume”. However, he went on to say that, while he had thought about making an Ebola-style costume and donating a portion of the profits towards finding a cure for the virus, he had decided against it as it “felt like it probably crosses a line that we don’t want to cross”.

Another firm, BrandsOnSale, is selling an ‘Ebola Containment Suit Costume’ for $79.99, (AU$91) featuring a white outfit emblazoned with the word ‘Ebola’. The store says that the outfit will “literally be the most ‘viral’ costume of the year”.

Many feel that these costumes make light of what is an incredibly serious issue – more than 4,500 people have so far died from the disease, mainly in West Africa.

California community stalked by armed clowns

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Clowns carrying knives, baseball bats and other weapons are reportedly creeping through Californian neighbourhoods, leaving locals a little white in the face.

The phenomenon started with the so-called ‘Wasco Clown’ who worked hard to freak out the residents of Wasco, California and gained himself (or herself?) 40,000 Instagram followers in the process. Since then, there have been in the region of 20 police reports in Wasco and the neighbouring towns of Bakersfield and Delano of copycat clowns.

While the original clown approached things in a frightening but essentially non-violent approach – dressing up and taking spooky shots at local landmarks – the copycats have stepped things up a level and reports indicate that some clowns have even been spotted carrying guns and knives.

Speaking to local television, Sgt Joe Grubbs of the Bakersfield Police Department, said: “There’s a natural phobia of clowns. And clearly if someone is dressed up as a clown and holding a weapon in a threatening manner that’s going to frighten people.”

You don’t say, Sgt Grubbs. Whether or not scaring people out their wits is a crime is a matter for the justice departments to tackle, but one thing is clear, whoever these clowns are, they are likely to make this Halloween one particularly freaky affair.