Timely
Decisions
for Life
Wes Filer liked living his life
at a fast pace. A young man
studying to become a lawyer
in the late 1960s, he was a
busy guy with life moving at a
rapid clip. But what he didn’t
like was that his heart was
beginning to do the same.
Jan. 24 Time Undisclosed. A person, one whose
identity remains protected, was officially pronounced
dead. That person’s family made the decision to grant
life to others through the donation of their loved
one’s organs.
Jan. 24, 20:23 A donor coordinator at UT
Southwestern receives an offer from the Southwest
Transplant Alliance, the non-profit organ and tissue
donor program, of organs to be donated, through
the Donor Net program. The physician on call, Dr.
Matthias Peltz, is notified.
Jan. 25, 20:29 The organ offer is reviewed by Dr.
Peltz at UT Southwestern and provisionally accepted.
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Winter/Spring 2015
Jan. 25, 21:45 Mr. Filer, a patient who is critically
ill and is on the list to receive a transplant, is in
the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at St. Paul.
He is notified by his care team that an organ has
become available and that it appears to be a good
possibility for a match. Mr. Filer accepts the offer.
He is then prepped for surgery and given antirejection medications. The transplant teams at UT
Southwestern work quickly to coordinate a time
in the operating room while also working with the
Southwest Transplant Alliance.