WHAT:
A young woman who received a life-altering hand transplant at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on March 5 will be introduced by the UCLA Hand Transplantation Program's surgical team. The 26-year-old mother from Northern California was the first person west of the Rockies, and only the 13th in the nation, to receive a hand transplant.
The patient, who lost her hand in a traffic accident, will discuss her experience and her hopes for the future. Members of the transplant team will discuss the surgery, the innovative use of immune suppressants, and other elements of the historic procedure.
WHO:
The event will feature the following individuals:
- The 26-year-old patient
- Dr. Ronald Busuttil, executive chairman of the UCLA Department of Surgery
- Dr. Kodi Azari, surgical director of the UCLA Hand Transplantation Program and associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and plastic surgery
- Dr. Sue McDiarmid, medical director of the UCLA Hand Transplantation Program, professor of pediatrics, and surgery director of the Dumont-UCLA Pediatric Liver Transplant Program
- Other members of the medical/surgical team, including surgeons, nurses and occupational therapists
WHEN:
10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 19 (press check-in at 10:15 a.m.)
WHERE:
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, 757 Westwood Plaza (map)
The event will take place in the Tamkin Auditorium, on the hospital's lower level.
VISUALS:
B-roll of the patient before the surgery, surgical footage and footage of the patient after the operation (during an occupational therapy session) will be available, along with still photographs.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Media interested in covering the event must R.S.V.P. to one of the following contacts:
Roxanne Moster, [email protected], 310-794-0777
Amy Albin, [email protected], 310-794-0777
Enrique Rivero, [email protected], 310-794-0777
PARKING:
Media vans should park on the southbound side of Westwood Plaza, north of Le Conte Avenue in front of UCLA Medical Plaza, or on the northbound side of Gayley Avenue in the yellow loading zone just south of the emergency room entrance. Reporters arriving in regular vehicles can obtain parking passes at the parking booth on Westwood Plaza, near Charles E. Young Drive South. Please tell the parking attendant you are here for the "UCLA hand transplant news conference." You will receive a courtesy parking pass for Lot 8. For a detailed campus map, see http://www.ucla.edu/maps-directions-parking/.
