Media Contact: Sandra VanTel. 1-800-396-1002E-mail: [email protected]
LOS ANGELES (April 12, 2001) -- Because he had never had a serious medical problem, Glenn Matsuki had no reason for concern when he came down with the flu in the spring of 1995. But the viral infection led to pneumonia, followed quickly by congestive heart failure.
"My heart had enlarged to three times its normal size, and within a matter of five weeks I was told that I needed a heart transplant," says Matsuki, who was raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and now lives in Silver Lake, CA. He suddenly found himself investigating area transplant programs.
"I looked at several other programs and I wasn't really happy with them. I really wanted to come to Cedars-Sinai because I had a sense of family," says Matsuki, who was 45 at the time. "The program was definitely not the largest heart transplant program in the city. It was smaller, friendlier, and they really seemed to care about the individual. I urged my primary care physician to push for me to get in."
About a week later, Matsuki was evaluated and accepted, and his name was added to Cedars-Sinai's transplant waiting list. The owner of a business that provided floral and interior plant maintenance services to corporations, Matsuki continued to work part-time until the day of the transplant.
"Fortunately, once accepted, my wait time was only 11 weeks, and I was able to wait at home," he says. A compatible donor heart became available, and in June 1995, cardiothoracic surgeon Carlos Blanche, M.D., co-director of the heart transplant program, led the team that performed the transplant. Six days later, Matsuki was recuperating at home. His Saturday-to-Friday hospitalization remains the shortest stay in the history of Cedars-Sinai's heart transplant program -- a program that began in 1988 and has consistently recorded some of the lowest mortality rates in the world.
"About eight months after my surgery, I decided I wanted to give back. I was not able to meet my donor family so someone suggested I take a volunteer position in the Heart Family program here," recalls Matsuki. Heart Family volunteers receive special training to visit cardiac patients and their families, lending support to those undergoing open-heart surgery, angiograms or other cardiac procedures.
At the time Matsuki joined Heart Family, only one other volunteer, another transplant recipient, worked in the program. "Harry and I were known as 'the twins.' If you saw us, we're definitely not twins. But throughout the medical center and even to this day, we're known as 'the twins' when we go see patients together," Matsuki says.
After three years as a volunteer, Matsuki heard of a management assistant position in the liver transplant program becoming available. He decided to apply, almost on a whim, even though he felt that his only valuable experience might be his knowledge of computers.
"During the interview process, the liver team was interested in my experience as a transplant patient," notes Matsuki. The job was offered and accepted, and for the past year, Matsuki has provided administrative support for Steven D. Colquhoun, M.D., transplant surgeon and Program Director for the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation.
"Patients, doctors, nurses and the entire administrative staff all appreciate and love working with Glenn," says Dr Colquhoun. "The sentiment is unanimous: Throughout the transplant office, Glenn has become the 'glue' that holds the team together," he adds. "He not only brings the patient's perspective, which is an obvious advantage, but also an enormous experience in business and 'people' management. He has a unique combination of humor, humanity and efficiency. For my part, I feel especially privileged to be working with him and frankly, I think it's difficult for anyone to remember how we got along before Glenn arrived."
According to Matsuki, the misgivings and uncertainties he recalls as a transplant patient do provide unique opportunities from time to time. "I'm able to lend support to liver and kidney transplant patients, and also serve as a reminder to the transplant teams themselves," he says. "I can give them insight into what the patients feel or what they're experiencing. Sometimes it's a good experience when a patient calls three or four times because they're anxious about a procedure, or anxious about not receiving a phone call. I can give that patient's perspective and say, "You know, if you were in that position, in a life-or-death situation, you would be calling if you didn't hear from the team."
Matsuki says he also feels fortunate to work with and learn from the transplant team. "Dr. Colquhoun is a very good teacher. The nurses respect him, the other physicians respect him, and the patients just love him. I can see why. He's a man of integrity, a very patient-oriented, caring doctor. This is a very, very good experience for me."
Matsuki will celebrate the sixth anniversary of his heart transplant this June. At every opportunity, he and the physicians in the transplant program urge people to think about donating their organs -- and most importantly -- discuss their wishes with family members. Even if a potential donor signs a donor card, organs cannot be transplanted without the consent of surviving family members.
"To this day, I still volunteer, not only visiting heart patients but now some liver patients," says Matsuki. "When they find out that I've gone through a similar experience, they say, "Wow, there really is life after transplant.' Absolutely, there is."
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For media information and interviews, please contact Sandra Van via e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 1-800-396-1002. Thank you.
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