Sunday, September 28, 2014


































Photo and design Pamela Lindgren 2014 ©   
Just before flying off to Paris, Student Jenny Hedman helped Recycle Me promote Organ Donation Awareness. Thank you so much! Remember to make your wishes known, it can save lives!

The lungs are part of a complex apparatus, expanding and relaxing thousands of times each day to bring in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Lung diseases are some of the most common medical conditions in the world. Smoking, infections, and genetics are responsible for most lung diseases.

The world’s first successful lung transplantation was performed on Nov. 7, 1983 at Toronto General Hospital. Lung transplants are often the only treatment for incurable lung disorders such as cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. But successful lung transplants are rare, as finding matching donors is very difficult - many patients die while on a waiting list for transplants.

Stem cell specialists have been working on growing lung tissue for some years, but the lung is a complex organ. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) first announced their solution for growing lungs in 2010. "In terms of different cell types, the lung is probably the most complex of all organs - the cells near the entrance are very different from those deep in the lung," UTMB researcher Dr. Joaquin Cortiella said at that time.”

Read more here; http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/272763.php

Fun fact; Jenny is daughter to Håkan Hedman President of the Swedish Kidney Association.


































Photo and design Pamela Lindgren 2014 ©   
We had the opportunity to photograph Håkan Hedman in a Recycle Me t-shirt to spread organ donation awareness! Thank you so much Håkan and thank you all for supporting the nonprofit design project RECYCLE ME!

Håkan Hedman is president of the Swedish Kidney Association in 2011 he was appointed Honorary Doctor of Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg.

Håkan has many years of experience from Swedish hospital care both as a patient and as an advocate in health and healthcare matters. He has participated in different committees and studies including Patientsäkerhetsutredningen/ Patient inquiry. Håkan is a member of the Executive Committee Centre for Person-Centred Care at the University of Gothenburg (GPCC).

As a child Håkan was diagnosed with a kidney disease and for many years he was dependent on dialysis. By the age of 34 he got a donated kidney from a dead donor in Belgium, this new kidney has now been functioning well for 29 years!

more info about Swedish Kidney Association here; http://eng.njurforbundet.se/

more info about Centre for Person-Centred Care at the University of Gothenburg here; http://gpcc.gu.se/english/