United Network for Organ Sharing

Marcelo Alves whispers because it is hard to breathe. His feet are swollen and dotted with purple bumps. At the kitchen table one recent night, his wife reached over and squeezed his left arm, trying to find a pulse. ``You see?'' she said, frowning. ``You can't feel it.'' The 34-year-old father of two suffers from cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart that is slowly eroding the rest of his body. His family is raising money to pay for a transplant, fearing that he could die within a year. But he faces an additional hurdle in the race to save him: He is an illegal immigrant, and that fact has mired his case in confusion as time ticks away. In 2008, Alves's physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center deemed a transplant ``impossible'' because he was here illegally, according to his medical records. Last week, at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Globe reporter overheard a resident tell Alves that his immigration status might hurt his chances of getting a new heart. ``I think that

HEALTHBEAT: Marathon 13-way kidney transplant brings hope to some without other options. Twenty-six operations put healthy kidneys into 13 desperately ill people: Doctors in the nation's capital just performed a record-setting kidney swap, part of a pioneering effort to expand transplants to patients who too often never qualify.

Thousands of kidney patients in the United States start dialysis without first being told of kidney transplants that would be cheaper and lead to longer lives, according to a four-month newspaper investigation published Sunday.

Newspaper finds many US dialysis patients not told about kidney transplant option first. Thousands of kidney patients in the United States start dialysis without first being told of kidney transplants that would be cheaper and lead to longer lives, according to a four-month newspaper investigation published Sunday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Racial disparities exist in many areas of health care, from heart disease treatment to rates of surviving cancer. And studies have suggested that white patients do better than African Americans following liver transplants. But race may not play a role in survival after liver transplants for hepatitis B infection, nor while waiting for one, according to a new study.

For most of the thousands of Americans who need a new kidney, there are only two ways to go: persuade a friend or relative to donate, or get on the transplant waiting list.

Prominent New Yorkers have bought kidneys, expert says, through Israel-based matchmakers. For most of the thousands of Americans who need a new kidney, there are only two ways to go: persuade a friend or relative to donate, or get on the transplant waiting list.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Liver transplantation "holds increased risk" in adults who are very thin or very obese before surgery, research shows.

World's longest-surviving patient with 1 heart transplant dies of cancer; Ohio man was 51. A heart transplant recipient who lived a record 31 years with a single donated organ has died at age 51 of cancer, his heart still going strong, his widow said.

A heart transplant recipient who lived a record 31 years with a single donated organ has died at age 51 of cancer, his heart still going strong, his widow said.

World's longest-surviving patient with 1 heart transplant dies of cancer; Ohio man was 51. A heart transplant recipient who lived a record 31 years with a single donated organ has died at age 51 of cancer, his heart still going strong, his widow said.

Look-the-other-way policies at US hospitals may foster kidney-selling, transplant experts say. A look-the-other-way attitude at some U.S. hospitals may be fostering a black-market trade in kidneys, transplant experts say. Some hospitals do not inquire very deeply into the source of the organs they transplant because such operations can be highly lucrative, according to some insiders. A single operation can bring in tens of thousands of dollars for a hospital and its doctors.

A look-the-other-way attitude at some U.S. hospitals may be fostering a black-market trade in kidneys, transplant experts say.

Brooklyn man's arrest on kidney-selling charges throws a spotlight on organ trafficking. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn called himself a "matchmaker," but his business wasn't romance. Instead, authorities say, he brokered the sale of black-market kidneys, buying organs from vulnerable people from Israel for $10,000 and selling them to desperate patients in the U.S. for as much as $160,000.

Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn called himself a "matchmaker," but his business wasn't romance. Instead, authorities say, he brokered the sale of black-market kidneys, buying organs from vulnerable people from Israel for $10,000 and selling them to desperate patients in the U.S. for as much as $160,000.

Rich folks like Apple founder Steve Jobs have an edge in getting scarce organ transplants. A celebrity like Apple CEO Steve Jobs scores a rare organ transplant and the world wonders: Did he game the system? The rich have plenty of advantages that others don't. But winning the "transplant lottery" involves more than the size of your wallet ? and true medical need.

A celebrity like Apple CEO Steve Jobs scores a rare organ transplant and the world wonders: Did he game the system? The rich have plenty of advantages that others don't. But winning the "transplant lottery" involves more than the size of your wallet ? and true medical need.

Rich folks like Apple founder Steve Jobs have an edge in getting scarce organ transplants. A celebrity like Apple CEO Steve Jobs scores a rare organ transplant and the world wonders: Did he game the system? The rich have plenty of advantages that others don't. But winning the "transplant lottery" involves more than the size of your wallet ? and true medical need.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant operation about two months ago and is expected to return to work by the end of June, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant operation about two months ago and is expected to return to work by the end of June, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.