Perhaps I'm nitpicking, but what Cheney got was an implant, not a transplant

[Bucky]

I mean, we're talking about the heart here, right?

[morningfog]

1. I'm confused. Reports are saying transplant. which is it?

[Luminous Animal]

15. It's a joke. That is, he never had one to begin with.

[morningfog]

19. I was a little slow on the pick up last night.

[madrchsod]

2. who knows with his new pump he might not need to pump it up....

i`m wondering if he has the new continuous pump for a heart...

[MADem]

3. Well, I think he was running on a fake heart for quite a while.

He had a portable machine that kept him going. He was heartless for some time, certainly--even before he got the machine.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. I dated a girl with implants, and she was really sweet.

But then, she had a big heart to start with.

[Swede]

5. And an inspection on his lube, electrical, hydraulic, cooling, air intake, & fueling systems.

Old Darth should be good til the winter tune up.

[Canuckistanian]

18. I hope he has a good warranty

At least enough to last him until his trial at The Hague.

[elleng]

6. NYT - Transplant

Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a heart transplant on Saturday and was recovering in a Virginia hospital, his office said in a statement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/politics/dick-cheney-recovering-after-getting-a-new-heart.html?hp

[man4allcats]

7. My understanding is that he received a human heart from a deceased

donor; i.e., not an implantable mechanical device to hold him over until a suitable donor could be found. From what I know (I am not a physician), this qualifies as an organ transplant, the heart being the organ in this particular case. What bothers me about the whole thing is that Cheney is 71 years old. When my late brother was on a heart transplant list, the rule was that people over 50 were considered, by the DeBakey Clinic at least, to be too old to be eligible on the premise that given a shortage of available organs, those that did become available should go to people with a somewhat longer life expectancy. So how the hell did this old bastard manage to get a transplant?!

[Lucky Luciano]

8. OP was a joke...an implant implies there was no heart to begin with. nt

[Bucky]

10. finally!

Thanks for being there, Lucky

[man4allcats]

12. I don't see why anyone would make that assumption, although apparently

from Bucky's post #10 that is, in fact, what he meant. Guess I'm just a little too technically oriented to get it.

[emilyg]

9. info - things have changed

The New Transplant Patient
Older, sicker patients are becoming eligible for organ transplantation, increasing the need for organs and raising new questions about who should get priority on waiting lists.
By Kate Ledger
Ardell Lien of Caledonia, Minnesota, had a history of heart trouble that started with atrial fibrillation when he was in his 30s; but nothing prepared him for the devastation of congestive heart failure that hit hard a few decades later. The golf-playing, globetrotting father of three, who’d once lived on a boat with his wife, Maureen, could barely walk or take a shower without experiencing extreme fatigue by the time he’d reached his 60s.

Lien’s family and friends encouraged him to go to Mayo Clinic for further evaluation, and there, Lien was surprised to learn that hope still existed. His doctor, Brooks Edwards, M.D., thought Lien would be a good candidate for a heart transplant. “I never thought I’d be eligible for that kind of surgery at age 67,” Lien says. What’s more, Lien remained a candidate even as his kidneys began to fail while he was waiting for a new heart

[man4allcats]

11. I do realize standards change. My brother died in 1995,

but I am surprised to learn that even now people in their late 60s (or in Cheney's case early 70s), some with multiple organ failure as in the case you mention, are today being considered eligible. Further, when my brother was sick, there was considerable attention paid to the patient's lifestyle in determining eligibility. Drug and alcohol abusers generally did not qualify. I can't imagine that a rich, evil old s.o.b. like Cheney who undoubtedly never made any effort to control the appetites that most certainly contributed to his condition will make any attempt now to change his self-destructive ways. They should have let the old fucker die. Someone else could have used the heart, and the rest of us would have all been better off.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

16. Same reason Mickey Mantle and David Crosby got new livers. Money.

Even though they destroyed their livers through alcohol and drug abuse.

[man4allcats]

17. Thank-you.

My brother was still alive at that time - at least for Mantle and maybe for Crosby too - not sure about the latter, but I do remember my brother wondering aloud why Mantle was considered eligible as did I. Of course we both knew the answer. Money buys a lot - including transplant committees!

[w8liftinglady]

13. He received a human heart transplant.

he had an extracorporeal assistive device(mechanical heart_) before that.Heart transplant traditionally have a good post-op course...not like the lungs do sometime.

[baldguy]

14. I think the correct word would be "installation".

Adding a feature the CheneyBot did not have as original equipment.