Nearly 10,000 people are on a waiting list for an organ transplant in New York State, according to the New York Organ Donor Network. Every 15 hours, another NYS resident dies because of a lack of an organ donation. In 2011, that added up to nearly 600 people.

A breakthrough non-invasive test can detect whether transplanted kidneys are in the process of being rejected, as well as identify patients at risk for rejection weeks to months before they show symptoms, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has appointed Dr. Felice Schnoll-Sussman director of its Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health. Dr. Schnoll-Sussman, a leading clinician and researcher in gastrointestinal cancers, has served as the center's director of research since 2007 and acting director since 2012.

An exciting initiative to improve the medical care of children at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is underway. The new Komansky Center for Children's Health, funded through a generous gift from Phyllis and David Komansky, has been established to make medical care more accessible, advanced, and supportive of the needs of young patients and their families.

Surgeons at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, have implanted the FDA's first approved artificial disc into the spine of a 37-year-old man from Brooklyn. The surgery was one of the first of its kind to be performed in the tri-state metropolitan area, and the first in Brooklyn or Queens.

From Sunday, October 16 to Friday, October 21, specialists from all over the world will gather at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Scientific Symposium (TCT 2005) at the Washington Convention Center.

In what could prove to be an important development in the search for a treatment of Alzheimer's disease, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center physician-scientists say the results of an initial (Phase I) clinical study provide encouraging evidence that antibodies derived from human plasma can capture the beta-amyloid protein in blood and exert positive effects on patients' thinking abilities. Beta-amyloid is a central component of the senile plaque in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, and its toxicity against brain cells is believed to be a prime cause of the illness.

In the wake of the Terry Schiavo case, many are becoming aware of the importance of planning for end-of-life medical care. A new book, "A Palliative Ethic of Care: Clinical Wisdom at Life's End" (Jones and Bartlett Publishers) offers clinicians, medical students, patients, and family members a practical guide to the subject. Written by a world-renowned authority on medical ethics and end-of-life care, Dr. Joseph J. Fins of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, the book helps ease the transition from curative to palliative care, with practical advice on issues like formulating goals of care.