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New Organ Transplant Program Saves Lives
Aired April 21, 2005 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right "Now in the News."
Bulgarian and U.S. military sources say it appears the helicopter that crashed in Iraq this morning was shot down. 11 people were killed, including six American security contractors. The chopper went down between Baghdad and Tikrit.
The Senate is scheduled to vote next hour on the first U.S. national intelligence director. John Negroponte is a former ambassador to Iraq and a longtime diplomat. If he is confirmed, as expected, Negroponte would be in charge of coordinating all the nation's intelligence agencies. The job was created in the aftermath of September 11th.
And still no sign of a missing Kentucky girl, a day after an amber alert was issued. 16-year-old Janet Quijano is believed to have been abducted by five Hispanic men in a red SUV or van. Police say none of the tips they've received have panned out.
Two NYPD detectives accused of moonlighting as Mafia hitman plead not guilty to murder and other charges. Authorities say the pair worked for a prominent mob family and kidnapped and killed at least eight rival gangsters.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Trading organs, giving lives. A medical program allows sets of donors and recipients to exchange vital organs. Doctors say the program can save thousands of lives yearly.
CNN's Jonathan Freed bring us more on this innovative program as he follows two families on their medical journeys.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rose and Paul Meyer have good reason to be nervous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dry your hands real quick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh I can't help it. OK.
FREED: They're on edge, because they know any second now the two people who could end Paul's suffering will be coming through the door. The four have never met, but if all goes well, they'll be linked together forever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Josephine, this is Rose Meyer. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Rose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Daniel is going to be...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is great, isn't it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Yes. I am so excited.
FREED: Paul Meyer and Josephine Vollmar both have kidney failure and need a transplant. Paul's wife Rose wants to donate one of her kidneys to her husband and Daniel Vollmar wants to do the same for his mother Josephine. But they can't, because they're not compatible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dan was O-positive, my other two kids are A- positive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I'm ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they wanted him right off the bat, but he's, you know, real skittish about needles and doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is she.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. I don't care to get poked all of the time.
FREED: Turns out, though, Rose is compatible with Josephine and Daniel is a match for Paul. The quartet was put together through a program called Live Donor Paired Exchange. Essentially, we'll give you ours if you give us yours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they have a real good crew there and that's where I go for dialysis.
FREED: Dr. Michael Rees set up the program here at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and teamed up with the Doctor Steve Woodle of Christ Hospital and the University of Cincinnati to take the concept statewide.
While other health centers around the country are trying paired exchanges, Rees says the Ohio program uses software they developed specifically to cross-match sets of donors and recipients. And he believes the potential is staggering. DR. MICHAEL REES, MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO (TOLEDO): Somewhere around 10,000 people in America are in this predicament where they -- their there's somebody they really love who they want to help and for immune reasons they can't. And the answer used to be, I'm sorry, there's the door and now the answer is, we have an alternative for you.
FREED: The Ohio organ exchange model is already being picked up by hospitals in other states. And doctors estimate at least 3,000 more transplants could be performed every year if it goes nationwide.
(on camera): What went through your minds when you guys met today?
ROSE MEYER, KIDNEY DONOR: I was just excited. I saw her and it was, like, oh, my God. It's real. It's actually going to happen.
FREED: Was there a flash of oh, wait a minute. This will be going to a perfect stranger? And did you ever have a second thought?
DANIEL VOLLMAR, KIDNEY DONOR: Myself, I was pretty excited because then I felt like, not just one person was going to be getting help, but two separate people were going to get help.
FREED: Have all of you felt frustration or anger? What are the sorts of emotions on that side of the scale that you guys are feeling?
PAUL MEYER, KIDNEY TRANSPLANT PATIENT: For me, when I realized that I was going to need a kidney transplant it was more of why me?
JOSEPHINE VOLLMAR, KIDNEY TRANSPLANT PATIENT: I think everybody wants a better quality of life. And this is going to give it to me. And I think that is just the most wonderful thing, because I can run around after my grandkids more, enjoy them more and...
D. VOLLMAR: Longer.
J. VOLLMAR: Yes, and longer, too. So this is just -- thank you so much.
R. MEYER: You're welcome.
DR. STEVE WOODLE, CHRIST HOSPITAL/UNIV. OF CINCINNATI: The fact that donors feel like they're helping two people rather than one means the benefit they're getting, which is nothing more than psychological, is double.
R. MEYER: A little needle poke. You'll be fine.
FREED: The meeting over, instant friendships created, both pairs head home, mentally preparing for the upcoming surgery which will happen with one operation in Toledo and another in Cincinnati.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Jonathan Freed continues the story. Next, both families prepare for surgery. See what happens when they go into the O.R. We're going to have that coming up.
LIN: Also, later on LIVE FROM, time for Governor Schwarzenegger to hit the books? His English gets him in a little bit of trouble.
PHILLIPS: And the stars are out in Tinseltown. Just what does it take to land one of those prized spots on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? I heard they're about five grand.
LIN: Now five grand?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
LIN: Surprise. You bet.
PHILLIPS: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We continue now an extraordinary medical journey of two set of organ donors. They'll each trade kidneys as part of a special transplant program. Our Jonathan Freed has the rest of the story from Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice-over): The events that will forever change the lives of four people start before dawn on a crisp, spring morning.
R. MEYER: It hit my about 11:30 last night. I woke up like, oh, my God, I'm losing one of my kidneys today.
FREED: Rose Meyer arrives at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo to donate one of her kidneys to Josephine Vollmar.
REES: Whenever you get put to sleep, bad things can happen. You can have a heart attack, you can die from this operation.
DR. MATTHEW RUTTER, MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO: At the very last moment if you say no way, we'll stop. That's OK. Nobody will fault you.
FREED: 200 miles away in Cincinnati.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your last name please.
P. MEYER: Meyer, M-E-Y-E-R.
FREED: Rose's husband Paul checks in to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you repeat your full name to me.
FREED: Josephine's son Daniel Vollmar is there, too, set to donate one of his kidneys to Paul.
WOODLE: Are you nervous?
D. VOLLMAR: Yeah. A little bit.
WOODLE: Listen, you want to know the time to get nervous? The time to get nervous is when the surgeon gets nervous. If he's not nervous, everything's OK.
D. VOLLMAR: OK.
WOODLE: Do I look nervous?
D. VOLLMAR: No.
FREED: This double transplant is the result of a program called Live Donor Paired Exchange. Rose and Paul Meyer aren't compatible with each other, neither are Josephine and Daniel Vollmar. Usually only close relatives would take the risk of donating a vital organ, but in this case, a computer cross-match brought together these two families, previously strangers, who will now swap kidneys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're asleep, we're positioned and we're prepping and draping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So you're already underway.
OK. All right, well, then we'll proceed.
FREED: Everything's coordinated to happen at the same time in both cities in case one of the patients has second thoughts.
D. VOLLMAR: I feel something in my (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, here's a little oxygen for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you're in the recovery room, big fella.
D. VOLLMAR: OK.
FREED: Doctors use a remote control technique called laparoscopic surgery to remove Daniel and Rose's kidneys. The organs are then put on ice and prepped for transplant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Mark the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Primed next door! Three minutes, 26 seconds, sounds good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Matt. See you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll check on (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
FREED: The kidneys are taken to adjoining operating rooms where Paul and Josephine are already unconscious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll take the clamps off and we'll go from being dead and white to pink and alive and rocking. Go for it. Take the clamp off.
Mark the time, please. Clamps are off.
See the kidney pinking up, now we're going to see blood start coming down that vein. Now open up the vein. There we go.
One pink, happy kidney.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cincinnati is done and making urine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.
REES: I am thrilled right now. She's got a new kidney and it's a living kidney transplant. 50 percent of those will make it to about 15 years. And so I hope have given her lots of great years of life.
FREED: Just 24 hours later, still recovering in the hospital and connected by a bond few have experienced, the two pairs make the effort to see each other.
R. MEYER: Hi, Josie.
OK. How are you?
J. VOLLMAR: OK.
R. MEYER: You feel good?
J. VOLLMAR: Yes, pretty good.
P. MEYER: We did it.
D. VOLLMAR: All right, Paul.
P. MEYER: You did.
D. VOLLMAR: Oh, yeah.
P. MEYER: How are you feeling?
D. VOLLMAR: Pretty good.
J. VOLLMAR: Bless you, honey.
R. MEYER: Oh, no, thank you. I'm glad I could help.
FREED: That's a big question. Is it worth it?
D. VOLLMAR: I think so.
P. MEYER: Yes.
D. VOLLMAR: I mean, I don't feel like I've lost anything. You know?
P. MEYER: I sure have gained. That's for sure.
FREED: If Paul Meyer and Josephine Vollmar were forced to use dialysis, statistics show it could have shortened they're lives by as much as ten years, but, thanks to the paired transplant program, if all goes well, Paul and Josephine will now have those years to spend with their families.
R. MEYER: Yes.
FREED: Jonathan Freed, CNN, Toledo, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: It's a miracle.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I can take anymore of these emotional stories today. That's the third one today -- pretty amazing stuff.
LIN: It's been a tough one. Anyway, walking down Hollywood Boulevard...
PHILLIPS: We've done that plenty, haven't we?
LIN: Yes, you know, yes. Not in a professional capacity, purely as tourists, but, when you stroll down Hollywood's walk of fame...
PHILLIPS: We used to work there, folks, OK?
LIN: ...as journalists -- you'll see names like Gene Autry, Merv Griffin, John Lennon. It's really kind of cool. But the latest edition is actually raising a few eyebrows.
PHILLIPS: Is he idol-worthy? Find out what it takes to get your name on the legendary walk of fame, the one that Carol and I walked, not in a professional manner, in a journalistic manner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is apologizing for his tough talk on border control. At a speech Tuesday, he said the border with Mexico should be closed, but now, Schwarzenegger says, that's not what he meant. The governor called it a screw-up and blames the problem on his trouble with the English language.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: The bottom line is, I misspoke, and I'm sorry if that, you know, offended anyone, but it was a language problem, because, I meant securing our borders, rather than closing our borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Schwarzenegger adds, he filmed four movies in Mexico and he loves to go there on vacation. Some of his best friends are probably Mexicans.
PHILLIPS: There you go.
Well, Seacrest in on Hollywood Boulevard. "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest gets own star on the walk of fame. Now, some in Hollywood are questioning the honor.
CNN's entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Tom Cruise to Britney Spears and Steven Spielberg to Celine Dion, Hollywood's elite have been letting Tinseltown tourists walk all over them for decades.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentleman, Ryan Seacrest.
VARGAS: The latest inductee to the Hollywood Walk of Fame is "American Idol" host and radio deejay Ryan Seacrest, whose nomination raised a couple of eyebrows.
RYAN SEACREST, ENTERTAINER: Look, the star is for 15 years in radio, and I've been doing that for quite a while. And when the city of Hollywood offers you this opportunity, it's not in your best interest to say no.
VARGAS (on camera): So how does one get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
(voice-over): To find out, we went to Johnny Grant, Hollywood's honorary mayor, who has unveiled 500 of the more than 2,200 stars that line the famous walkway.
JOHNNY GRANT, HONORARY MAYOR OF HOLLYWOOD: You have to be nominated. Then, in June, we have an annual meeting. There's five people, because we have five categories, radio, television, recording, motion picture and live performance. Then, we make that recommendation to the full board of the Hollywood Chamber, and then it goes down to the Board of Public Works, because it is a public sidewalk, and then, it goes before the full L.A. City Council. You are well-validated. It isn't just saying, let's go to lunch with old John.
VARGAS (on camera): You also have to pay for the stars, right? There is a price.
GRANT: The celebrities don't pay for them, the studios or fan clubs pay for them.
VARGAS (voice-over): And they pay big, $15,000 in all, for what Grant says takes care of the ceremony, installation, upkeep and the star itself.
(on camera): And you don't necessarily have to be human, right, to get a star? GRANT: Well, you don't necessarily have to be human to be a star.
VARGAS (voice-over): So while superstars like Julia Roberts and Clint Eastwood have passed on the opportunity, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and even Godzilla have been honored.
GRANT: Godzilla was celebrating 50 years. As a matter of fact, I danced with Godzilla up on the stage.
VARGAS: And for those who are still critical of the process, Grant has this message.
GRANT: It's a tourist attraction. This is not the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Geez, he's kissing the ground.
PHILLIPS: He's a little excited about the star.
LIN: Very excited about himself, too.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LIN: Well, the thrill may be gone for two girls who bought tickets to a Vegas amusement park ride. They got a whole lot more than they bargained for, on board the Insanity ride.
PHILLIPS: And America's food pyramid goes technicolor, but can you decipher it? Jeanne Moos weighs in, just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Good news for a 20-year-old violinist out in Los Angeles. She lost a violin and bow that was made back in 1742. It was stolen out of the passenger seat of her car on Sunday, but it has been recovered. The violin and bow, together valued at $850,000, were not damaged, turned in by somebody -- we're don't have -- we're short on the details on that. But the police have it now. This young woman said that when she came back from the grocery store and saw the window open before she got to the car, she just had this horrible feeling. Police said that whoever stole the violin and bow probably didn't know what they had in terms of its value. So good news for that young lady.
PHILLIPS: Well, two girls get stuck on a wild ride in Sin City. That story tops our look at news across America. In Las Vegas, the girls were stranded for more than an hour on a thrill ride high above the Hotel Casino Stratosphere. The hotel's G.M. says that the Insanity ride was designed to shut down if winds exceed certain levels. Neither was hurt. Would a locked cage have stopped a vicious attack by two chimps in Southern California last month? Well, investigators say the animal's keeper failed to lock two of the three doors on their cages. Authorities recommended bringing misdemeanor criminal charges, but the prosecutor disagreed, believing the chimps figured out how to unlock the cage. The victim has not regained consciousness since that attack.
Also, in California quack team of good samaritans helps save a family of ducks. They were found under this car. After being pulled out, the ducks were set free in a canal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fire up the grill and go long. SI.com is the place to get you ready for the NFL draft this weekend. And to help you get to know who will be playing with big boys, our expert Peter King gives you the lowdown on his top 12 picks for the draft. At the top of his dirty dozen, San Francisco probably picking Utah quarterback Alex Smith. King says he seems destined to be the heir the 49ers QB thrown. The last of his top 12 picks, San Diego to tap USA wide receiver Mike Williams.
Don't like sure things? SI.com/NFL also takes a look at some diamonds in the rough. Toni Pauline (ph) ranks 10 draft longshots who could pay off in a big way, like Roydell Williams (ph), Tulane's wide receiver, a dominant forcer on the offense who likes to throw the ball. His reliable hands catch many a touchdown pass. SI.com has profiles and grades for all the players, and you can search by school or position. We also tell you when to fire up that gill for your tailgate party with a complete 2005 NFL schedule. And if drama's more your thing, check out SI's ranking of top 10 games to watch this year.
So kick back at si.com/NFL and let the games begin. I'm Christina Park for the dot-com desk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: "Now in the News," two former New York City cops plead not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn. They're accused of moonlighting as Mafia hitmen. We're live on the story this half hour.
Another pope sighting in Rome. Benedict XVI visited his former apartment near the Vatican today, greeting enthusiastic crowds in the street as he left. He'll move into the papal apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square just as soon as renovations are made.
Lots of airline passengers apparently didn't get the message you can't take lighters with you on the plane. The Transportation Security Administration says it has confiscated more than 140,000 lighters in this week since the ban took effect. That's enough for a concert, I guess. Congress passed the ban out of concern that lighters could be used to ignite bombs on planes.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 21, 2005 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right "Now in the News."
Bulgarian and U.S. military sources say it appears the helicopter that crashed in Iraq this morning was shot down. 11 people were killed, including six American security contractors. The chopper went down between Baghdad and Tikrit.
The Senate is scheduled to vote next hour on the first U.S. national intelligence director. John Negroponte is a former ambassador to Iraq and a longtime diplomat. If he is confirmed, as expected, Negroponte would be in charge of coordinating all the nation's intelligence agencies. The job was created in the aftermath of September 11th.
And still no sign of a missing Kentucky girl, a day after an amber alert was issued. 16-year-old Janet Quijano is believed to have been abducted by five Hispanic men in a red SUV or van. Police say none of the tips they've received have panned out.
Two NYPD detectives accused of moonlighting as Mafia hitman plead not guilty to murder and other charges. Authorities say the pair worked for a prominent mob family and kidnapped and killed at least eight rival gangsters.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Trading organs, giving lives. A medical program allows sets of donors and recipients to exchange vital organs. Doctors say the program can save thousands of lives yearly.
CNN's Jonathan Freed bring us more on this innovative program as he follows two families on their medical journeys.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rose and Paul Meyer have good reason to be nervous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dry your hands real quick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh I can't help it. OK.
FREED: They're on edge, because they know any second now the two people who could end Paul's suffering will be coming through the door. The four have never met, but if all goes well, they'll be linked together forever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Josephine, this is Rose Meyer. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Rose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Daniel is going to be...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is great, isn't it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Yes. I am so excited.
FREED: Paul Meyer and Josephine Vollmar both have kidney failure and need a transplant. Paul's wife Rose wants to donate one of her kidneys to her husband and Daniel Vollmar wants to do the same for his mother Josephine. But they can't, because they're not compatible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dan was O-positive, my other two kids are A- positive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I'm ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they wanted him right off the bat, but he's, you know, real skittish about needles and doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is she.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. I don't care to get poked all of the time.
FREED: Turns out, though, Rose is compatible with Josephine and Daniel is a match for Paul. The quartet was put together through a program called Live Donor Paired Exchange. Essentially, we'll give you ours if you give us yours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they have a real good crew there and that's where I go for dialysis.
FREED: Dr. Michael Rees set up the program here at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and teamed up with the Doctor Steve Woodle of Christ Hospital and the University of Cincinnati to take the concept statewide.
While other health centers around the country are trying paired exchanges, Rees says the Ohio program uses software they developed specifically to cross-match sets of donors and recipients. And he believes the potential is staggering. DR. MICHAEL REES, MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO (TOLEDO): Somewhere around 10,000 people in America are in this predicament where they -- their there's somebody they really love who they want to help and for immune reasons they can't. And the answer used to be, I'm sorry, there's the door and now the answer is, we have an alternative for you.
FREED: The Ohio organ exchange model is already being picked up by hospitals in other states. And doctors estimate at least 3,000 more transplants could be performed every year if it goes nationwide.
(on camera): What went through your minds when you guys met today?
ROSE MEYER, KIDNEY DONOR: I was just excited. I saw her and it was, like, oh, my God. It's real. It's actually going to happen.
FREED: Was there a flash of oh, wait a minute. This will be going to a perfect stranger? And did you ever have a second thought?
DANIEL VOLLMAR, KIDNEY DONOR: Myself, I was pretty excited because then I felt like, not just one person was going to be getting help, but two separate people were going to get help.
FREED: Have all of you felt frustration or anger? What are the sorts of emotions on that side of the scale that you guys are feeling?
PAUL MEYER, KIDNEY TRANSPLANT PATIENT: For me, when I realized that I was going to need a kidney transplant it was more of why me?
JOSEPHINE VOLLMAR, KIDNEY TRANSPLANT PATIENT: I think everybody wants a better quality of life. And this is going to give it to me. And I think that is just the most wonderful thing, because I can run around after my grandkids more, enjoy them more and...
D. VOLLMAR: Longer.
J. VOLLMAR: Yes, and longer, too. So this is just -- thank you so much.
R. MEYER: You're welcome.
DR. STEVE WOODLE, CHRIST HOSPITAL/UNIV. OF CINCINNATI: The fact that donors feel like they're helping two people rather than one means the benefit they're getting, which is nothing more than psychological, is double.
R. MEYER: A little needle poke. You'll be fine.
FREED: The meeting over, instant friendships created, both pairs head home, mentally preparing for the upcoming surgery which will happen with one operation in Toledo and another in Cincinnati.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Jonathan Freed continues the story. Next, both families prepare for surgery. See what happens when they go into the O.R. We're going to have that coming up.
LIN: Also, later on LIVE FROM, time for Governor Schwarzenegger to hit the books? His English gets him in a little bit of trouble.
PHILLIPS: And the stars are out in Tinseltown. Just what does it take to land one of those prized spots on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? I heard they're about five grand.
LIN: Now five grand?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
LIN: Surprise. You bet.
PHILLIPS: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We continue now an extraordinary medical journey of two set of organ donors. They'll each trade kidneys as part of a special transplant program. Our Jonathan Freed has the rest of the story from Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice-over): The events that will forever change the lives of four people start before dawn on a crisp, spring morning.
R. MEYER: It hit my about 11:30 last night. I woke up like, oh, my God, I'm losing one of my kidneys today.
FREED: Rose Meyer arrives at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo to donate one of her kidneys to Josephine Vollmar.
REES: Whenever you get put to sleep, bad things can happen. You can have a heart attack, you can die from this operation.
DR. MATTHEW RUTTER, MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO: At the very last moment if you say no way, we'll stop. That's OK. Nobody will fault you.
FREED: 200 miles away in Cincinnati.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your last name please.
P. MEYER: Meyer, M-E-Y-E-R.
FREED: Rose's husband Paul checks in to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you repeat your full name to me.
FREED: Josephine's son Daniel Vollmar is there, too, set to donate one of his kidneys to Paul.
WOODLE: Are you nervous?
D. VOLLMAR: Yeah. A little bit.
WOODLE: Listen, you want to know the time to get nervous? The time to get nervous is when the surgeon gets nervous. If he's not nervous, everything's OK.
D. VOLLMAR: OK.
WOODLE: Do I look nervous?
D. VOLLMAR: No.
FREED: This double transplant is the result of a program called Live Donor Paired Exchange. Rose and Paul Meyer aren't compatible with each other, neither are Josephine and Daniel Vollmar. Usually only close relatives would take the risk of donating a vital organ, but in this case, a computer cross-match brought together these two families, previously strangers, who will now swap kidneys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're asleep, we're positioned and we're prepping and draping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So you're already underway.
OK. All right, well, then we'll proceed.
FREED: Everything's coordinated to happen at the same time in both cities in case one of the patients has second thoughts.
D. VOLLMAR: I feel something in my (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, here's a little oxygen for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you're in the recovery room, big fella.
D. VOLLMAR: OK.
FREED: Doctors use a remote control technique called laparoscopic surgery to remove Daniel and Rose's kidneys. The organs are then put on ice and prepped for transplant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Mark the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Primed next door! Three minutes, 26 seconds, sounds good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Matt. See you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll check on (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
FREED: The kidneys are taken to adjoining operating rooms where Paul and Josephine are already unconscious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll take the clamps off and we'll go from being dead and white to pink and alive and rocking. Go for it. Take the clamp off.
Mark the time, please. Clamps are off.
See the kidney pinking up, now we're going to see blood start coming down that vein. Now open up the vein. There we go.
One pink, happy kidney.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cincinnati is done and making urine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.
REES: I am thrilled right now. She's got a new kidney and it's a living kidney transplant. 50 percent of those will make it to about 15 years. And so I hope have given her lots of great years of life.
FREED: Just 24 hours later, still recovering in the hospital and connected by a bond few have experienced, the two pairs make the effort to see each other.
R. MEYER: Hi, Josie.
OK. How are you?
J. VOLLMAR: OK.
R. MEYER: You feel good?
J. VOLLMAR: Yes, pretty good.
P. MEYER: We did it.
D. VOLLMAR: All right, Paul.
P. MEYER: You did.
D. VOLLMAR: Oh, yeah.
P. MEYER: How are you feeling?
D. VOLLMAR: Pretty good.
J. VOLLMAR: Bless you, honey.
R. MEYER: Oh, no, thank you. I'm glad I could help.
FREED: That's a big question. Is it worth it?
D. VOLLMAR: I think so.
P. MEYER: Yes.
D. VOLLMAR: I mean, I don't feel like I've lost anything. You know?
P. MEYER: I sure have gained. That's for sure.
FREED: If Paul Meyer and Josephine Vollmar were forced to use dialysis, statistics show it could have shortened they're lives by as much as ten years, but, thanks to the paired transplant program, if all goes well, Paul and Josephine will now have those years to spend with their families.
R. MEYER: Yes.
FREED: Jonathan Freed, CNN, Toledo, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: It's a miracle.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if I can take anymore of these emotional stories today. That's the third one today -- pretty amazing stuff.
LIN: It's been a tough one. Anyway, walking down Hollywood Boulevard...
PHILLIPS: We've done that plenty, haven't we?
LIN: Yes, you know, yes. Not in a professional capacity, purely as tourists, but, when you stroll down Hollywood's walk of fame...
PHILLIPS: We used to work there, folks, OK?
LIN: ...as journalists -- you'll see names like Gene Autry, Merv Griffin, John Lennon. It's really kind of cool. But the latest edition is actually raising a few eyebrows.
PHILLIPS: Is he idol-worthy? Find out what it takes to get your name on the legendary walk of fame, the one that Carol and I walked, not in a professional manner, in a journalistic manner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is apologizing for his tough talk on border control. At a speech Tuesday, he said the border with Mexico should be closed, but now, Schwarzenegger says, that's not what he meant. The governor called it a screw-up and blames the problem on his trouble with the English language.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: The bottom line is, I misspoke, and I'm sorry if that, you know, offended anyone, but it was a language problem, because, I meant securing our borders, rather than closing our borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Schwarzenegger adds, he filmed four movies in Mexico and he loves to go there on vacation. Some of his best friends are probably Mexicans.
PHILLIPS: There you go.
Well, Seacrest in on Hollywood Boulevard. "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest gets own star on the walk of fame. Now, some in Hollywood are questioning the honor.
CNN's entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Tom Cruise to Britney Spears and Steven Spielberg to Celine Dion, Hollywood's elite have been letting Tinseltown tourists walk all over them for decades.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentleman, Ryan Seacrest.
VARGAS: The latest inductee to the Hollywood Walk of Fame is "American Idol" host and radio deejay Ryan Seacrest, whose nomination raised a couple of eyebrows.
RYAN SEACREST, ENTERTAINER: Look, the star is for 15 years in radio, and I've been doing that for quite a while. And when the city of Hollywood offers you this opportunity, it's not in your best interest to say no.
VARGAS (on camera): So how does one get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
(voice-over): To find out, we went to Johnny Grant, Hollywood's honorary mayor, who has unveiled 500 of the more than 2,200 stars that line the famous walkway.
JOHNNY GRANT, HONORARY MAYOR OF HOLLYWOOD: You have to be nominated. Then, in June, we have an annual meeting. There's five people, because we have five categories, radio, television, recording, motion picture and live performance. Then, we make that recommendation to the full board of the Hollywood Chamber, and then it goes down to the Board of Public Works, because it is a public sidewalk, and then, it goes before the full L.A. City Council. You are well-validated. It isn't just saying, let's go to lunch with old John.
VARGAS (on camera): You also have to pay for the stars, right? There is a price.
GRANT: The celebrities don't pay for them, the studios or fan clubs pay for them.
VARGAS (voice-over): And they pay big, $15,000 in all, for what Grant says takes care of the ceremony, installation, upkeep and the star itself.
(on camera): And you don't necessarily have to be human, right, to get a star? GRANT: Well, you don't necessarily have to be human to be a star.
VARGAS (voice-over): So while superstars like Julia Roberts and Clint Eastwood have passed on the opportunity, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and even Godzilla have been honored.
GRANT: Godzilla was celebrating 50 years. As a matter of fact, I danced with Godzilla up on the stage.
VARGAS: And for those who are still critical of the process, Grant has this message.
GRANT: It's a tourist attraction. This is not the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Geez, he's kissing the ground.
PHILLIPS: He's a little excited about the star.
LIN: Very excited about himself, too.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LIN: Well, the thrill may be gone for two girls who bought tickets to a Vegas amusement park ride. They got a whole lot more than they bargained for, on board the Insanity ride.
PHILLIPS: And America's food pyramid goes technicolor, but can you decipher it? Jeanne Moos weighs in, just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Good news for a 20-year-old violinist out in Los Angeles. She lost a violin and bow that was made back in 1742. It was stolen out of the passenger seat of her car on Sunday, but it has been recovered. The violin and bow, together valued at $850,000, were not damaged, turned in by somebody -- we're don't have -- we're short on the details on that. But the police have it now. This young woman said that when she came back from the grocery store and saw the window open before she got to the car, she just had this horrible feeling. Police said that whoever stole the violin and bow probably didn't know what they had in terms of its value. So good news for that young lady.
PHILLIPS: Well, two girls get stuck on a wild ride in Sin City. That story tops our look at news across America. In Las Vegas, the girls were stranded for more than an hour on a thrill ride high above the Hotel Casino Stratosphere. The hotel's G.M. says that the Insanity ride was designed to shut down if winds exceed certain levels. Neither was hurt. Would a locked cage have stopped a vicious attack by two chimps in Southern California last month? Well, investigators say the animal's keeper failed to lock two of the three doors on their cages. Authorities recommended bringing misdemeanor criminal charges, but the prosecutor disagreed, believing the chimps figured out how to unlock the cage. The victim has not regained consciousness since that attack.
Also, in California quack team of good samaritans helps save a family of ducks. They were found under this car. After being pulled out, the ducks were set free in a canal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fire up the grill and go long. SI.com is the place to get you ready for the NFL draft this weekend. And to help you get to know who will be playing with big boys, our expert Peter King gives you the lowdown on his top 12 picks for the draft. At the top of his dirty dozen, San Francisco probably picking Utah quarterback Alex Smith. King says he seems destined to be the heir the 49ers QB thrown. The last of his top 12 picks, San Diego to tap USA wide receiver Mike Williams.
Don't like sure things? SI.com/NFL also takes a look at some diamonds in the rough. Toni Pauline (ph) ranks 10 draft longshots who could pay off in a big way, like Roydell Williams (ph), Tulane's wide receiver, a dominant forcer on the offense who likes to throw the ball. His reliable hands catch many a touchdown pass. SI.com has profiles and grades for all the players, and you can search by school or position. We also tell you when to fire up that gill for your tailgate party with a complete 2005 NFL schedule. And if drama's more your thing, check out SI's ranking of top 10 games to watch this year.
So kick back at si.com/NFL and let the games begin. I'm Christina Park for the dot-com desk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: "Now in the News," two former New York City cops plead not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn. They're accused of moonlighting as Mafia hitmen. We're live on the story this half hour.
Another pope sighting in Rome. Benedict XVI visited his former apartment near the Vatican today, greeting enthusiastic crowds in the street as he left. He'll move into the papal apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square just as soon as renovations are made.
Lots of airline passengers apparently didn't get the message you can't take lighters with you on the plane. The Transportation Security Administration says it has confiscated more than 140,000 lighters in this week since the ban took effect. That's enough for a concert, I guess. Congress passed the ban out of concern that lighters could be used to ignite bombs on planes.
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