Kidney transplant followed via Twitter - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

5/18/09

Kidney transplant followed via Twitter

Updated:

By Cassie Hataway | email

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A Dallas hospital is one of the first in the country to try something new during surgery- it's not a tool or a surgery, but Twitter. 

When 3-year-old John Gilbreath received a kidney from his dad Monday morning at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, the whole procedure was reported on Twitter.  What that means is that, in short text messages, public relations representatives for the hospital provided real-time updates on both surgeries. 

The cyber world knew the precise time that the father's kidney was removed, when the organ was transported, and when it was all over.  Helpful stuff when you are anxious and clueless in a waiting room.

Doctors say they're doing this to provide a tool patients to use in making educated decisions about their care.

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