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Heart disease is a leading cause of death, so it’s important to keep track of your heart’s state of health. Getting regular checkups with your doctor is the best way to do that. It’s also a good idea to understand the basic “heart-health numbers,” which are measures of cardiovascular fitness and may indicate risks for certain medical conditions.

UAB Medicine patient Kevin Russell received a kidney transplant in 1991 at the age of 27. This life-giving operation helped him live almost two more decades, to the age of 45, leading his family to make a legacy gift to the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute in 2020.

Anthony Pilot and Jessica Meyer hope their intertwined pasts – and their passion for helping those in need – will help inspire others to show more kindness.

It took four long years for Kelly Berwager to build up enough confidence to share her story of kidney donation, but now she hopes her personal experiences will encourage others to consider giving the gift of life through her new book, “Bridge Donor: The Journey of a Living Organ Donor.”

Stanley Wright is carefully crafting an emotional letter to a grief-stricken family. He yearns to express his boundless gratitude for their ultimate gift: the liver that gave Wright a new lease on life. “I want the family to know that their loved one lives on,” he says.

Four years ago, 28-year-old Ana Kenney was told that she would either spend the rest of her life on dialysis or have to wait up to 10 years for a kidney transplant.

We are pleased to announce this month’s UAB Medicine DAISY Award, recognizing the extraordinary care and compassion that nurses provide for patients and families every day. Submissions and stories are reviewed each month, and then the winner is surprised at a special ceremony. Click here to nominate a UAB Medicine nurse for the DAISY Award.

Cooper Pierce was 13 years old when doctors diagnosed him with pulmonary hypertension. After undergoing a heart and double-lung transplant at UAB Hospital, he is now a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and hopes his story can inspire others.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and UAB Medicine have established the first uterus transplant program in the Southeast and the fourth such program in the United States.

Infections occur mainly through exposure to respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks near someone who doesn’t have COVID-19. While it is not common for COVID-19 to spread from surfaces, these respiratory droplets can land on high-touch surfaces and spread. Other viruses, such as influenza, also can spread in this way. Washing our hands helps prevent viruses (and bacteria) from causing infections.

There is evidence that wearing a face shield (with a mask) helps protect wearers from respiratory droplets that could come in contact with the eyes. However, there have been no complete studies comparing mask use alone to face shields alone, so it is not recommended to use a face shield as the only protection against COVID-19.

Based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), those diagnosed with COVID-19 are no longer considered infectious if they no longer have fever, if their symptoms have improved, and if they’ve remained in quarantine for at least 10 days. If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and have quarantined for at least 14 days without any symptoms, it is safe for you to be around others. Even after quarantine, it is still important to continue wearing a mask, maintain social distancing, and wash your hands to prevent repeat infection and further quarantining.