Discovery Health Channel Presents TRANSPLANT!: An Exclusive Look at the Personal Journey of Organ Donation and Transplantation With Dr. Mehmet Oz

Discovery Health Channel Presents TRANSPLANT!: An Exclusive Look at the Personal Journey of Organ Donation and Transplantation With Dr. Mehmet Oz

Premiering During 'National Donate Life Month,' the Three-part Series Documents Stories of Heart Transplant Patients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of the best-selling books YOU: The Owner's Manual and YOU: The Smart Patient and Discovery Health Channel's senior medical contributor, hosts TRANSPLANT!, a three-part series documenting the dramatic stories of patients awaiting life- saving heart transplants at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. TRANSPLANT! premieres on Discovery Health Channel Tuesday, April 4, at 10 PM (ET/PT).

New York-Presbyterian/Columbia performs more heart transplants than any other hospital in the country. Dr. Oz, professor and vice-chairman of surgery at Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia helps lead the medical staff that works tirelessly to help patients receive a second chance at life. Discovery Health Channel provides viewers unprecedented access into the complex decision-making process behind these life-saving transplants. The series focuses on the interaction among the staff, the patients, their families and the New York Organ Donor Network as decisions are made regarding the fate of each patient. TRANSPLANT! takes viewers alongside the hospital's recovery team as they race against time to determine the viability of donor hearts. Viewers hear from donor families as they share their inspirational stories about the decision to donate the life-saving organs of a loved one.

Airing as part of "National Donate Life Month," TRANSPLANT! is designed to increase awareness of the importance of organ donation. Today, more than 90,000 men, women and children are on the organ transplant waiting list. Donation and transplantation can save lives, yet the need for organs far exceeds the supply. According to the Coalition on Donation, every day, 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant that would give them a second chance at life.

TRANSPLANT! premieres on three consecutive Tuesdays in April on Discovery Health Channel, beginning on April 4, at 10 PM (ET/PT). Full episode descriptions follow:

Episode One
World Premiere: Tuesday, April 4, at 10 PM (ET/PT)

Six-month-old D.J. has been hospitalized most of his short life, and has had two unsuccessful surgeries to correct his heart. Linda, age 59, has been on the transplant list for a year and a half, living at home, assisted by medications. Follow both patients for eight weeks as D.J.'s health takes a turn for the worse and Linda is hospitalized for an extreme procedure to kill off the antibodies in her blood that have made her a poor candidate for transplant. Will they pull through and receive their much-needed new hearts?

Episode Two
World Premiere: Tuesday, April 11, at 10 PM (ET/PT)

Ken, age 48, and Rosario, age 58, are strong-willed and positive men, but they have severely weakened hearts and only months to live. When we meet them, Rosario has just received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) heart pump implanted in his chest to extend his life until a donor heart is found, and Ken has suffered a heart attack. After their transplant surgeries, Ken and Rosario push themselves to recover and are released on the same day -- Ken with a new human heart, Rosario with a titanium pump. The prognosis for both is excellent, but five days later one of the two organs tragically fails.

Episode Three
World Premiere: Tuesday, April 18, at 10 PM (ET/PT)

Sebastian, age 6, wants to be a fireman. Natima, age 8, loves to dance. Keith, age 34, is an aspiring rapper. All three look fine on the outside, but all of them need a heart transplant to survive another year. Follow them and their families for eight weeks and witness their joy and pain. Two of the patients eventually receive transplants, but one is on the operating table, anticipating a transplant, when the surgery is suddenly called off.

In partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Coalition on Donation, Discovery Health Channel continues its commitment to educate viewers about the importance of organ donation through its Life. Live it. Give it. campaign. In September 2004, the network launched the six-part series GIFT OF LIFE as part of the campaign. In addition to programming, Discovery Health continues to air PSAs featuring public figures with personal connections to the cause, including Chris Klug (the first transplant recipient to win an Olympic medal) and Deputy Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu.

TRANSPLANT! is produced for Discovery Health Channel by LMNO Productions. Executive producer for LMNO Productions is Eric Schotz. Executive producer for Discovery Health Channel is John Grassie.

TRANSPLANT! is made possible by SATURN and Metamucil.

Discovery Communications is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 160 countries and territories with 1.3 billion cumulative subscribers. DCI's over 90 networks of distinctive programming represent 25 network entertainment brands including TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Discovery en Espanol, Discovery Kids En Espanol, Discovery HD Theater, FitTV, Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir), Discovery Home & Health and Discovery Real Time. DCI's other properties consist of Discovery Education and Discovery Commerce, which operate 120 Discovery Channel Stores. DCI also distributes BBC America in the United States. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ:DISCA)(NASDAQ:DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder and Chairman.

Photos available at http://www.press.discovery.com/.

Source: Discovery Health Channel

CONTACT: Shannon Martin of Discovery Health Channel, +1-240-662-2245,
shannon_martin@discovery.com

Web site: http://www.discovery.com/

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