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AMERICAN ORGAN TRANSPLANT ASSOCIATION HONORS DENTON ARTHUR COOLEY, M.D.

Houston , Texas …The American Organ Transplant Association (AOTA) will present Dr. Denton Cooley with the Gift to Mankind Award this Sunday, October 3rd at the Intercontinental Hotel in Houston . The black tie event, which begins at 6:30 with a reception and silent auction, will present Dr. Cooley his award during the 8:00PM dinner and awards ceremony.

In 1955 Dr. Cooley developed the heart-lung machine for use in surgery. He also performed the first open-heart surgery in the south. In 1968 he performed the first successful heart transplant in the United States . He and his team have performed over 100,000 open-heart operations at his hospital. Today, more than 800 surgeons are members of the Cooley Surgical Society.

In addition to Dr. Cooley's award, Continental Airlines will be presented with the Corporate Spirit Award for its partnership with AOTA. Since December of 1987, Continental has been providing complimentary vouchers for transplant patients, donors and their families to travel throughout the United States for the continuum of their transplant care.

The American Organ Transplant Association was founded in 1986 to help patients lead happy, productive lives by helping them to obtain and sustain transplantation. This is done: (1) By providing fundraising assistance for patients needing a life-saving transplant and aftercare; (2) By arranging for free airfare and/or bus transportation to and from the transplant center for evaluation, surgery and aftercare (3) By providing access to transplantation resources through our website, by email or phone; (4) By promoting organ, marrow & tissue donation.