UPMC Receives Matching Gift Challenge Grant in Support of Cardiothoracic Transplantation Patient Assistance Fund
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 15, 2009 – Eugene Epstein, a resident of Newton, Pa., recently offered a matching gift challenge grant to support the UPMC Cardiothoracic Transplantation Patient Assistance Fund. The challenge grant will match other donations dollar for dollar up to $50,000 and serves as a memorial for Mr. Epstein’s brother Wesley, a heart transplant patient who died in 1998. The 60-day challenge will begin on Thursday, Oct. 15.
“My brother Wesley had a heart transplant at UPMC in 1986. At the time, it was a radical procedure that was relatively new,” Mr. Epstein said. “His transplant literally brought him back to life, and through this gift I wanted to give thanks for the extra years we spent together.”
Mr. Epstein’s donation will support the UPMC Cardiothoracic Transplantation Program’s Patient Assistance Fund, which provides temporary financial assistance for post-transplant patients who are struggling to cover the cost of medical equipment, prescriptions and other post-transplant care.
“This generous gesture from Mr. Epstein, who witnessed the transformative power of transplantation, presents an opportunity for many other donors to improve the lives of our patients after they leave the hospital,” said Yoshiya Toyoda, M.D., Ph.D., section head of Cardiothoracic Transplantation at the UPMC Heart, Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute.
Said Robert Kormos, M.D., director of UPMC’s Artificial Heart Program and co-director of the Heart Transplant Program, “It’s hard to overstate the importance of making sure our patients get the medicine and care they need to remain as healthy as possible following organ transplantation.”
In discussing his motivation for making the matching gift challenge grant, Mr. Epstein said, “I’ve felt a moral obligation to come up with a way to not only support transplantation, but to make my money work the most. I don’t want to just write a check, I want to provide an opportunity to encourage others to do their part.”
For more information or to make a donation, contact Michelle Houser at (412) 647-4241 or housermk@upmc.edu.