BigD

BigD has been getting some serious and well deserved ink of late. Dave has developed a software that matches kidney donors and recipients.  A kidney transplant recipient himself, David Jacobs has spent years and a small fortune giving back and trying to make a positive contribution.

Last week four kidney donors and their recipients got together and met for the first time in a circle of life. Jacobs created the computer software, Silverstone Matchgrid, that enabled four of the individuals to give their kidney to someone else, knowing their spouse or friend would get one in return.

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Kidney transplants are taking a quantum leap forward at one Bay Area hospital thanks to a new cloud-based computer program that matches donors with recipients. That new software is precisely how California Pacific Medical Center is suddenly performing simultaneous transplants involving eight to ten patients.
At a news conference where the donors and recipients in CPMC’s latest four-way kidney swap met each other, software developer David Jacobs – who was saved by a kidney transplant himself eight years ago – explained how he was inspired to create Silverstone Matchgrid.
“Being a recipient and living on this special time, I knew I had to do some special stuff,” he reasoned. “In some respects this is the best application of technology versus sharing your thoughts with your friends on Facebook.”
Jacobs said Matchgrid links kidney patients who might not survive, otherwise.
“What we’re doing now, in some respects, really wouldn’t be affordable or possible without some of this cloud computing. If I had to keep you know, hundreds of servers online, I couldn’t afford to. Neither could the hospitals afford to do this.”
CPMC has done 17 transplants through the federal government’s paired donation program, and an additional 44 using Jacobs’ system – which is only available locally.
He hopes to encourage other medical centers to start using the system, too.

I am happy to have BigDave as one of my closest friends and also so very proud of him and his tremendous accomplishments and sacrifices.