Steven was 'very frail' on a transplant waiting list — a personal fitness plan made him 'robust'

Steven McGowan, a 62-year-old grandfather of five from the Chicago area, was classed as 'very frail' while waiting for a kidney and liver transplant. Instead of simply waiting, he joined a 'prehabilitation' program — a personal exercise and food plan built for him by doctors, a physical therapist and a dietitian. Months later his team calls him 'robust', and he walks three to four miles a day. A new study of the program at Northwestern Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh, covering 355 liver transplant candidates, found nearly two-thirds improved their frailty score — a simple measure of grip strength, chair stands and balance. Those whose score rose by 0.4 points or more had roughly half the risk of dying while waiting for a transplant. Only about 10 transplant centers worldwide offer this kind of program.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: institutional program