Sunday, February 23, 2014

Soldier Donates Kidney to Fellow Medic

Gift of Life

From Washington Times, By Douglas Ernst

Soldier donates kidney to fellow medic: ‘If you want it, it’s yours’

One of the Seven Army Values is selfless service. A soldier from Pennsylvania took it to the next level by offering his kidney to a fellow medic.

Sgt. Joseph Love came to the aid of Sgt. Daniel “Pops” Famous when the Fort Indiantown Gap Army post soldier found out that Sgt. Famous’s polycystic kidney disease had taken a turn for the worse.

“I got all my medics together at the end of one drill and told them that they need to pick up their game because I was not going to be deploying with them,” Sgt. Love told a local station.

It was at that point that Sgt. Love began a monthslong series of tests to see if his kidneys were a match for his comrade.

“We all cared about Pops, about Sergeant Famous. He’s someone we respect and admire very much,” he told the station.

When Sgt. Love found out in August that he was a match, he broke the news to Sgt. Famous.

“I said, ‘Oh by the way, for the last five months I’ve been going through this testing process and I’m a match for your kidney. So, if you want it, it’s yours,’ and he was at loss for words, which he never is,” the local station reported.

Sgt. Famous is scheduled to undergo surgery before month is out.

“I was just thinking about how selfless and how wonderful of a gift this was for one person to give another person. He’s basically given me the gift of life,” he said.


From PerthNow News, Perth, Australia, by ELISA BLACK


A KIDNEY transplant recipient about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her surgery has called for organ donation to become mandatory.

Kathryn Cronin, 56, received a kidney in 1984 because of her polycystic kidney disease.

She was told at the time her kidney may last her five years - ten if she was lucky.

But in the almost 30 years since she was given the kidney, she has travelled the world, married, and given birth to son, Daniel, the child she calls “a miracle”.

Post-surgical medication meant Mrs Cronin was highly unlikely to conceive on her own. Multiple IVF attempts, including the use of donor eggs, failed, and she was told the only option left was adoption.

Six weeks later she fell pregnant naturally.

At the time, Mrs Cronin was one of the first women to give birth after a kidney transplant.

Today, more than 500 Australian and New Zealand women have given birth after a kidney transplant.

In 2012, there were 845 kidney transplants in Australia — 88 of those were in SA.

“If I hadn’t received my transplant I wouldn’t have had a second chance at life,’’ she said.

“The joy of marriage, of travelling overseas, the joy of having my son. None of that would have happened without my transplant.”

DonateLife Week begins on Monday, with a rose-planting ceremony at Bonython Park to remember donors, and Mrs Cronin is eager for the public to understand that people can have a normal life after receiving a transplant, and that mandatory donations would be a way to ensure many more people received the lifesaving organs they so desperately need.

“I am forever thankful to the family that made the decision to give me their loved one’s kidney,’’ she said.

“Being a mum is what I always wanted to be and I am now a registered organ donor as well. I can’t donate my kidneys, but I can give everything else. By donating organs you are not just helping one person, it can help 11, 12 people to have a better life.”

Donate Life SA state medical director Dr Sally Tideman said the five-year survival rates for kidney transplant today were at 93 to 95 per cent and data published by the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry shows that the longest surviving kidney donor recipient to date has lived for 43 years since their surgery.

The Rose Planting Ceremony will be held at Bonython Park’s Gift of Life garden at 10am.
Thursday, March 27, 2014, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. CDT

Presented by PKD Patients

Do you have questions about renal replacement? Is your physician telling you it is time to prepare for dialysis or transplant? If you answer yes to these questions, our latest webinars may help you be your best advocate as you enter the conversation about renal replacement with your health care team.



PKD Fundraising

From Charlotte Observer, By Reid Creager, Correspondent

Bad beards put to good use

Gaston Day School’s Facial Hair February is that rare chance for teachers and administrators to raise money for a good cause while lowering their standards for personal grooming.

In the spirit of playoff beards – those wince-worthy wild whiskers worn by professional athletes – the school’s informal competition is one in which the best and worst beard is one and the same. Or at least that’s what students’ donations seem to be saying.

“The uglier the beard, the more money you raise, in my opinion,” says GDS high school principal Greg Rainey, returning to the event this year as one of 10 contestants. “The less you sculpt it, the less you shape it, the more money.”

Rainey, a regular since the event started in 2008, speaks from experience. Social Studies chair John Nussbaumer speaks as last year’s champion.

“My beard tends to come in kind of ugly, kind of a reddish-blonde,” he says. “It’s not the most appealing thing in the world, but the kids like it. I purposely do not grow a beard any other time of year.”

Nor does the 44-year-old Rainey: “Some people really enjoy their beards. Mine feels like Velcro. … It tends to hold food and other tissue-type items. It’s not my favorite thing to grow on my face – and I’m getting old, so there’s gray on the chin.”

Whether they’re occasional or full-time beard wearers, participants enjoy the camaraderie with students and helping the community. Head of School Anderson Davis Warlick says all proceeds from the contest, which contributes to a different charitable organization each year, will benefit the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation to help support one of the school’s students, who is fighting the illness.

Warlick participated in 2013 but is sitting out this year. “I volunteered,” he says. “I actually raised a lot of money because people felt sorry for me last year. But I think they probably wanted to go with younger teachers, who kids will get excited about.”

Eight-by-10 pictures of Rainey, Nussbaumer, Troy Carter, Wesley Cox, Casey Field, Marc Gray, Greg Lekavich, Trent McAllister, Dylan Phillips and Ben Tipton appear on a wall in the school’s student commons area and are updated each week with a close-up of the teacher’s beard. Middle and upper school students and parents can contribute cash, loose change and checks in jars beneath the respective photos.

All participants shave when February ends, with the winner expected to be announced during the school’s community homeroom the first Monday of March. [Read more]

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/22/4705402/bad-beards-put-to-good-use.html#.UwopgvldU7E#storylink=cpy




PKD Treatments

From PRWeb, Press Release - audio message

Kidney Disease Solution Review | Learn How to Treat Kidney Diseases Naturally – HealthReviewCenter



Kidney Disease Solution designed by Duncan Capicchiano is the latest program that covers a list of natural and safe remedies to treat kidney diseases. A full review on the site HealthReviewCenter.com indicates if Kidney Disease Solution is worth buying.

Kidney Disease Solution is the latest program that covers a list of natural and safe remedies to treatkidney diseases such as sarcoidosis renal disease, lupus kidney disease and polycystic kidney disease, and healthy diet plans to prevent the recurrence of these diseases. This program is made by Duncan Capicchiano, a full member of the ANMS (Australian Natural Medicine Society) and fully qualified naturopath who is specializing in nutrition, [Read more]


Kidney News

From ChemistryWorld, by Rowan Frame

Zeolite–polymer composite adsorbs uremic toxins

Scientists in Japan have developed a nanofibre mesh that can adsorb creatinine from blood with the hope that it can eventually be developed into a wearable blood-cleaning device for patients with kidney failure.
Kidney failure causes dangerous concentrations of waste products, such as potassium, urea and creatinine, to build-up in the body. Apart from having a kidney transplant, the next best solution for patients is dialysis. Dialysis, however, is far from ideal. It is time-consuming and relies on access to specialist equipment, clean water, electricity, dialysate, and, usually, a hospital. Often these requirements aren’t accessible in rural parts of developing countries and disaster areas.

Dialysis works according to the principles of diffusion, but Mitsuhiro Ebara and his team at the National Institute of Materials Science in Ibaraki have taken a different approach and developed a material that cleans blood by adsorption.

Zeolites are adsorbent minerals commonly used in water purification technologies. Different zeolites have different pore sizes meaning they can be used to selectively adsorb specific solutes. Ebara’s group trapped a zeolite into a composite mesh by electrospinning it with the biocompatible polymer, poly(ethylene-co-vinylalcohol) (EVOH), to prevent the zeolite from being released into the bloodstream. They then tested the ability of the composite mesh to adsorb creatinine from solution. The team had worried that the properties of EVOH would disable the adsorption properties of the zeolite, but instead they found the adsorption capacity of the mesh was 67% of the free zeolites.

The greatest challenge was precisely controlling the crystallinity of the polymer-zeolite fibers so that they were both insoluble and hydrophilic, says Ebara. ‘The fibers have to be hydrophilic so that the uremic toxin could access the embedded zeolites, but hydrophilic fibers are not stable in water.’

Ebara’s team calculated that a 16g mesh is enough to remove all the creatinine produced in one day by the human body. They are now designing a wrist-watch sized device that can be connected to the shunt that hemodialysis patients generally have inserted under their skin, as a more accessible and cheap alternative to dialysis treatment. [Read more]



From Kansas City Star, Associated Press

U-M gets $8.5 million for kidney data collection


ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The federal government has awarded an $8.5 million, five-year contract to the University of Michigan's Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center to coordinate the United States Renal Data System.

The national data system collects, analyzes and distributes information about patients with chronic kidney disease.
The university announced the contract Thursday, saying that about 13 percent of Americans have chronic kidney disease. It says that each year, 100,000 Americans develop end-stage kidney disease that requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The coordinating center works with the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide a range of data services.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/20/4838670/u-m-gets-85-million-for-kidney.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/20/4838670/u-m-gets-85-million-for-kidney.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/20/4838670/u-m-gets-85-million-for-kidney.html#storylink=cpy

Monday, February 17, 2014

Organ Donation - Brings New Life to Two People

Gift of Life

From The Guardian, London, England, by Amelia Gentleman

Organ donation: A kidney donor dies – and brings new life to two people


As Mrs X begins to die in a lilac-painted hospital side room, surrounded by her husband and children who are perched on a semi-circle of purple plastic chairs, a team of surgeons and nurses is making preparations for her afterlife. In an operating theatre a few metres down the corridor, a six-person team of organ retrieval specialists has arrived to remove her kidneys, her liver and possibly her corneas.

It is midnight on a wet weekday night, and it isn't clear how long they will be here waiting. Once the extubation process (the removal of the breathing tube) begins, death needs to happen within three hours or the organs will no longer be in a fit state to be used. A square bag, not unlike a picnic cooler bag, filled with ice, labelled Human Tissue, is prepared and a courier is on standby.

Hospitals around the country have already been contacted to establish where the organs should go, and not long after the nurses have switched off the breathing apparatus, Mr Y gets a phone call, telling him to pack his bags and make his way to hospital as quickly as possible. He is at a late-night church service, so he asks the pastor to drive him in.

Elsewhere, another possible recipient receives a midnight call, and is summoned to a third hospital to await the second kidney.

For the operations to be successful, the removal of the organs and the transplant must happen very swiftly. Complex arrangements begin around lunchtime when Mrs X's family are made to understand that there is no hope of her recovering from the catastrophic heart attack that brought her to hospital two weeks earlier, and agree that it is time to let her die.

She has signed the organ donor register, and the family have supported her request, so a specialist nurse for organ donation (shortened with the ugly acronym Snod), has been paged in to help them, and to launch the laborious job of searching for the best recipients. If a recipient is found on the other side of the country, then air transport will have to be arranged, because once the kidney is out of the body there is only a 12-hour transplantation window, otherwise its functions begin to deteriorate.

The Snod is here before the donor has died, before the recipients even know their lives are about to be transformed by the long-awaited arrival of an organ. He will be here for a day's work that won't end until early the following morning, supporting the family through the process, performing the last offices on the donor, washing and dressing the body and placing her in a shroud once the organs have been removed.

The family has had two weeks coming to understand that their mother will not survive, so they are better prepared for the process than many. Doctors have scanned her head, established that there is an unsurvivable brain injury, and concluded that it would be in her best interests to withdraw treatment. In her late 50s, the dying patient is not too old to donate her organs. "Kidneys have no sell-by date," a doctor says.

The nurse has spent much of the afternoon talking to them, explaining what will happen. Families find it easier to talk to nurses than doctors. "Sometimes you have to explain information again and again and again, because they are at a stage of such great grief that we have to ensure they have understood. Doctors are not very good at having this conversation. They use medical terms people don't understand. It is a lot of information to take in. The consultant on the intensive care ward will be looking after 22 people. Nurses have more time. Families feel they can ask the silly question," he says.

Some families are uncertain about what their relative would have wanted, and staff wish this was a subject people were more ready to discuss. "We are asking people to do something for others at a time that is so devastating for them. It is an awful time to be asking someone this information. A lot of families say no because they don't know what their relatives would have wanted," he says. NHS Blood and Transplant(NHSBT) figures show that despite the fact that most people either want to donate their organs, or would consider it, only half have talked to their families about it. Figures also show that seven out of 10 families opt not to give permission for their relative's organs to be donated, if they don't know their wishes. [Read More]



From WISN, Milwaukee, WI, By Toni Valliere

Those waiting for kidney transplant out number donors 2 to 1

Carl Vowels, 45, prepares to do peritoneal dialysis every night before bed.

"It basically draws the fluid out of your blood stream through the peritoneal cavity," Vowels said. "If I don't do that on a daily basis, within two days I'd probably be at a point where I'd die."

Vowel was diagnosed with kidney disease at 18, but in 2008, it became kidney failure, and he was put on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.

"I have no functioning (kidney) right now, none. I can function with one, and that's all I'm going to get is one," Vowels said.

Dialysis is what keeps him alive, but so he's tired it prevents him from taking part in life.

His wife, Michelle Vowels, said his illness has changed their lives.

"And I'm the only one that can drive the kids around, and take them to the places they need to go and go to their swim meets, and get them to their rehearsals and fill up the gas tank, and get the groceries and yeah," Michelle Vowels said. [Read more]



From CHCH, Hamilton, Ontario

Neighbour gives a kidney

A Dundas father in need of a new kidney took to Facebook to find a donor – but as it turns out, his perfect match was living just a street away.

Arie Pekar has polycystic kidney disease, or PKD.

“The kidneys grow several times the size. mine are about the size of footballs, normally they should be the size of your fist.”

As the name suggests, the disease causes multiple cysts take over the kidneys to the point where they are no longer able to function properly — hence the dialysis machine in his basement.

Pekar has known he’s had PKD since high school when doctors noticed he had high blood pressure. They said the 35 year old wouldn’t have to worry about the disease until he was in his 50s – but things progressed quickly.

“Once I graduated university cysts started rupturing a lot of pain. and that’s when they started to follow me a bit closer.”

And now, Pekar is in need of a new kidney. He’s been looking for a donor for about three years.

“They basically say ‘OK, go find a donor and come back. and find a donor.. come back and we’ll do it this year preemptively”

As if finding a living donor isn’t hard enough, PKD is genetic. Pekar’s mother has it and is in need of a kidney herself. He set up a Facebook page called Mom and me need a kidney to raise awareness”. That’s where family friend Darren Kudlats – who just lives down the road from the Pekars – comes in.

“Even the doctors at the hospital were surprised. Next to being twins we have a very close compatibility.”

Finding such a donor in the same country let alone living 500 meters away is highly unlikely.

Pekar says it’s amazing that a friend would step up to do this. “He’s as close to me as family.”

And when you ask Kudlats why he decided to donate an organ, it seems he didn’t think twice. “I was his friend and he needed a kidney. I guess I stepped up.”

The men will go into surgery February 20th. And hopefully, it’s a match made in Hamilton.



From LA Times, By Melissa Healy


For the roughly 6,000 people each year who give up a kidney to someone in need of a transplant in the United States, a new study finds that generosity may come at a price: a roughly tenfold increased risk of kidney failure in the 15 years following their donation.

That increased risk, however, tells only half the story -- and not, depending on how you look at things, the more important half.

In the 15 years after he or she goes under the knife, a live kidney donor has a 0.3% likelihood of developing end-stage kidney disease requiring chronic dialysis or a transplant, researchers from Johns Hopkins University have found. While that is higher than the .04% probability he or she would have had as a nondonor, the fact is that kidney failure remains a highly improbable outcome.

The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., is the first to assess both the absolute risk a kidney donor faces after the operation and the added risk he or she incurs as a result of it. It comes at a time when the gap between those needing a kidney transplant and the availability of the organs is vast: About 93,000 Americans are in line awaiting an available kidney, and most will wait at least five years before a kidney from a deceased donor becomes available.

Living donors -- relatives, friends and increasingly strangers -- are narrowing that gap. In 2011, 42.5% of kidney transplants came from living donors, with more than 31,000 such procedures performed in over 100 countries. And while donors are told the loss of a kidney cannot be without risk, they haven't had many hard facts to guide them in their decision. Now, they do.

“The extra risk they're taking from donating a kidney was very low,” said Johns Hopkins University transplant surgeon Dorry L. Segev, who led researchers in reviewing the records of all 96,217 people who donated a kidney for transplantation in the United States between April 1994 and November 2011. “It's actually very reassuring,” he added.

Crucial to this finding is the fact that kidney donors are not only unusually generous: They are also, as a group, unusually healthy. Compared with the U.S. population at large, they start with a much smaller risk of going on to develop kidney disease.

When you take their chance of developing end-stage kidney disease and multiply it by 10, said Segev, “the result is still a very low number.” [Read more]


ATLANTA, Feb. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved the start of the first human clinical trials in the United States for the Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK) designed by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Victor Gura, MD the inventor of this technology. The announcement was made during the opening session on Sunday of the Annual Dialysis Conference taking place in Atlanta.

The WAK from Blood Purification Technologies is a winner of the FDA award Innovation 2.0 an award from the FDA. The FDA Innovation program is intended to assist developers of dialysis technologies in obtaining accelerated approval to reach patients in a safe, timely, and collaborative manner.

Gura, a physician at Cedars Sinai Hospital and a Clinical Associate Professor from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA commented:

"Our scientific team worked intensely for about a year in close collaboration with a dedicated team from the Center of Devices and Radiological Health of the FDA to make this approval happen.

"We are especially grateful to the talented hard working team from the FDA for their support and guidance in achieving this milestone. It establishes the FDA's commitment to bring about changes in healthcare through innovative technologies developed in the US."

Gura added: "Since its inception, more than 50 years ago little has changed in the way we deliver dialysis with machines that immobilize patients for many hours. Chronic dialysis is neither natural nor physiological as we replace the natural function of a human organ with a machine. However given the deadly alternative and the lack of available organs for transplant it is the best alternative we can offer to patients with kidney failure. While the dialysis industry appears to be faring well, dialysis has become institutionalized and, satisfied with what we have wrought in this field, we continue piling small improvements on top of other minor advances in dialysis technology and that ultimately current dialysis technology is entrapped in its own net for failure to break out in new directions. On the other hand the WAK has the potential of radically changing the way dialysis is provided and might offer substantial costs reductions, and the hope of improving quality of life and decreasing mortality in dialysis patients."

Gura also indicated that the WAK clinical trials will be carried out in several academic medical centers of excellence including the University of Washington and other major universities in the US. [Read more]



From Bayside Bulletin, Australia

Kidney health campaign fires up

THE team at the Redland Hospital renal dialysis unit fired up the barbecue last Wednesday in support of Kidney Health Australia.

The fun event was part of the organisation's Big Red BBQ campaign, which raises awareness of kidney disease while challenging groups and individuals to use at a barbecue five 'secret' kidney-friendly foods that are low in salt and potassium.

The Redland Hospital barbecue featured turmeric, couscous, strawberries, spinach and corn.

Redland Hospital has a 12-chair renal dialysis unit that cares for more than 42 patients.

The hospital also cares for 30 kidney transplant patients.

Dialysis patient Tarina Griggs, of Capalaba, said she lost her kidney function 18 years ago when she had an undiagnosed urinary tract infection.

Tarina said she had dialysis at Redland Hospital three times each week, for five hours each time.

"It's a good unit and I can't complain about having dialysis it's keeping me alive," she said.

Kidney Health project officer Amber Wilson, of Thornlands, who had a kidney transplant 12 years ago, said 1.3 million Australians had undiagnosed kidney disease.

"There are no warning signs of the disease, which means a person can lose up to 90 per cent of kidney function before experiencing any symptoms," she said.

Amber encouraged people to help protect their kidneys by staying active, eating a healthy diet, and asking their GP for a kidney function test.

For further information about kidney health, visit www.kidney.org.au



From inloughborough, Leicester, England

Exercise provides hope for kidney disease patients and their vulnerable hearts

A Leicester doctor has become the first renal physician in the country to be awarded the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinician Scientist Award. The fellowship, worth more than £1 million, will fund a five-year study into the effects of exercise on heart disease in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects approximately eight per cent of the population and is increasing due to rising obesity, diabetes and hypertension levels.

Surprisingly, heart disease – not kidney disease – is the primary cause of death for patients on dialysis who are up 100 times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than members of the general population.

Unfortunately traditional methods used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, for example controlling diet, lowering cholesterol and good management of diabetes, have shown to be completely ineffective at improving outcomes in this patient group.

The new study will look at the effects and benefits of exercise on heart health in 130 patients with end stage kidney disease across the Leicestershire renal network. It is expected that the research will confirm that exercise during dialysis is safe, well-tolerated, and improves both the quality of life and cardiac health of dialysis patients.

Award recipient, Dr James Burton, Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at the University of Leicester and Leicester General Hospital, explained: “There is something unique about patients with kidney disease who have very vulnerable hearts and so we need to start thinking outside the box to develop new therapies to reduce their risk of heart disease.

“Our dialysis patients come for treatment within the Leicester network for four hours three times a week, which makes them a captive audience. We want to use this time to encourage them to exercise. Cycling is the best form of exercise for these patients as it uses the most muscle groups and won’t interfere with their treatment, so we will be asking them to cycle for half an hour during each dialysis session.

“We all know exercise is good for us, but after spending three days a week in hospital, the last thing these patients want to do is go to the gym. Therefore if we can offer them an individualised exercise plan during their treatment, we hope to help the patients feel even better and live longer, reducing their risk of heart disease.”

A specially-adapted exercise bike will be utilised so that patients can undertake supervised exercise for half an hour, three times a week whilst undergoing their dialysis treatment. Previous studies have shown that exercise can improve the quality of life of patients on dialysis, but this will be the first of its kind to investigate the impact of cardiac health in this group. [Read more]

Sunday, February 9, 2014

New Canadian Guideline Recommends Delaying Kidney Dialysis

Kidney Dialysis

From MedicalXpress

New guideline recommends delaying dialysis for chronic kidney disease

For asymptomatic adults with chronic kidney disease who will need dialysis, an intent-to-defer approach is recommended over an earlier start, according to a new guideline from the Canadian Society of Nephrology published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).


The guideline panel recommends an "intent-to-defer" strategy over an "intent-to-start" early approach, in which patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) below 15 mL/ min per 1.73 m2 are closely monitored by a nephrologist. Dialysis is initiated when clinical indications emerge or the eGFR is 6 mL/min per 1.73 m2 or less, whichever of these occurs first.

The recommendation is based on evidence from 23 studies, including the Initiating Dialysis Early and Late (IDEAL) study, a large recent clinical trial that looked at survival rates, costs and other factors in early versus deferred start of dialysis. The study also found that there were substantially higher costs per patient with early initiation of dialysis.

"There was no detectable evidence of benefit with intent-to-start-early as compared with intent-to-defer dialysis for mortality, quality of life or hospital admission in either the RCT or the observational studies," writes Dr. Louise Moist, guideline chair, professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University and a scientist with the Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario. "Time on dialysis and associated resource use were significantly greater in the intent-to-start-early group. For an asymptomatic patient, an intent-to-defer approach avoids the burden and inconvenience of an early start."

Chronic kidney disease impairs patients' quality of life, and dialysis places substantial burdens on both the patient and the health care system. "This later start of dialysis will place less burden on [patients and their families] as it can delay the start of dialysis in asymptomatic patients for approximately six months," states Dr. Moist.  [Read more]



From MarketWatch.com, News Release

Nipro Medical Corporation Introduces State-of-the-Art ELISIO(TM) Polynephron(TM) Dialyzer

MIAMI, FL, Feb 06, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Nipro Medical Corporation, a subsidiary for North & South America Sales and Marketing of Nipro Corporation in Japan, a world leader in dialyzer design and manufacturing, today announced the introduction of the ELISIO(TM) Polynephron(TM) Single Use, High-Flux, Hollow-Fiber Dialyzer. The ELISIO(TM) features a state-of-the-art Polynephron(TM) membrane similar in function to that of a human kidney delivering outstanding biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and solute-removal performance, resulting in superior clearances for better patient outcomes. The ELISIO(TM) Polynephron Dialyzer has received 510(K) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The product is designed for the renal market, targeting those involved in care and procedures for kidney disease and dialysis.

"Nipro dialyzers have been the preferred product for dialysis around the globe for the past 30 years," said Joe Dawson, Senior Vice President, Nipro North America. "The introduction of the ELISIO(TM) dialyzer builds on our strategy of becoming a complete and cost-effective dialysis solutions leader, offering blood tubing lines, fistulas needles, and now dialyzers to our dialysis market partners in the U.S. market. ELISIO(TM) is designed to deliver an elevated benefits platform to the market, especially in clearance performance of small to middle molecules, and it delivers on these objectives."

The sophisticated ELISIO(TM) membrane provides thousands of fibers where each fiber acts like a nephron -- the functional unit of the kidney, responsible for the actual purification and filtration of the blood. A 3D chemical structure affords an ideal mixture of hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains, while reducing membrane fouling and maximizing membrane performance. [Read more]



From Canton Rep, Canton, Ohio by Jim Hillibish

Say a prayer for Veronica, the unforgettable soul of Aultman 
Editor's note: Black History Month is a time for schools, churches and the media to remember the contributions of African-Americans in all walks of life. People without a history are never whole. Many of the stories are often told but worth repeating. This is a story about an African-American woman known dearly to a small community of people at a frightful time of their lives. She convinced them that every day is a gift of light.

Part of the orientation of new patients starting kidney dialysis was to sit a spell with Veronica Thomas, a living legend (but never call her that to her face) at Aultman Hospital. We needed her, desperately.

"She was our first patient. She was here for so long, it was 'been there, done that' when she talked to our new patients. If something went wrong, she always understood," said Kathy Sirean, receptionist at the Dialysis Center.

Veronica was Aultman's first and longest-living kidney dialysis patient. Her 32-year career (we view dialysis as a job) on the blood-cleansing machines spanned much of the modern history of this life-giving treatment. Veronica was the pathfinder for thousands of patients to come. Even though she passed nearly a decade ago, my memory of her hasn't faded. [Read more]




Gift of Life

From Donaldsonville Chief, Donaldsonville, LA, by DERON TALLEY, EDITOR

Baby brother; the hero

In 1999 Tamiko Garrison found out she had a polycystic kidney disease that was hereditary from her father who had a transplant that year. She only found out when she tried to donate her kidney to save her father’s life. At that moment she knew at some point in her life she’d be asking for a donor. The time came in 2012 when she got sick. She went to her nephrologists in January of 2013 and she learned it was time for dialysis. After a couple of procedures in March, she began dialysis at home – also known as peritoneal. She was put on a transplant list in June. While waiting, from August to Jan. 21, 2014, Garrison did dialysis five times a day – until her hero arrived. Doctors found a kidney match, a perfect match.

“I kind of put the word out to my family, but some of them couldn’t do it because they had medical issues,” Garrison said, who works as the Executive Director of AMIKids in Baton Rouge. “So I had two potential donors that were a perfect match: my brother and another lady in Baton Rouge who decided that she was going to do it.”

Doctors pick the best match for organ donations, which is usually a family member. Garrison’s younger brother, Bernard Francis, Jr., was selected to be the donor to save Garrison’s life.
After Francis passed all the tests and doctors cleared him, it was only a matter of time to pick a date and time to go to Tulane Medical Center to have the surgery.

Francis, who works as the District Manager for Assumption Waterworks, declined to comment on the story, he didn’t want the publicity.

“That’s not why I wanted to do this, it was done out of love and for nothing else,” Francis said.
Garrison said having her younger brother save her life is good and bad.

“You don’t want anybody you know to suffer because if he’s feeling what I’m feeling right now, oh Lord,” Garrison said. “But I’m glad he did. I’m happy that he did it because it’s a better match having a family member.”

“If I could’ve chose I wouldn’t have chose him because I don’t want to see him suffer but I’m glad he did.”
“Needless to say, no more dialysis, thank you Jesus because that was a pain in the butt,” Garrison said at home resting after the procedure. [Read more]


PKD News

From PKD Foundation of Canada

January 2014 PKD e-News

Upcoming Webinar: Straight Talk About Transplantation

What happens when you are told you need a kidney transplant? Melissa Blevins, RN, MS, will walk us through the process beginning when your physician tells you it is time to consider a kidney transplant. Learn more about what to look for in a transplant centre, the medical professional team that will be answering your questions and helping you navigate the process, tests and evaluations required for transplant recipients and living donors, transplant costs, insurance coverage and much more. Transplant recipients will also share their experience and an expert panel will answer questions following the presentation.


PKD Health Notes

We all know drinking water is good for us, but are flavored waters just as good as plain water? Are they better in some cases? This month in PKD Health Notes, Renal Dietician Kelly Welsh helps us to understand what to watch out for when getting our daily water intake. [Read more]



Sunday, February 2, 2014

Blood Drives Critical to PKD Dialysis Survival

Blood Drives for PKD

From Statesman.com, Austin, TX, by Sarah Acosta

Critical need for blood in Bastrop County

Bastrop County resident Kim Olson was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease in 1992, consequently losing both kidneys to the disease.

In order to survive, Olson must have dialysis treatments three times a week, during which toxic blood from the lack of kidneys is filtered and replaced with new blood.

“Blood donations save lives, including my own,” she said. “I would not be here today if the blood necessary for my transfusions and dialysis was not available to me.”

With the help of many local fundraisers and blood drives, Olson is now able to care for herself and is currently in the process of moving into her own place in Smithville.

Olson has had several blood transfusions over the past few years. Each transfusion required a large amount of O positive blood to replace a lack of blood produced due to her illness.

Currently, the Blood Center of Central Texas needs Type O blood donors, as well as other types, due to critical level of blood supply on the shelves. “Type O blood is the most requested blood type from hospitals because it is the universal blood type that can be transfused to anyone,” said Cindy Rowe, spokesperson.

Rowe said January is historically a month when donations are low because people are busy catching up from the holiday season and the change in weather during winter months brings with it more illnesses – largely contributing to the reduction of donations, she added.

Now, local residents have the opportunity to help shore up those critically-needed supplies.

On Feb. 5, a mobile blood drive will be at Kay’s CafĂ© off Texas 71, between Smithville and Bastrop, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.“By donating once a quarter, you can save eight lives a year,” said Smithville blood drive coordinator Brenda Hofferek. “I’ve been donating blood for 30 years because, for me, it’s a simple way of giving back.” [Read more]



Gift of Life

From Austin Daily Herald, Austin, Minnesota, by Rocky Hulne

Austin woman receives kidney donation from her bowling partner’s son

For the last 45 years, Austin resident Jeneielle Soucek has gotten together with Kathy Morse to go bowling on most Tuesday nights.

But Soucek nearly had to give up bowling and a lot more when she was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease last year. Soucek, who is 69 years old, was told to begin looking for a living donor as the waiting list for a kidney is about five years.... [Read more]



From Fox 29, San Antonio, TX


SAN ANTONIO -- It is one of the biggest kidney transplant exchanges in a single hospital and it's happening right now in San Antonio.

The Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital is hosting the massive exchange, which involves ten donors and ten recipients.

Christy Flores is one of the patients receiving a kidney.

"Dialysis is hard. It's hard on the body. It's hard on the mind. But I feel very blessed that I have family that is brave enough to do it," she says.

Christy's husband, Chad, will be one of the patients donating a kidney.

"You know, marriage is until death do us part and I could have died twice already. So I guess he really enjoys being married to me," she jokes.

Dr. Adam Bingaman says couples like Chad and Christy were put in a database with other donors to be matched up because they were not a match for each other.

"These folks that have come to us, that have a donor that wants to give them a kidney to get them off dialysis, but are not a match," he says.

The exchange took a few months to organize. While most of the people involved are from South Texas, there is a pair from Kansas and another from Italy.

It will take 20 surgeries over the course of three days to accomplish the massive feat. But everyone involved says they're doing it in hopes everyone can have a normal life.

"The most unselfish thing someone can do is give them the gift of life," says Christy. "And I'm very grateful... Extremely grateful." [Read more]



Kidney Dialysis

From Mayo Clinic.org

Kidney dialysis: When is it time to stop?

Question:
My 82-year-old husband has been on kidney dialysis for a year. He is not a good candidate for a kidney transplant. How will we know when dialysis is no longer working and should be discontinued?

Answers from Erik P. Castle, M.D.

Kidney dialysis does some of the work of your kidneys when your kidneys are unable to do it themselves. This includes removing excess fluids and waste products from your blood, restoring electrolyte levels and helping to control your blood pressure.

To determine how well kidney dialysis is working, your husband's doctor can check his weight and blood pressure before and after each session. Regular blood tests, such as those measuring urea and creatinine levels, also help assess the effectiveness of the treatment.

Kidney dialysis is only part of your husband's treatment. He must also adjust to fluid and dietary restrictions and take medications. In addition, dialysis affects his time and schedule. Activities must be scheduled around the treatments. Dialysis may leave your husband feeling "washed out." Worsening health, depression and complications of dialysis may also affect how your husband feels about continuing treatment.

If the dialysis medical team doesn't periodically review your husband's overall situation, ask them to do so. These periodic reviews — which should include input from you and your husband — are important in determining how well the treatment is working.

If your husband is frustrated with a specific treatment or another medical problem, discuss it with his doctor. His doctor may be able to make some changes in the treatment that could improve his situation.

There may come a time when your husband feels he wants to stop kidney dialysis. Although he has the right to discontinue treatment, it's important to discuss the decision carefully with loved ones as well as your husband's treatment team. [Read more]



From NephrologyNews.com, News Release

NRAA plans special programs for small dialysis providers on ESCOs

The National Renal Administrators Association is gearing up for education programs in the next two weeks that will help independent dialysis providers better understand how they can be a part of the integrated care movement.

The Integrated Care Model, ESCOs and Envisioning the Future

A strategic webinar for the independent provider

Integrated care has a significant role in the future of the dialysis industry and involves taking responsibility for coordination of all care received by patients with kidney disease, beginning well before the commencement of dialysis. It also includes a strong patient education component. In this webinar, the NRAA and the Renal Services Exchange will help educate NRAA members on how to participate in a broader approach to integrated care and provide support to members who are considering forming or participating in ESRD Seamless Care Organizations.

Date: Feb. 4 (requires NRAA membership), 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm ET

Register at www.nraa.org/index.php/news-meetings-top/webinars


Integrated care and ESRD Seamless Care Organizations: What an independent provider needs to know about participating in an ESCO

Dates: Feb. 17-18

Location: Grand Hyatt Dallas Fort Worth, 2337 South International Parkway, Dallas

Open to NRAA and non-NRAA members

[Read more]



From Standard Digital, Kenya, By JOE OMBUOR

Kidney ailments rise but services remain remote

A consultant physician and kidney specialist Anthony Were says about 10 per cent of the 40 million Kenyans have some form of kidney disease. “Out of these, about 800 patients per year develop kidney failure yet the services available can only take care of about 200 patients per year. The sad fact of the matter is that over 7,800 Kenyans die of kidney failure every year due to lack of access to kidney treatment, more than twice the number of the people we lose in road accidents,” says Dr Were. 

He says that at Sh9,000 per session, dialysis in private hospitals is beyond the reach of ordinary Kenyans whose only option is to queue for the limited machines at public referral hospitals or painfully wait for death at home. Kenyatta National Hospital has 11 working machines, each of which does three dialysis sessions per day at Sh5,000 per session. The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) pays Sh2, 500 per session for member patients. 

Were says patients on dialysis need two to three sessions per week to lead a near normal life. He describes as regrettable the policy by insurance companies not to cover dialysis and the fact that NHIF does not subsidise dialysis at private medical facilities. 

Commenting on kidney transplant, Were describes the surgery that requires a donated kidney as the most effective remedy for the ailment despite its limitations. 

“These include the hassle of getting a right, willing donor, the high cost charged at private hospitals, the shortage of specialist doctors and the dearth of facilities at public hospitals. Though expensive to pull through, transplant is cheaper in the long run and gives best quality of life. 

Interlife programme 

“Kidney transplant at high-end private hospitals in Nairobi exclusive of requisite tests and drugs costs Sh1.5 million. In India preferred by patients due to immediate attention costs Sh2 million. The same operation costs Sh300,000 at Kenyatta National Hospital,” explains Dr Were. 

The specialist says the cost at KNH would be cheaper by as much as Sh50,000 if tissue typing to avoid rejection of a donated organ was done locally. Currently, the test is done in South Africa. 

“It costs Sh70,000 to fly tissue samples to South Africa and back for the vital scrutiny. It would cost Sh20,000 to Sh30,000 if we had a recommended laboratory facility to do it locally,” he says. Were decries Kenyan laws governing kidney transplants, describing them as an impediment to moving forward. 

“Our laws allow only living related transplants (transplants with kidneys donated by living relatives) as opposed to non relatives or cadaveric sources. Our law makers need to move with speed to change such archaic provisions to increase the availability of kidneys for deserving patients as happens elsewhere. [Read more]