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U.S. Army Veteran Gets Triple the Chance At Life, with Utah’s First Triple Organ Transplant

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“Decades of planning put physicians at University of Utah Health in the position to save a United States Army veteran whose life was hanging by a thread, as three of his major organs were failing.

“He was so, so, so, so sick,” said Dr. Craig Selzman, surgical director of the heart and lung transplant program at University of Utah Hospital. “We didn’t really think he had a chance.”

Keith Baker, 58, started with heart failure, a condition that worsened over time and ultimately caused irreparable damage to his kidneys. Not long after that, the Yuma, Arizona, native was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. With triple organ failure, he was not believed to be a good candidate for transplant, said Dr. Josef Stehlik, surgeon and director of the heart transplant program at the U.”

Read the full story, here.

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‘Kidney’ vs ‘Renal’: Experts Say Words Matter

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Most Patients Don’t Know What Renal Means

“KDIGO collaborated with Standardised Outcomes in Nephrology (SONG) to conduct 10 focus groups with 54 patients and 13 caregivers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. These revealed the patients’ attitudes and experiences with language commonly used to describe kidney diseases and care.

Some patients said that “end-stage kidney disease” sounds like impending death, and most did not know what “renal” meant.”

Read the full article, here.

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New Guidelines Address Diabetes Management in Kidney Disease

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“A new guideline from the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) group addressing issues around diabetes management in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has just been published in synopsis form in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The full guideline, including 12 recommendations and 48 practice points for clinicians caring for patients with diabetes and CKD, was published last month in Kidney International and on the KDIGO website.

More than 40% of people with diabetes develop CKD, and a significant number develop kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant. This is the first guidance from KDIGO to address the comorbidity.”

Read more, here.

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Chuck Lorre’s ‘B Positive’ Puts a (Slightly) More Urgent Spin on the TV Odd Couple: TV Review

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“The first two episodes of the show, though, do set up enough side plots and dynamics to suggest that there’s plenty of material to mine going forward. It’s also not hard to see where “B Positive” could sit among the latest slate of CBS multi-cam sitcoms produced by Chuck Lorre, namely “Mom” and “Bob Hearts Abishola.” With settings like Gina’s job at an assisted living facility and Drew’s dialysis group turned frank support group, “B Positive” works to lend more personality and authenticity to what could otherwise be just a basic odd couple show. Should it get the room to go forward, the show would be smart to expand upon those elements that make Gina and Drew seem more human instead of leaning on their wacky differences.”

Read the full review, here.

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Kidney Patients Expand Impact as Kidney Voters™ in 2020

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“The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), the oldest and largest independent kidney patient organization in the nation, today thanked kidney patient volunteers, their families, and kidney community allies for exercising their influence through voter registration and engagement as self-identified Kidney Voters™ through AAKP’s I Am A Kidney Voter initiative (#KIDNEYVOTER and #IAmAKidneyVoter) in the 2020 election”

“In 2018, AAKP developed and launched the first non-partisan kidney community voter education, registration, and turnout drive that had ever been attempted. In 2019, AAKP launched The Decade of the Kidney™ upon the signing of the White House Executive Order onAdvancing American Kidney Health Initiative. This strategic effort organizes kidney patient consumers nationally and globally to further drive policies that prevent kidney injury and disease, and support greater patient care choice, innovation, and timely access to care and new treatment options. Based on the grassroots tactics and online technologies refined by AAKP in 2018 and 2019, the I Am A Kidney Voter initiative has expanded rapidly to include all sectors of the kidney community, including medical professionals such as nephrologists and transplant surgeons, researchers, and workers across the medical industry and policy-influencers. AAKP estimates that their expanded platforms will engage close to 500,000 Kidney Voters™ by the 2022 election cycle while expanding kidney patient consumer demand for full immunosuppressive drug coverage for transplanted kidneys, new diagnostics to detect kidney disease far in advance of current standards, new biologics and precision medicine to treat and slow kidney disease progression, as well as bioengineered and artificial wearable and implantable kidneys to ease transplant waiting times.”

Read the full press release by AAKP, here.

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Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is Strongly Effective, Early Data from Large Trial Indicate

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“Pfizer and partner BioNTech said Monday that their vaccine against Covid-19 was strongly effective, exceeding expectations with results that are likely to be met with cautious excitement — and relief — in the face of the global pandemic.

The vaccine is the first to be tested in the United States to generate late-stage data. The companies said an early analysis of the results showed that individuals who received two injections of the vaccine three weeks apart experienced more than 90% fewer cases of symptomatic Covid-19 than those who received a placebo. For months, researchers have cautioned that a vaccine that might only be 60% or 70% effective.”

Read the full article, here.

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Duke Completes 1,500th Heart Transplant

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“In the midst of the pandemic, Duke University Hospital last week completed its 1,500th heart transplant, a milestone achieved by only five other transplant centers nationwide.

Surgeons performed the first heart transplant at Duke in 1985, and the hospital recorded its 1,000th heart transplant in 2014.

“It’s taken us six years to accomplish the next milestone, which we think is of significance,” Said Dr. Chet Patel, Duke’s medical director for heart transplants.”

Read the full story, here.

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Kidney Transplant Chain Is A Touching Act of Kindness

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“You never know where an act of kindness ends.

Tara Berliski of Magnolia, Texas, offered to donate a kidney to her husband, John Berliski. His were removed in July because of polycystic kidney disease. Doctors at the Houston Methodist Hospital living donor program explained that because John Berliski has type AB blood, he could receive a kidney from almost any donor. But if John and Tara Berliski chose to enter a kidney swap program, they might be able to help someone else, too; someone else might help them.”

Read the full opinion piece, here.

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10 Tips to Maintain Long-Term Health After Kidney Transplant

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“Receiving a kidney transplant is receiving a second chance at life, or even a third or fourth. But that doesn’t mean the work is done. A common misconception is that a transplant is a cure or fix-all. The reality, however, is that a kidney transplant is just another treatment option. So, while the days of dialysis may be over, patients must remain vigilant as they learn their new daily regimen in order to maintain long-term success with their new gift.”

Read all ten tips, here.

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Nationwide Kidney Risk Campaign Relaunches by NKF, HHS, and ASN

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“The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is joining forces with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), and actor, activist and entrepreneur Wilmer Valderrama to reach the 1 in 3 American adults at risk for kidney disease.  “Are You the 33%?”is a nationwide public awareness campaign relaunching today timed for Hispanic Heritage Month. The campaign, originally launched in March 2020, was paused due to the national pandemic and will run through March 2021.”

Read the full article, here.

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