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GUEST OPINION: Eliminate kidney transplant waitlist

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By William E. Lombard

The Pacific Northwest region has a history of innovation in kidney research and dialysis with a legacy of mission-driven care to individuals with chronic kidney failure. Access to dialysis is essential to high-quality treatment for people with end-stage renal disease. But the best treatment option for many patients is a kidney transplant from a living donor.

Dialysis patients are inherently vulnerable. Chronic kidney failure (CKF) was once a fatal disease, in every single case. Read the full article in the Lynden Tribune.

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Racial gaps persist in kidney transplantation, particularly among younger patients

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By Shawn M. Carter

Evident racial gaps in transplant waitlist placement between Black and white patients exist, particularly among younger individuals with kidney failure, new data suggests.

“Racial disparities exist at all steps of the kidney transplant process, including waitlisting,” Jade Buford, MPH, of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and lead researcher, told Healio. “The purpose of this study was to examine whether racial disparities in kidney transplant waitlisting vary by age of the patient with kidney failure.” Read the full story in Healio.

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Only 40% of Diabetes Patients Get Recommended Kidney Health Testing

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~ Study Reveals Alarming Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease Testing and Highlights Path to Equitable Care for Americans living with Diabetes ~

(August 30, 2023, New York, NY) — Not enough diabetes patients are getting their recommended kidney health screenings, according to a new study by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

According to new data published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes journal, less than 40% of patients with diabetes have been recommended at least annual kidney health screening tests. Diabetes raises the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), a serious condition that often remains asymptomatic until reaching an advanced stage. Read more from the National Kidney Foundation.

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Women with ESKD less likely to be referred for transplantation vs. men

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By Shawn M. Carter

Women with ESKD are more likely than men to face kidney transplant-related disparities, according to a recently published study conducted in the southeast U.S.

“Reasons for this disparity have not been delineated, though some evidence … include greater provider perceptions of frailty regarding female candidates, higher levels of obesity, higher psychosocial and health-related concerns and a lack of provider awareness of sex/gender-related disparities,” Jessica L. Harding, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and colleagues wrote. Read the complete article in Healio.

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Psychological distress may be linked to poor self-management of chronic kidney disease

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By Shawn M. Carter

Psychological distress may be linked to poor self-management of chronic kidney disease, according to a recently published study of patients with CKD who were not on dialysis.

“Beginning with the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) onward, patients are confronted with profound changes that require extensive emotional skills. An additional burden is adhering to disease self-management recommendations,” lead researcher Cinderella K. Cardol, PhD, of the health, medical and neuropsychology unit at Leiden University in The Netherlands, and colleagues wrote. Read the full article in Healio.

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Lesson in kindness: Teacher donates kidney to colleague, both recover in time for 1st day of school

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By Jeff Stitt

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Over the summer, a New Jersey teacher donated his kidney to a fellow educator. Both teachers recovered in time to be in the classroom for the first day of school. They’re hoping their students take away a life lesson from their story.

Lauren Crupi, who teaches sixth-grade language arts at Saint Leo the Great School is elated to be in front of her class. Check out the full story from KCRA News 3.

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Racial gaps persist in kidney transplantation, particularly among younger patients

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By Shawn M. Carter

Evident racial gaps in transplant waitlist placement between Black and white patients exist, particularly among younger individuals with kidney failure, new data suggests.

“Racial disparities exist at all steps of the kidney transplant process, including waitlisting,” Jade Buford, MPH, of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and lead researcher, told Healio.
Read the full story in Healio.

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Kidney transplants usually last 10 to 15 years. Hers made it 50, but now it’s wearing out.

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By Karen Weintraub

Sharon Stakofsky-Davis and Denice Lombard both carry 90-something-year-old kidneys in their 60-something-year-old bodies.

They are outliers in more than just the obvious ways.

Both women received kidneys from their respective fathers when they were young teenagers, after their own kidneys gave out. Read the full story in USA Today.

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A fellow teacher becomes a lifesaving donor in Clarkston

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Successful transplant changes lives of two families

By Matthew Fahr

It is not often that responding to an email leads to saving someone’s life, but that is what happened to Clarkston school district teacher Jessica Sorensen.

She teaches grades three, four, and five in Clarkston’s virtual program and Dennis Klenow teaches third grade at Independence Elementary; the two have been friends for over 20 years. They knew each other’s kids and had them in their classrooms and taught classes side by side for over a decade. Read the full story in The Oakland Press.

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