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Kidney Transplant Outcomes Improved Over Past Quarter-Century

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“Things have looked up for U.S. kidney transplant recipients over the past few decades, according to a review article.

In adult kidney transplant recipients, the total number of transplants from living and deceased donors in the U.S. jumped from 45,008 in 1996-1999 up to 76,885 in 2016-2019, reported Sundaram Hariharan, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues.

This uptick was largely driven by a rise in the number of transplants from deceased kidney donors, from 29,823 in 1996 to 53,139 in 2019, they stated in the New England Journal of Medicine.”

Read more, here.

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Equity means providing a transplant for every single patient that needs one

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“Recently, I joined UNOS President-Elect Jerry McCauley, M.D. at a meeting organized by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) focused on equity. We were honored to share UNOS’ work in this space and lend our voices to this vital national discussion – a discussion we look forward to continuing.

UNOS is acutely attuned to issues of equity. As the mission-driven non-profit serving as the nation’s transplant system, we work with our community partners to ensure equitable policies and outcomes in multiple ways, including:”

Read the full article, here.

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Despite COVID-19, Cedars-Sinai Hits New Transplant Record

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“This spring, anesthesiologist Jennifer Cutler, MD, was looking forward to a weekend relaxing with her husband and two teenaged children when she got the call – she was urgently needed to oversee anesthesiology for not one, but two, liver transplants at Cedars-Sinai.

Cutler, who enjoys spending her weekends going on long runs, catching up on her to-do list and savoring family dinners, dropped everything to come in to work. She wasn’t “on call,” per se, but Cutler said that when she and her fellow anesthesiologists are needed for a transplant surgery, they go.

“Even when we’re not on call, we just all pitch in and get the cases done,” Cutler said. “We have always had an attitude of teamwork.”

That weekend, surgeons from the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center and Smidt Heart Institute performed a whopping 11 transplant surgeries in a single weekend. They performed one heart transplant, two liver transplants, two dual kidney/pancreas transplants, and six kidney transplants (including one pediatric kidney transplant).”

Read more, here.

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Could Nixing Race-Adjustments for eGFR Harm Black Cancer Patients?

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“Removing race from estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations would result in fewer Black patients being eligible for certain anticancer drugs, researchers have demonstrated.

Their analysis showed that for Black patients, removing race from the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation reduced median eGFR from 103 mL/min to 89 mL/min. In addition, removing the race factor doubled the percentage of black patients with an eGFR under 60 mL/min — a clinically relevant cut-off below which many drugs have recommended changes to dosage and eligibility, reported Thomas D. Nolin, PharmD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, and colleagues.”

Learn more here.

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Weight Cycling Linked With Poor Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease

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“Large fluctuations in body mass index (BMI) over time — otherwise known as weight cycling — were associated with poorer outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to an observational study.

In 84,636 predialysis patients with CKD followed for a median of 4 years, those in the highest quartile of BMI variability had an increased risk for all-cause mortality compared with the lowest quartile (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.53-1.81, P<0.001), reported Dong Ki Kim, MD, PhD, of Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea, and colleagues.”

Read more, here.

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Blue Shield of California invests in Cricket Health expansion aimed at treating kidney disease

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“Improving clinical outcomes for people with kidney disease results in lower costs for health plan partners, according to Cricket.

Today, Cricket Health closed an $83.5 million Series B funding round led by Valtruis, which will enable Cricket’s expansion to support demand for its care model for people with kidney disease.

Blue Shield of California made a strategic investment of an unspecified amount. The round also includes existing investors Oak HC/FT and Cigna Ventures, as well as K2 HealthVentures.

The expansion will improve clinical outcomes for people with kidney disease, resulting in lower costs for health plan partners, according to Cricket. In both Texas and California, across commercial and Medicare Advantage health plan partnerships, Cricket Health said it has shown improvements in key clinical measures for its populations living with kidney disease.”

Read more, here.

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U.S. FDA authorizes COVID-19 vaccine boosters for the immunocompromised

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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) for people with compromised immune systems.

The amended emergency use authorization paves the way for people who have had an organ transplant, or those with a similar level of weakened immune system, to get an extra dose.

“After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines,” Janet Woodcock, U.S. FDA’s acting commissioner, said in a tweet on Thursday.”

Read more, here.

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Making transplants without a lifelong regimen of anti-rejection drugs a reality at UCLA Health

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“When he was a medical trainee, UCLA Health nephrologist Erik Lum, MD, was part of a team at Stanford University exploring how to create “tolerance” in kidney-transplant patients — a process that encourages the body to welcome the new organ without the necessity for a lifelong regimen of anti-rejection drugs.

Now, Dr. Lum is among the leaders of a multidisciplinary team making transplant tolerance a reality at UCLA Health. Two kidney transplants have been performed thus far under the advanced protocol, making UCLA Health one of only five medical centers in the world capable of the groundbreaking approach hailed as “the Holy Grail” of transplantation.

“It requires a lot of interplay between different divisions,” Dr. Lum says. “To me, it really demonstrates the strength of a place like UCLA. You can’t do this just anywhere. It’s a huge collaboration.”

The protocol brings together a broad range of specialties, including nephrology, urology, hematology, radiation oncology and others, for a series of treatments that prime the transplant recipient’s body to accept the new organ.”

Learn more, here.

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National Kidney Foundation and Labcorp Data Show Millions Aren’t Tested for Kidney Disease

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“New data suggest that millions of patients most at-risk for life-threatening kidney disease are unaware they have it because they are not tested according to clinical practice guidelines despite their risk. The study, by authors from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Labcorp, appears today in the journal Diabetes Care.

In the study, “Chronic Kidney Disease Testing (CKD) Among At-Risk Adults in the U.S. Remains Low: Real-World Evidence from a National Laboratory Database,” investigators reviewed laboratory ordered CKD tests from more than 28 million patients with diabetes, hypertension (also known as high blood pressure), or both, that were tested by Labcorp between 2013 and 2018.”

Read more, here.

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Home is where the heart is: This CNN Hero is housing transplant patients near their hospitals

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“Twelve years ago, Ava Kaufman was fighting for her life. Now, thanks to a donor heart and successful organ transplant, she’s alive — and saving others.

“My life changed on a dime,” said Kaufman, who was a professional dancer and black belt in taekwondo when an autoimmune disease went undiagnosed and wiped out her muscular system. She ultimately ended up on life support in intensive care with organ failure.

“I went from living this big life to not knowing how I was going to survive.”

In what she calls a series of small miracles, Kaufman was given a second chance at life.”

Read the full story, here.

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