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New Records Set for Organ Donation and Transplantation Despite Pandemic

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“INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Despite the COVID-19 pandemic – and with more than two months remaining in 2020 – a record number of Hoosier organ donors have already given the gift of life through Indiana Donor Network, resulting in a record number of lifesaving organs transplanted in a single calendar year.

From Jan. 1 through Oct. 12, 2020, Indiana Donor Network, the state’s federally designated organ recovery organization, made it possible for 667 lifesaving organs to go to patients on the national transplant waiting list. This total breaks Indiana Donor Network’s existing record of 665 lifesaving organs transplanted in all of 2019 and puts the organization on pace to facilitate 28% more organ transplants this year than last year.”

Read the full article by Indiana Donor Network, here.

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A Kidney International “Journal of the COVID-19 Year” in Kidney Transplantation

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“The global COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on kidney transplant recipients and transplantation programs in the calamitous months of February to June 2020, the Northern Hemisphere Spring to Summer, is represented in articles published in the December issue of Kidney International. Writing about another pandemic in the year of 1665 over 300 years ago the author Daniel Defoe describes the same period of time in London and gives a remarkably familiar description of how a pandemic affects populations, including the unproven treatments, epidemiology of infection and human response to restrictions on freedom of city lockdowns that occurred during that time (1). The risks, outcomes, epidemiology and potential treatments for the kidney transplant population worldwide during the past 12 months have been thankfully studied in detail by multiple authors, and form the subject of papers in KI this month”

Read the full article on kidney INTERNATIONAL, here.

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Is ‘2 Hearts’ Movie Based On A True Story?

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“Yes, it is! The film is based on the real-life story of Jorge Bacardi — of the Bacardi Rum dynasty — and Christopher Gregory, an organ donor who tragically and suddenly passed away at the age of 19 from a brain aneurysm. Christopher’s organs were donated to five people, one of them being Jorge. The movie is an adaptation of the book All My Tomorrows, written by Chris’ dad.”

Read the full article and watch the trailer, here.

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Beta-blockers May Reduce Mortality Rate for Patients with Heart, Kidney Failure

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For patients with both heart and kidney failure, beta-blocker use was associated with decreased mortality rates within 1 year after dialysis initiation.

According to Hui Zhou, PhD, of the department of research and evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, and colleagues, beta-blocker therapy is generally thought to be beneficial to patients with chronic kidney disease. However, they contended that less is known about its impact on patients once they progress to end-stage kidney disease and must transition to dialysis.

Read the full article, here.

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COVID-19 Infection in Kidney Transplant Recipients at the Epicenter of Pandemics

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“Following the first case of coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the USA in January 2020, New York quickly became the epicenter of the pandemic in March and April 2020. Initial results from 3 centers in New York reported a high mortality rate of 20%-39% in hospitalized patients 1, 2, 3. Kidney transplant recipients are expected to be at an increased risk of complications from COVID-19 not only due to their chronic immunosuppression but also frequently associated comorbidities including older age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.”

Read the full study on kidney INTERNATIONAL, here.

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6 Easy Ways to Prevent Kidney Stones

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“Did you know that one in ten people will have a kidney stone over the course of a lifetime? Recent studies have shown that kidney stone rates are on the rise across the country. Those in the know believe that some major misconceptions may be the culprit.

The National Kidney Foundation has teamed up with Dr. Allan Jhagroo, a kidney stone specialist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, to help you stay stone-free by debunking some of the major kidney stone myths and misconceptions.”

Read the full article, here.

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CKD Pantry Staples: Be Prepared During the Pandemic

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“Grocery shopping has become an increasing challenge during this pandemic.  When you have CKD, wondering what to buy when food supplies may be limited can be overwhelming.  Buying staples that fit your CKD needs while maintaining your budget can be challenging.  This tip sheet will help you with some ideas if you can’t get fresh or frozen items.”

Read the full blog post on KIDNEYCHEF and see the list of staple, here.

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President of TRIO Discusses Transplantation Experience in Time of COVID-19

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“Jim Gleason, National President of Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO), discusses what organ transplant patients are experiencing during the pandemic, and some tips they ought to consider to help ease some of the burden.

Mr. Gleason also discusses his role in the development of the recently released AlloCare app is in the AppStore, to help post-transplant recipients navigate their day-to-day health.”

Read the full interview here.

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UNOS: COVID-19 Update

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“On Oct. 28, two new diagnosis codes for lung candidates and two new diagnosis codes for heart candidates will be added to UNetSM. Additionally, there will be an update to an existing code available for heart candidates. The purpose of adding these options is to specify when COVID-19 related organ failure is the cause for lung and heart candidate listings.”

Read the full update by UNOS, here.

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Getting Real About Kidney Transplant Timelines

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“In this month’s BMC Nephrology blog, Editor Dr. Sumeska Thavarajah explores the difficulty of predicting pretransplant hemodialysis duration for dialysis patients cleared for transplanation, and discusses associated potential complications and consequences of this process.”

Read the full blog post by Dr. Sumeska Thavarajah here.

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