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Report Suggests Paying Kidney Donors Could Increase the Number of Donors

2024-03-28T21:02:06-04:00May 5th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant|

Within the past 12 years, more than 63,000 patients in the United States have died waiting for a kidney transplant, while more than 100,000 currently remain on the transplant list. Meanwhile, the amount of living kidney donors in 2015 only reached a little over 5,000. Now, a new study from the University of Florida College of Medicine suggests offering compensation to living donors could increase the likelihood of kidney donations, which is currently prohibited. In a survey of 1,011 registered voters, 59 percent of respondents would be more likely to donate a kidney if offered $50,000, while 32 percent of respondents were indifferent. [...]

New Report Highlights Statistics on Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States

2024-03-28T21:02:06-04:00May 5th, 2016|Categories: Costs for Treatment, eNews, News & Events, Treatment, What Is Kidney Disease|

A recent report assessing chronic kidney disease in the United States offers statistics on the condition that affects almost 14 percent of the U.S. population. The data, compiled by researchers at the University of Virginia, focuses on prescriptions used by chronic kidney disease patients with Medicare Part D. “This report is a one-stop shop to try to understand the prevalence of kidney disease, how it’s being treated and how the burden affects various populations,” said researcher Rajesh Balkrishnan of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “If we can identify which treatment modalities are working and how they’re used and link [...]

In-Center Hemodialysis

2024-03-28T21:02:11-04:00April 11th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Fact Sheet, Hemodialysis|

Currently, in-center hemodialysis is the most utilized form of dialysis treatment for Americans with end stage renal disease. With in-center hemodialysis a patient goes to a dialysis center where a staff of nurses and technicians administer treatment. Generally, in-center hemodialysis occurs three days a week for between three to five hours per session. During dialysis treatment the blood is removed from the body via an access (fistula, graft or catheter), filtered through an artificial kidney (dialyzer) and returned back to the body through the access. This blood is filtered many times during treatment to remove waste and maintain the chemical balance [...]

Peritoneal Dialysis

2024-03-28T21:02:12-04:00April 11th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Fact Sheet, Peritoneal Dialysis|

One advantage of peritoneal dialysis (PD) is that people who choose PD can do it while they sleep using a cycler. The cycler is a machine that fills and drains dialysate into the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen several times during the night. While the dialysate is in the peritoneal cavity, it helps pull toxins from the blood through the peritoneal lining. After a time of dwelling, the dialysate is drained from the peritoneal cavity which is refilled with fresh dialysate. While it may seem difficult to sleep during dialysis, many who choose Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD) report that they [...]

Home Hemodialysis

2024-03-28T21:02:13-04:00April 11th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Fact Sheet, Home Hemodialysis|

For people on dialysis who are stable, and who desire more control and flexibility over their treatments, home hemodialysis is another treatment option. With home hemodialysis a patient, along with a partner in most cases, will set up a dialysis machine in his or her home and learn to perform dialysis. This requires a patient, and/or partner, to learn how to self-cannulate, or put the needles into the access, set up the dialysis machine, monitor the machine, take and record vital statistics during treatment. Home hemodialysis patients must have a room in their home capable of accommodating the dialysis machine [...]

Surgeons to Attempt Transplants and Drug Treatment with Hepatitis C Positive Kidneys

2024-03-28T21:04:41-04:00March 25th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, Medication|

For several years, kidneys infected with Hepatitis C have been considered unfit for transplants due to the risk for transmission. However, with a new wave of antiviral medications shown to cure Hepatitis C, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University are planning to attempt transplants with kidneys from deceased Hepatitis C carriers. The patient who receives the kidney would then undergo a 12-week antiviral drug regimen to treat the disease. The trial’s leaders caution that the drugs won’t work for every participant, but argue the process has the potential to eliminate the waste that comes with the disposal [...]

New Procedure Could Make Kidney Transplants From Any Donor Possible

2024-03-28T21:04:46-04:00March 25th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, News & Events, Treatment|

More than 100,000 patients are currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, and one of the biggest challenges involves finding a compatible donor to minimize risk of organ rejection. But what if compatibility wasn’t a requirement? Johns Hopkins University recently unveiled a study in which doctors altered a patient’s immune system, allowing the patient to receive a kidney from a previously incompatible living donor. For the study, patient participants underwent a process known as “desensitization.” This is when the immune system’s cells, or antibodies, are filtered from the blood. Doctors waited until the patients’ bodies replenished the antibodies, then [...]

Artificial kidney technology continuing to see major developmental progress

2024-03-28T21:04:47-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant|Tags: , , |

Currently, there are over 100,000 patients on the kidney transplant waiting list, while only around 17,000 patients receive a transplant every year. A device is in development by a team of scientists at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to try and eliminate this organ shortage.  They are developing an implantable artificial kidney that uses microchip filters and live kidney cells to clean the blood. The microchips are made out of the same silicon elements that are used in computers. Each microchip filter contains pores that hold living kidney cells that mimics the kidney’s function of cleaning waste and fluids from the blood. [...]

“Dialysis 101” Recording Now Available!

2024-03-28T21:04:48-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Webinar|

The DPC Education Center kicked off it’s 2016 education call series last Thursday on a topic important to all kidney disease patients: Dialysis 101. Debbie Cote, a nephrology nurse and administrator for several facilities in Virginia, was our featured presenter. She covered all aspects of the dialysis treatment including access types, how the machine works, and what labs to monitor during and after treatment. If you were unable to listen to the call live, the recording is now available for viewing below. Additionally, be sure to join us for the next education call “Transplant 101” scheduled on February 17 at 3:00 PM [...]

Development of Living Kidney Membrane Offers Hope to Kidney Patients

2024-03-28T21:04:50-04:00March 17th, 2016|Categories: eNews, Treatment|Tags: , , |

Researchers at the MIRA Research Institute and the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center (RUNMC) in the Netherlands recently created a living kidney membrane. To do this, they combined kidney epithelial cells (cells made of protective tissue) with an artificial membrane. Dr. D. Stamatialis led researchers at MIRA and Dr. R. Masereeuw led researchers at RUNMC to publish their shared findings in the scientific journal Acta Biomaterialia. Their research is part of the Bioart project under the auspices of the European Union (EU) Marie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITN). The aim of the Bioart project is to develop innovative bio-artificial devices for the [...]

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