Kidney charity backs call for organ donor reforms

Some news from Scotland on the problems of waiting for a transplant.

So just how hard is it to get treatment do you think, once diagnosed as in need of a transplant? A PATIENT on dialysis could travel to Mars and back - twice - in the time it takes to get a new kidney. The average waiting time for a transplant is 1000 days, about the time it would take to make two trips to Earth's second closest planet, which is around 140 million miles away. So says an article in a Glasgow news paper.

With a reported 700+ dialysis patients in Glasgow alone, with one dying every week, Scotland is in need of a lot more transplant operations. The charity Kidney Research UK is urging people to sign up to the transplant donor register. Have you signed an organ donor card? Do you carry it with you at all times? Does your family or friends know this? DO SOMETHING! Now!

Longest Kidney Transplant Chain

We've spoken before about transplant chains. For those unfamiliar with the process, a friend or relative of patient A whose kidney is not a match for patient A offers their kidney to anyone else who has a friend or relative who is willing to donate to patient A, or someone else, until a chain is formed where patient A gets a kidney that is suitable.

Friend of A---> Patient B Friend of B---> Patient C Friend of C---> Patient D Friend of D---> Patient A

You get the picture? An altruistic transplant chain, not just one generous person giving to one person.

We've mentioned a long chain of about 8 patients once before and thought that was pretty cool (and pretty life saving too). But we've got news of something a bit bigger than that. A lot bigger than that!

A report here and several other news sites reports a chain of 21 transplants - yes, that's 21, not a typo! The University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital is celebrating America's longest kidney transplant chain. (Is it the longest in the world? I might check up on that, if I can work out how to.) All thanks to the transplant program at UAB and a team of more than 80 medical professionals.

Update!

Well, You will not believe it but there is a longer transplant chain that will just make you gasp - are you ready for this one? 30 - that's right, 30 transplants in a chain! Read it here!

Chain 124, as it was labeled by the nonprofit National Kidney Registry, required lock-step coordination over four months among 17 hospitals in 11 states. It was born of innovations in computer matching, surgical technique and organ shipping, as well as the determination of a Long Island businessman named Garet Hil, who was inspired by his own daughter’s illness to supercharge the notion of “paying it forward.”

Walking can help reduce likelihood of dialysis

As we should all know, walking and regular exercise helps prolong your health in many ways. A recent article in the Daily Mail points out that there are benefits for those with kidney disease. And the figures are quite astonishing.

The study, reported in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, examined the activity patterns of a large number of patients with an average age of 70 and found that those who walked were 33% less likely to die and 21 per cent less likely to need dialysis or a kidney transplant. Even greater benefits were found the more they walked.

People who walked seven times a week or more were 59% less likely to die according to the study, and 44% less likely to need dialysis or a transplant that those who rarely took such exercise. These improvements in life expectancy and reduced susceptibility to requiring further treatment are so huge, we really hope anyone reading this just gets up and goes for a walk! Once a day for 30 minutes and your health improves.
Hit the road. NOW!

DaVita Launches Hemodiafiltration Treatment in US

DaVita is starting a six-month trial of hemodiafiltration to selected patients in Colorado Springs, in the US. Reported here and on many other news sites too.

Hemodiafiltration differs from hemodialysis – the country's most common dialysis method – in that hemodiafiltration incorporates the standard hemodialysis process but adds an extra step designed to remove even larger toxin particles, thereby further cleansing a patient's blood. Hemodiafiltration is commonly practiced in Europe but until recently there was no FDA approved device for use in the U.S.

A very quick online search reveals references to Hemodiafiltration stretching back to 1998. One wonders why the US is only just getting its first ever trial of the technique.

UK Sees Huge Increase in Altruistic Donations

Several UK news stations and papers are reporting today a huge increase in the number of "stranger" donations of kidneys for transplants over the last seven years.

Altruistic donation first became possible the UK in 2007. In that first year, only three kidneys were donated but last year (2013) a total of 107 donations took place. However, there are still over 5500 people in the UK on the transplant waiting list.

Okay, when comparing a first year with only three donations, any increase will seem huge, but this is an increase of almost 40 times more! And it's hoped that by raising awareness, even more generous individuals will step forward and become a living donor. There were 76 such donations in 2012. After all, if this man can do it, so can others.