Transplantation News

Despite recent changes in the national organ allocation system aimed at getting donor kidneys to individuals who would have the best long-term benefit, geography – where a potential recipient lives – still has a major influence in how organs are distributed, according to a new study.

Research in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology shows that with the help of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, many low-income patients with CKD were placed on the kidney transplant waiting list before starting dialysis. Additionally, the expansion was associated with an increase in the proportion of new preemptive listings for kidney transplantation with Medicaid coverage, with larger increases in coverage for racial and ethnic minority listings than white listings.

According to findings in the American Journal of Transplantation, there was little to no mood disturbance, body image concerns, fear of kidney failure, or life dissatisfaction among living kidney donors postdonation.

In a study appearing in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology that examined living kidney donors’ concerns about their decision to undergo kidney removal, investigators found long-term kidney health, aspects of surgery and recovery and impact on life satisfaction were most important.

The Colorado legislature recently passed HB1202. According to a press release from the National Kidney Foundation, the legislation provides paid leave for employees who would like to become a living organ donor and gives private employers a voluntary tax credit of 35% of an employee’s salary to cover up to 10 business days of paid leave.

Data used in this ranking are provided by the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (www.unos.org), and include deceased and living donor kidney and kidney/pancreas transplants. The OPTN recorded 9,401 deceased kidney donors in 2017 (9,116 in 2016) and 5,817 living kidney donors (5,626 in 2016), resulting in 5,811 living kidney donor transplants (5,629 in 2016) and 14,038 deceased donor kidney transplants (13,431 in 2016). There were also 789 kidney/pancreas transplants in 2017 (798 in 2016).

Young black men and older white men with a higher BMI who have donated a kidney are at greater risk than others to develop end-stage kidney disease later in life, according to a recently published study.

Living kidney donors with end-stage renal disease had a lower mortality rate compared to matched non-donors, according to a study that will appear in the Kidney International Reports.

Among the top stories from the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings are a presentation that showed fluid resuscitation is critical when initially treating septic shock and a poster about the potential benefits of probiotics for patients with end-stage renal disease. Other stories include findings about the potential impact of plant-based diets on diabetes, a keynote address about the need for nephrology providers to shift their focus to the health outcomes of patients and data on the mortality rate of Medicare patients on dialysis.

Health care providers’ awareness of national racial disparities in wait-listing patients for kidney transplantation was low, according to study that will be published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The study examined dialysis facilities with low rates of wait-listing patients for transplantation.