Great News! Donating a Kidney Does NOT Affect Lifespan!

I'm pretty sure we already knew this, but another study has confirmed that donating a kidney - even in older patients - does not increase risk of death or heart disease.

Let's all go celebrate by donating a kidney*!

*Unless you already have donated a kidney or have a donated kidney inside of you.

Organ Donation: Remember to Sign Up!

HuffPo published a story last month about just how important it is to check that "organ donor" box on your driver's license. It's definitely worth the read. One organ donor can save many lives. Like the article says, it's a no-brainer.

Happy World Kidney Day!

Happy World Kidney Day! Be sure to love your kidneys! And also take action to get immunosuppressive drug coverage for all transplant recipients for life!

5th Kidneyversary Nails!

January 8th marked my fifth Kidneyversary (anniversary of my kidney transplant). Still going strong!

I marked the occasion with some orange kidney nails (orange as a shout-out to NKF!).

What do you think?

Rolling Out Obamacare

TPM has a great round-up of various states' ads for their new health insurance exchanges and marketplaces that will open on October 1st and hope to cover seven million people in the next year. A lot of the campaigns are clever and fun. Some are more informative than others, but I think they're all interesting enough to get people who need insurance or pay high premiums for individual insurance to take a look. I really like the one that emphasizes that when insurers compete, you win!



Who doesn't like beating the insurance companies and getting better coverage?

Happy World Kidney Day!

Today is World Kidney Day! Take a few minutes to acknowledge what a wonderful organ your kidneys are, taking care of you by filtering out all the bad stuff from your system and keeping your blood clean! To say thanks, why don't you sign up to be an organ donor? You could even donate one of your kidneys right now to another person and save a life! Like a super hero!

At the very least, take care of your kidneys by following these simple healthy living guidelines and getting annual check-ups and bloodwork. Kidneys are remarkably resilient organs - it's never too late to avoid permanent organ damage or chronic kidney disease (ok, so sometimes it's too late, but not for most people!). For more info, check out the National Kidney Foundation.

If nothing else, please give thanks to all the wonderful people out there who have donated their kidneys and other organs to people in need. Without them, a lot of us (like me!) wouldn't be here.

Thank You, Dr. Murray

Dr. Joseph E. Murray passed away yesterday at the age of 93. He was a leader in the field of transplantation (especially kidney transplants), and his breakthroughs earned him a Nobel Prize in 1990 (in addition to the never-ending thanks from transplant patients everywhere!).

He performed the first successful kidney transplant in 1954 on a set of identical twins. From there, they worked hard to produce new ways to suppress the immune system so that anyone with compatible blood types could donate to one another.

Without him and his work, I wouldn't be around today.

Thank you, Dr. Murray. As you said, your work "is a prayer." Thank you.

You can read his full obituary (it's fascinating) over at the Guardian.

Artificial Kidney Program as UCSF Receives $3 Million in New Funding

Yay! Soon we'll all be robots, for once that will be a good thing.

(But seriously, they'll still need more funding to start clinical trials, but this is a solid start. Hooray!)

Legislation Watch: State-Based Universal Healthcare Act

This probably won't get passed, but wouldn't it be great? A way for states to set up and pay for their own universal, single-payer healthcare coverage.

[via ThinkProgress]

Kidney Successfully Transplanted Twice after Initial Damage

One of the worst things that can happen to a transplant patient is to be so lucky as to receive a transplant, but then have the organ react poorly in the new body. 

For Ray Fearing, who has suffered from a kidney-toxic disease his entire life, that nightmare came true shortly after he received an organ from his sister. The specific disease he has, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, can sometimes grow in transplanted kidneys, causing even worse problems than just having it in the native kidneys. Once doctors realized that Ray was doing worse after the transplant than before, they knew they needed to remove the organ as soon as possible. 

The difference was that before they did it, they asked Ray if he would be willing to give the organ to another patient in need. Without hesitation, Ray agreed. Hours later, the kidney was in a new recipient (a heart surgeon with grandkids, no less!) and free of the destructive disease. 

While Ray continues to struggle with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, at least he knows that his sister's infinitely kind gift did not go to waste. I hope that provides him and his sister some comfort during this trying time. Best wishes to you both.

[via CNN]

In Memoriam, and Life: George E. Schreiner

George E. Schreiner was a pioneer in the field of nephrology and helped found the National Kidney Foundation (among other nephrology associations). He spearheaded the incredible legislation (signed by non other than President Nixon) that ensured Medicare coverage for all ESRD patients and kidney transplant recipients, regardless of their ability to pay. This legislation has helped save and extend innumerable lives. We all owe Dr. Schreiner a great debt.

During his term as President of the NKF, one of the greatest struggles in organ donation was overcome: the Uniform Donor Card became recognized as a legal document for the donation of organs for transplantation after death. Amazing.

He passed away on April 12, 2012 at the age of 89. You can read more about the life that he gave us here.

How fitting then, that this months is Donate Life month, when those still living are encouraged to sign up to be an organ donor when they pass away. Lean more about helping give others the gift of life at DonateLife.net. You can help them reach their goal of registering 20 million new organ donors in 2012.

Also, this.

Happy World Kidney Day!

How do you celebrate World Kidney Day? You might not want to take Stephen Colbert's advice:

But there are a lot of things you CAN do. First off, check out the World Kidney Day website.Their slogan this year is Donate - Kidneys for Life - Receive. From the website: "The 2012 Campaign focuses on the positive outcome of kidney transplantation and the life-saving aspect of organ donation." That all sounds great to me!

 To top it off, there's some fantastic news in the world of transplantation today. A new procedure could give transplant recipients the ability to go off of anti-rejection pills forever! Right now, it is in clinical trials for new transplant recipients, but they're going to start another clinical trial for already-transplanted recipients soon. Once kidney trials are over, they may move onto other solid-organ transplants. Imagine a life free of anti-rejection medication for all transplant patients! How wonderful! 

In addition to that incredible news, a different procedure could increase the number of viable kidneys for transplantation by 10% - making a very worthy dent in the ever-growing organ waiting lists. 

So rejoice, kidney patients and kidney patient lovers all over the world! There is good news today for you, and that is good news for everyone.

And remember, please get your bloodwork done regularly to make sure you are not at risk for kidney disease. It's a sneaky beast that can attack you at your best, but vigilance and regular doctor visits can often prevent it from progressing. 

To life, to love, to kidneys!

We'll Miss You, Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs passed away this evening after a long fight with pancreatic cancer. He was a young man who worked hard and accomplished much. His will to live was stronger than most, but even someone with immense will, talent, drive, and fortune cannot best death forever, even when it strikes too young.

Despite issues I've had with the Apple company, Steve Jobs was a man whose achievements are immeasurable, beyond innovations in computers, phones, and the way that we interact with the world, he also helped create and fund Pixar, one of the most important cultural icons of our time. He was both a profoundly scientific and creative man, a rare combination. I wish he had gotten a chance to show us more of what was in that brilliant mind of his.

He also understood the importance of giving back to the community. After his liver transplant three years ago (around the same time I had my kidney transplant), Steve fought hard to improve access to transplants among all patients in California and across the country. He knew that, as a wealthy man with the ability to move across states easily, he could register in a state where he would have better access to a transplant. He also knew that was unfair to others. Instead of simply being grateful for his good fortune, he decided to give back by asking for policy changes that would increase access to transplants for all patients, not just those wealthy and well enough to travel.

If you'd like to read more, Gawker has a round-up of heartfelt thoughts and reactions to Steve Jobs' passing.

We'll miss you, Steve. You (and I'm sure you knew this) will not be forgotten. I hope you are resting peacefully now. You deserve it.

Support H.R. 2969 - Extending Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Transplant Patients!

Hooray! The companion legislation for the Senate bill on extending health coverage for transplant patients has been introduced to the house by Congressman Michael Burgess (R) and Congressman Ron Kind (D): H.R. 2969. This makes it a truly bi-partisan and bi-cameral bill. So show your support and follow the bills as they move through legislation and let's hope we can get this passed!

A few choice quotes from this Flower Mound Star article on the announcement:

"Although now more mainstream than heroic, renal transplantation offers end stage renal disease patients an alternative to a lifetime of dialysis," said Burgess, who is the vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health and Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus. "How incredibly cruel then, that the gravest threat to their newly acquired kidney is an incoherent federal policy that denies coverage for anti-rejection drugs after 36 months and a costlier return to patients and the Medicare system to dialysis."

And from the National Kidney Foundation (for whom I'm doing a walk here in NYC on Oct. 16th. Last year I raised about $700 and met Grizz Chapman. I hope I can do that this year, too!)

"The National Kidney Foundation commends Representatives Burgess and Kind for their leadership on this critically important legislation. This bill, coupled with the companion legislation by Senators Durbin and Cochran, will ensure that thousands of Americans can keep their transplants, allow thousands more to be transplanted, and reduce the need for re-transplants of people who can no longer pay for vital medication and who end up back on dialysis and the transplant waiting list. This legislation is a major first step towards achieving the goal of the National Kidney Foundations 'End the Wait' initiative to find solutions to the organ shortage and eliminate the all-too-long wait for a transplant," said Lynda Szczech, MD, National Kidney Foundation President.

So get to supporting, everyone! We can do this!!

Support S.1454 on PopVox!

S.1454 is the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011, and you can send a letter to your congressperson very easily here at PopVox. You can also put your comments on their page to show your support. Isn't that great?

Once the bill has been introduced in the House, you can then support it there, as well.

The site is pretty cool because it shows all the bills in Congress and lets you support them and send letters to your congresspeople to show your support. How awesome is that?

Does anyone else know of a bill you'd like the Artful Stew readers to support? I went ahead and supported the American Jobs Act today, too!

Drugs for Life! (Transplant Drugs, that is)

Good news, Everyone!

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Scott Brown (R-MA) have introduced legislation into the Senate to grant all transplant recipients Medicare immunosupressant drug coverage for life. This will help all transplant recipients pay for and keep their new kidneys, leading to happier, healthier, longer lives.

This is incredibly important legislation. As I've mentioned here before, covering a transplant patient can costs up to $20k a year - that is a lot of money. However, covering a dialysis patient costs upwards of $77k a year - that is a lot more money. The amount of savings per patient is astronomical. Just look at this "hypothetical" patient the Political News discusses:

The effects of the disparity in coverage are evidenced in the hypothetical case of a young woman. A 26 year old woman living with ESRD would have lifelong dialysis covered by Medicare at $77,500/year. Medicare would cover the cost of a transplant at $110,000/transplant. The immunosuppressive drugs she would need to ensure the organ is not rejected by her body are only covered for 36 months and the drugs are far less costly at $10,000 to $20,000/year. Without immunosuppressive drugs to keep kidney transplants from being rejected, many patients find themselves right back where they started: in need of a kidney. This circular cycle of care is costing taxpayers a lot of money and putting thousands of lives at risk.

Doesn't that person sound familiar? Yeah, she sounds a lot like me. This could happen to me if this legislation is not passed. And I am not giving up my kidney - my aunt gave it to me, I have to defend it.

This legislation has been defeated twice before - we cannot, we must not, let it be defeated again. It is a truly bipartisan effort, a cost-saving, life-saving measure that we cannot afford to lose. Big Dialysis (yes, that is a thing) will try to stop it, but if you call/email/tweet your congressperson and senator, we can help pass this crucial legislation.

Act today! I know I, and all the other transplant recipients out there, will appreciate it forever.