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Dear Nephrology Note Readers,
Happy New Year! We hope 2012 brings you the best that it has to offer. We would like to take a minute to thank you for your continued support by reading our newsletter and providing valuable feedback. We are truly excited about our growth as we have added over 400 readers last year! We hope that you pass this newsletter on to your friends and utilize a new feature that we added that allows you to read past editions of the newsletter!
We are committed to providing you with beneficial information regarding the nephrology field. This year the Nephrology Note will focus on providing you with stories that you will find relevant and help you understand how nephrology nursing is a rewarding field to be in. We will continue to have patient interviews, feature some of our teammates, and include educational articles related to the field. Last year, our three-part series article on Assessing the Adequacy of Dialysis was a huge hit with our readers. To continue with providing the most up to date information we have decided to continue this type of educational series with a four part article series on giving the gift of life- a kidney trasnplant. We appreciate your feedback and are always looking for ideas.
As the new year rolls in, remember to check out our social media sites. We post interview tips, recruiting events, and we have hosted live career chats with our recruiters.
Happy reading! DaVita Nephrology Note Team
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| The Gift of Life: A Kidney Transplant - Part 1 Government Regulations | |
Editors Note: At DaVita, we aim for all of our dialysis patients to lead healthy lives. The option of a kidney transplant for dialysis patients is important and something that should be shared with the patient so they can make an educated decision on their health. We hope that we can share some insight on this process and what it actually means for the patient. The Nephrology Note is pleased to include a four-part series that looks into The Gift of Life: A Kidney Transplant.
Government Regulations
Transplantation offers patients with end-stage renal disease the best chances for improved outcomes, but the discrepancy between demand and supply of available kidneys widens every year and with it average waiting times for an organ from a deceased donor have increased to about three years. The following outlines some legislative efforts to increase awareness of and donation consent rates for this life-saving gift.
Donation in the US adheres to an "opt-in" principle as the default rule, meaning that the donor or someone acting on the donor's behalf must consent to making an anatomical gift. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act related to donations from deceased donors includes honoring an individual's choice to be a donor and facilitating donations from potential donors by adding additional persons who can make an anatomical gift. In addition, the Act establishes standards for donor registries, enables procurement organizations to gain access to documents of gifts and resolves the tension between a health-care directive requesting the withholding or withdrawal of life support systems and the need for necessary measures to ensure the medical suitability of organs intended for transplantation by permitting these measures.
To continue reading, Click Here.
Part 2 of The Gift Of Life: A Kidney Transplant will cover the types of donors.
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New Study Reconsiders Blood Pressure Targets for Kidney Disease Patients - National Kidney Foundation |
 Rates of Kidney Failure in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease are Tied to Higher Blood Pressure Targets than Previously Advised.
High blood pressure has always been linked with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the doctors have debated for years what blood pressure targets would slow the disease's progression toward kidney failure.
A new study, published in the January 9th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, indicates that blood pressure targets for those with kidney disease may have been more stringent than necessary. The findings could help doctors treat kidney disease patients who are also suffering from high blood pressure.
Using data from the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP) database, doctors analyzed associations between blood pressure levels and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), or kidney failure, in patients suffering from Stage 3 and Stage 4 kidney disease.
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Kidney Transplants in the Internet Age - Travis Hill and reviewed by Joseph V. Madia, M.D. |
 Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of dialysis patients are waiting for new kidneys. Unfortunately, there are not enough organs to go around. Paperless donor screening may partially fix this problem.
Using web-based tools to screen potential kidney donors led to a lard boost in donor applications at two U.S. transplant centers.
The paperless format makes the screening process easier, allowing transplant centers to screen a larger number of people in a shorter amount of time.
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Vanderbilit University have reported substantial increases in potential kidney donors since adopting the web-based system.
"We're having to redo some of our workflow because we're getting so many potential donors," John Roberts, M.D., Chief of Transplantation at UCSF, told Renal & Urology News. "For example, one of the people on our transplat wait list has 19 potential donors." Read more about web-based donor screening. |
| Patient Interview with Yvonne M. |
 Each quarter we feature one of our dialysis patients in the Nephrology Note. Meet Yvonne M., a dialysis patient since 2009, and a travel extroidinaire.
What is your favorite place to travel to? I have traveled quite a lot in the past. I really enjoy seeing different cultures. My favorite trip was to the French Polynesia (Tahiti) where the ocean was so warm and so clear. The air was filled with the fragrance of vanilla. I also enjoyed the history of Italy and Egypt was fascinating. Since the beginning of dialysis, my only travels have been in the U.S., but I have made several trips and visited other dialysis centers.
How did you first learn that you were required to begin dialysis?
In 2006, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in my remaining right kidney. When my only kidney began to fail, I knew I would someday be on dialysis. After other metastases to my spleen and pancrease, and multiple tumors on the right kidney, I chose surgical removal in 2009. I started dialysis on June 1st as a patient with no kidneys. It still amazes me that I can have a good quality of life after losing both kidneys.
What are some things that help make your experience positive while dialyzing?
Smiling faces of the staff when we are greeted. Bright, cheerful facility.
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| Upcoming Events | |
29th Annual NANT Symposium - Las Vegas, NV March 5-8
National Student Nurses' Association
60th Anniversary Convention & Alumni Reunion -
Pittsburg, PA April 11-15
ANNA 43rd National Symposium - Lake Buena Vista, FL April 29-May 2
ASN Kidney Week 2012 - San Diego, CA Oct 30-Nov 4
For DaVita recruiting events, check out our events page . |
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