Surgeons say they have had success with a controversial transplant technique that uses risky donor kidneys containing cancerous masses. So far five patients have been treated by the team at Baltimore's University of Maryland School of Medicine. The surgeons say the technique offers a vital lifeline to patients with end-stage renal failure who could die waiting for a healthy donor organ. 

 

Before the transplants took place, the doctors said they had detailed discussions with the patients and the donors about the discovery of the cancer in the donor kidneys so that they were both aware of the risks, including recurrence of the cancer. None of the patients have developed cancer.

The fear of asking someone to donate a kidney is the greatest barrier for pursuing living donation. In truth, patients rarely need to ask directly. Most living donors say they volunteered to donate once they heard about their family member or friend's need. When surveyed after the transplant, living donors are quick to respond that they would donate again, without hesitation.

 

Join the Living Kidney Donors Network Monday, February 8; Tuesday, February 9; or Monday, February 15 at 7:30 pm Central time for the webinar titled "Having Your Donor Find You." The webinar features information about living donation and effective communication techniques to let others know about your need.

The deadline for submissions to the AAKP Artwork Contest is February 26. The Artwork Contest is being held in honor of the upcoming National Kidney Month (March). The goal of this artwork contest is to allow individuals to demonstrate, through their artwork, how kidney disease has affected them and help raise awareness of this chronic disease.

 

Artwork is publicly judged during National Kidney Month and will be displayed on the AAKP Web site from March 15 - April 15. Winners are announced in April. Entries must adhere to the contest/artwork guidelines and be accompanied by an official entry form.

 

Abnormalities in the kidneys and their blood vessels occur in at least 25 percent of healthy individuals. While most of these conditions are not harmful enough to prevent someone from donating a kidney, future studies are needed to determine their impact on long-term health. To determine how commonly these abnormalities occur in healthy adults, doctors examined nearly 2,000 adults who came into the Mayo Clinic to see if they could donate a kidney to a patient with kidney failure. These adults all underwent CT scans with detailed imaging of the kidneys and renal arteries.

The investigators found abnormalities in the kidneys and renal arteries were quite common, occurring in at least 1 in 4 adults. Kidney stones were the most common abnormality and were present in 1 in 10 adults. More than 73 percent of these abnormalities were not harmful enough to prevent kidney donation. The results appear in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

 

People with failing kidneys are increasingly skipping dialysis and going directly to transplant, new national data shows. The "pre-emptive" kidney transplants still represent a fraction of the total number of kidney transplants performed every year, but that fraction is growing. Fifteen percent of all transplants performed in the United States in 2007 were pre-emptive, up from 9-10 percent in the early 1990's.

 

Kidney specialists have known for years that patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) will do better if they have transplants before they need to go on dialysis or after only a short period on dialysis. When a patient can go directly to transplant and avoid dialysis, the transplanted organ is more likely to start working fast and to function well. For information on transplantation, visit http://www.aakp.org/transplant-information/.