#kidney Transplant

[reasonsforhope]

"For the first time, genetically modified pig kidneys provided “life-sustaining kidney function” during the course of a planned seven-day clinical study—a first step in addressing the critical crisis worldwide of kidney donor organ shortage.

The University of Alabama’s pre-clinical human study at Birmingham also advances the science and promise of xenotransplantation as a therapy to potentially cure end-stage kidney disease—just as a human-to-human transplants can.

“It has been truly extraordinary to see the first-ever preclinical demonstration that appropriately modified pig kidneys can provide normal, life-sustaining kidney function in a human safely and be achieved using a standard immunosuppression regimen,” said UAB transplant surgeon scientist Jayme Locke, M.D., director of UAB’s Comprehensive Transplant Institute and lead author of the paper...

The peer-reviewed findings published last month in JAMA Surgery describes the pioneering pre-clinical human research performed on a recipient experiencing brain death...

The pre-clinical human brain death model developed at UAB can evaluate the safety and feasibility of pig-to-human kidney xenografts, or transplants, without risk to a living human. It is named for transplant pioneer Jim Parsons, an organ donor whose family generously donated his body to advance xenotransplant kidney research, like the latest patient did.

A Critical Need

Kidney disease kills more people each year than breast or prostate cancer, while more than 90,000 people are on the transplant waiting list. More than 800,000 Americans are living with kidney failure and 240 Americans on dialysis die every day. The wait for a deceased donor kidney can be as long as five to 10 years, and almost 5,000 people per year die waiting for a kidney transplant.

Groundbreaking Study Details

The 52-year-old study subject for this research lived with hypertension and stage 2 chronic kidney disease, which affects more than one in seven U.S. adults, or an estimated 37 million Americans. As part of this study, the subject had both of his native kidneys removed and dialysis stopped, followed by a crossmatch-compatible xenotransplant with two 10 gene-edited pig kidneys, or UKidney.

The transplanted pig kidneys made urine within four minutes of re-perfusion and produced more than 37 liters of urine in the first 24 hours. The pig kidneys continued to function as they would in a living human for the entirety of the seven-day study. Also, the kidneys were still viable at the time the study was concluded.

“In the first 24 hours these kidneys made over 37 liters of urine,” said Dr. Locke. “It was really a remarkable thing to see.” ...

Gene editing in pigs to reduce immune rejection has made organ transplants from pigs to humans possible. The natural lifespan of a pig is 30 years, they are easily bred, and they have organs of similar size to humans. Genetically modified pig kidneys have been extensively tested in non-human primates, and the addition of UAB’s preclinical human research model—the Parsons Model—now provides important information about the safety and efficacy of kidneys in human transplant recipients."

-via Good News Network, September 17, 2023

[blackpearlblast]

Hi

Hope you are doing well 🇵🇸

Can you help me and share this link:

8 years old  child, Yusuf  have a kidney failure

I think he's story need your support

You can see in GFM campaign

https://gofund.me/97f9023b

Thank you so very much for your supporting us and for your contribution to saving us and getting us to safety and evacuating from Gaza.

thank you for reaching out! i will also add this to my masterlist and pray for yusuf's safety and recovery.

yusuf really very dearly needs medical care that is not possible with the limited resources in gaza, all while his and his family's lives are at risk from the violence being visited by the israeli occupation. aside from the evacuation cost, they also need money to afford a kidney transplant for yusuf. this is so important so that yusuf can have the future he deserves, where he survives kidney failure and is reunited and can play again with his siblings who miss and are afraid for him. please share and donate if you can!

[alkunta]

ateş kuşları From episode 22 to 27

This feisty character is Kara. He will make you laugh sometimes and sad sometimes because of his story. His brothers left him for organ dealers when he was young. They stole his kidney and tortured him until his other kidney failed. He returns to take revenge on his brothers because they abandoned him, but he lives his last days refusing to accept any kidney transplant, but in the end he collapses and wakes up to discover that his older brother has donated his kidney to him, but he is angry because it was done without his permission. But it was his wife who allowed it.

[beakers-and-telescopes]

Artificial kidneys for people with kidney failure may be closer than we think

More than 500k people in the US require dialysis every week due to kidney failure. Some of those people are able to receive organ transplants, but the waiting list is incredibly long and only about 20k people receive transplants every year. On top of that, a person's body can reject the transplanted organ, and even if it is successful the patient will have to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their life.

However, scientists at the University of California San Francisco hope that can be changed. They have created a bioreactor, a sort of artificial organ that can safely perform the functions of a kidney. It is connected directly to the blood vessels and veins, allowing passage of nutrients and oxygen like the actual kidney would. This bioreactor was tested using a type of kidney cell called a proximal tubule cell, which regulates water. These cells are encased in a silicon membrane with nanopores, which allows the cells to do their job while preventing the body's immune system from identifying and attacking them. These bioreactors were tested in pigs, and after a week the animals experienced no ill effects or rejection.

The next steps will be expanding to month long trials, and including more different kinds of cells in the reactor to perform more of the kidney's functions. Though this technology is still far from being perfected, this is a huge step in the direction of treating kidney disease far more easily and effectively!

[bpod-bpod]

Stopping Cystic Cells

More than half the patients with the inherited kidney disease ADPKD will need a kidney transplant. This study shows that the abnormal, cystic cells can be prevented from accumulating by inhibiting clustering of their centrosomes, cell machinery required for division – a potential novel treatment target

Read the published research article here

Image adapted from work by Tao Cheng and colleagues

Department of Medicine, Nephrology Division, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Journal of Clinical Investigation insight, May 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[fellowshipofthenerds]

I don't normally post personal stuff on here, but I'm a dialysis patient and have been waiting for a Transplant for 5 years now and tonight I got the call for a kidney and have to be at the hospital by midnight. So any positive vibes and thoughts and prayers you guys could send me I'd really appreciate it.

[momentsbeforemass]

Problems with God

I get to hear a lot of people’s problems with God.

Things they don’t understand. Things they object to. Things they have against God.

As someone with a collar and a title, it means a lot to me that people trust me enough to tell me their problems with God.

Because for a lot of people, the roots of their problems with God go back to someone with a collar and a title. So telling me about it? That takes some courage.

One of the biggest problems that people have with God? It’s one that I know well. Because I still struggle with it sometimes – having to understand something in order for it to be true.

It’s a subtle way that pride smuggles itself into our thoughts. It’s subtle, because almost nobody says it that way. In practice, it sounds much more sensible, because it goes something like this,

How can bread and wine be the Body and Blood of Christ? I’ve seen it before Mass and after the consecration – there’s no visible difference. It still looks like bread and wine.

Translation – I don’t understand it, therefore it isn’t true.

This approach isn’tt limited to problems with the Eucharist. But no matter what it’s applied to, when you boil that statement down to its essence, it doesn’t work. Because it’s nonsense. Here’s what I mean,

A friend of mine donated one of his kidneys to his daughter.

I don’t understand how organ transplants work.

According to the standard of “I don’t understand it, therefore it isn’t true,” the operation must have been a failure.

And yet – notwithstanding my complete lack of understanding – the transplant was a success. Fifteen years (and a grandchild) later, both my friend and his daughter are fine.

Which tells me what? That however much I think I know, I do not possess the sum total of human knowledge. Which means that there are things that are completely true that I do not understand.

The fact that knowledge continues to grow and new discoveries are made shows us that this is a universal experience. Also, that there are things that no human being understands. And that our collective lack of understanding has no impact on their truth.

The antidote to all of this, to the vanity and closemindedness that comes with “I don’t understand it, therefore it isn’t true?” We see it in today’s Gospel. In Mary’s lived example of humility.

Instead of having to have it all figured out, instead of demanding to know exactly how it’s all going to work. Mary lives in peace. How?

By not trusting to her own understanding. By not insisting that she is the standard by which everything is to be measured.

Instead, Mary waits on God for the next step. Trusting that the Creator of the universe can handle things just fine. Even if she doesn’t completely understand how.

Mary does that (as today’s Gospel shows us) even in the darkest moments of her life. Showing you and me the source of her peace.

Showing us how to have peace in the middle of life’s very worst.

Today’s Readings

[rocketsagan-blog]

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez - A Review

Mild spoilers, but nothing major.

I do enjoy a good romance, but it is not something I seek out. Generally, I like when there's something that seems really different - some job that I haven't seen represented in romance novels before, some activity, crazy stuff, whatever.

This book caught my attention when someone mentioned kidney donation was a major part of the book. Having donated a kidney to someone in need, I though, huh, that's new, wonder what's up?

I got through the plot feeling really satisfied - everything donor-specific felt pretty representative of what I had been through as a donor. I was nervous the donation surgery would be scary or have complications - nope! Won't get into too many details, but just like in real life, kidney donation has a low chance of complications, and donors and non-donors have the same average lifespan, so it was just one quality of the story, not necessarily a major source of drama in itself.

Then I got to the very end of the text, when Abby Jimenez mentioned her journey with kidney health and I nearly cried.

I already chose to donate to help someone in need, and seeing that Abby wrote from experience, really helping showcase how meaningful it is to give the gift of better health when one can - it was just so dang lovely.

Not to focus on just the one issue - the rest of the book is also good! The main pair feel lived in, thoughtful in their emotions, and really care about how the other is doing. Maybe the relationship drama went out for a little too long for my tastes, but the thing that made this book special was just such a well-thought out addition and it came from such a good place.

The book has some trigger warnings for pregnancy loss - I suggest anyone interested read the triggers first, but from my perspective, I was very pleased with how things were handled.

Give this book a whirl, and consider kidney donation if you are in a place in your health and life journey to help someone else!

[lets-donate-a-kidney]

It's National Kidney Month! Did you know:

Over 80,000 people in the USA alone need kidney transplants.

The average wait time for a kidney transplant is five years on dialysis.

Kidney donors actually have a lower risk of kidney disease, and a higher life expectancy, than the general population.

Donating a kidney can extend the recipient's life by 20-40 years!

Kidney donation is actually one of the "easier" surgeries, with most people only spending one night at the hospital.

In most countries it costs no money to donate a kidney, and in the USA you can get compensation for lost wages while recovering from surgery.

You don't need to know someone who needs a kidney before you donate one. In fact, these "non-directed donors" often enable the transplant waitlist to create donation chains, in which multiple people receive kidneys!

Registering as an organ donor means you could even donate an organ after you die, without needing to do anything while you're alive.

If you want to learn more, check out the National Kidney Registry, or you can read about my personal experience on this blog. Or, if kidney donation isn't right for you, there are other ways you can help folks with kidney disease!

[c1nnabunsw1rl]

I did it! One of the youngest people ever to get a kidney AUTO transplant! A very rare surgery for a very rare disease. I was the only young teenager in the entire transplant ward. Performing surgery on me was a dangerous task because I needed blood transfusions and am very small. But I still remember waking up from the procedure and thinking: "dang bro, what just happened?" seeing the scar and being shocked at how big the cut is Anyways I have a new DTIYS for you guys if you'd like to participate! No pressure but I will be making an art comp with the drawings of whoever decides to participate in the DTIYS ^_^ You can remake my drawing above in your style if you'd like! :) All entrants will be supporting the cause to spread awareness for rare conditions like mine.

[siexa]

Snap and ig @siennawiltshire - me, my dialysis arm and my transplant scar. A work of art.

[wtf-tfw]

kinsey scale? oh i thought you said kidney scale and i was going to say 0, because my kidneys have currently been stolen. whats your blood type btw.

[ass-sassafras]

Anyone on here ever have major abdominal surgery? The only surgery I've had was laser eye surgery which is nbd.

A week from tomorrow I go under and get my right kidney removed. They're pretty certain they can do it laproscopically (a cut similar to a c-section) with like a 5% chance they'll have to cut me from chest down to pelvic bone. They won't know until they open me up.

The only instructions I have is to avoid sick people for the next week, drink lots of water and go easy on greasy food. Any tips from anyone?

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

December 23rd, 1954: The first successful kidney transplant is performed, between identical twins, at Brigham Hospital in Massachusetts, USA.

Physicians Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray would receive the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this. In his speech, Harrison noted this was the first time a patient was subjected to a major surgery not for his own benefit.