We have just found out that my beautiful, sweet, and intelligent daughter will need a kidney transplant.
She was diagnosed by a "lucky fluke"...when going to the doctor because her migrane attack symptoms had changed, he sent her for a cat-scan. The radialogy department requires a blood test to check if the kidneys can handle the dye they inject as it can cause kidney failure, and even death.
My daughter was all prepared for the injection, and was surprised when they did the scan without it.
The radiologist asked in a very discret way if she had any abdominal problems, she thought it was a strange question, but she told him that she had a reflux bladder problem as a child. The guy was not allowed to say anything, but my daughter sensed he wanted to, so she said that maybe she should make an other appointment with her doctor. She could tell he was relieved.
When she saw the doctor a few days later, he started to talk about the results from the cat-scan, but when she told him that at the moment she was more concerned about the results of the blood test (creatinine level).
As he pulled the results out, she knew it was not good. He told her that her levels, 3.6 were so high that she is in cronic kidney failure. He started to talk about dialysis, and transplant. Needless to say, we are all in shock.
She was immediately referred to a specialist, who told us that her kidney functions are below 14%, and that she needs to go on dialysis until we find a matching donor. He told us that the waiting time for a kidney is 6-8 years, unless we can find a living donor.
Hopefully someone in the family is a match, and I pray it is me. I gave her life once, and it should be me again, as I don't want to have two of my kids going through risky surgery.
I am asking for advice how to deal with this, if anyone else has gone through it. Thought I would start with my friends on the forums I visit, and will most likely check out specific forums dealing with this. Right now I feel lost.
I am also very upset that there wasn't a red flag on her file at her doctors office, when such dire results were entered into the computer.
Full Version: I am Living In A surreal Fog, My Family Has
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > Health Care > Health Care Issues Archive
Oh, ulrika, this is such sad news indeed. My heart goes out to you.
I have no real advice to give you but I would like to share a true story. About 30 years ago,
when rejection was still a much bigger issue, our next door neighbor's daughter needed
a transplant. The best match was our neighbor, the father- a man of about 50-60. The
transplant was successful and they both did fine. Oh, and years ago I had an acquaintance who was on dialysis for years and years- she finally got a transplant and that worked well, too. I wish you the very, very best. Please let us know how things go.
I have no real advice to give you but I would like to share a true story. About 30 years ago,
when rejection was still a much bigger issue, our next door neighbor's daughter needed
a transplant. The best match was our neighbor, the father- a man of about 50-60. The
transplant was successful and they both did fine. Oh, and years ago I had an acquaintance who was on dialysis for years and years- she finally got a transplant and that worked well, too. I wish you the very, very best. Please let us know how things go.
We had a girl in my school diagnosed with childhood leukemia two years ago. Once word got out that no one in her family fit as a bone marrow donor, 90% of the eligible kids signed up to be tested. Eventually, one was found for her and things have worked out fine for her, although it was a very tough process.
Never give up on the power of good within humans.
Never give up on the power of good within humans.
QUOTE(Pie @ Nov 25 2005, 07:51 PM)
Oh, ulrika, this is such sad news indeed. My heart goes out to you.
I have no real advice to give you but I would like to share a true story. About 30 years ago,
when rejection was still a much bigger issue, our next door neighbor's daughter needed
a transplant. The best match was our neighbor, the father- a man of about 50-60. The
transplant was successful and they both did fine. Oh, and years ago I had an acquaintance who was on dialysis for years and years- she finally got a transplant and that worked well, too. I wish you the very, very best. Please let us know how things go.
I have no real advice to give you but I would like to share a true story. About 30 years ago,
when rejection was still a much bigger issue, our next door neighbor's daughter needed
a transplant. The best match was our neighbor, the father- a man of about 50-60. The
transplant was successful and they both did fine. Oh, and years ago I had an acquaintance who was on dialysis for years and years- she finally got a transplant and that worked well, too. I wish you the very, very best. Please let us know how things go.
Thanks for the encouraging words Pie.
I was a bit concerned about the age factor when I said I wanted my daughter to have my kidney, but the specialist said that that would not be a problem, as long as I am healthy, and a match. This is all so new, so we have not gone through all the tests yet. There is so much to take in.
I am so glad we live in Canada, because we never have to worry about the cost factor as far as drugs and treatment goes. We also have a pretty good federal system when you go on sick leave from your work for an extended time. Even so, it is very scary. My daughter has a 13-year old daughter.
I have never been through anything like this and whatever I might say to you, ulrika, is going to be lame at best. Know that you and your daughter will be in my thoughts and prayers. Maybe that helps just a tiny bit.
I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for you.
I did not know my neighbor well enough to know details. But, as far
as your daughter having a daughter, this is good. When I had a 50%
chance of surviving cancer, what kept me fighting was the fact that
I had a young child. There is no better incentive to force one to have
a positive outlook- and a positive outlook has been proven to help in
healing. Just as you are willing to do anything to help your daughter,
I am sure your daughter feels the same way about her daughter. I
don't know if I am making any sense... it is hard to explain... but working
together, you will all come through this. And digging in for a little faith
(in whatever/whomever) helps as well.
I can also tell you that as the emotional hurdle (shock) of it begins to
wear off, it helps to attack the solutions available with a vengeance.
Leave no stone unturned- remember that no question is too 'dumb' to ask.
Study- gather all the info you can. The knowledge made me feel as if I
had more power over the illness.
And do not be afraid to do whatever helps ease the stress. I shocked my
doctor when I came for treatments and listened to tapes of water, forest
sounds, etc. He thought I was a loon ! But it relaxed me and I would kind of
meditate about the chems killing the bad cells. It turned out to be such a good
relaxant, that he began to encourage other patients to do similar things, instead
of just lying there while being infused.
But the best thing I can offer is this: do not allow the illness to consume your
daughter or you. It is an obstacle to be overcome, it does not define your daughter
as a whole- she is still the person she was before anyone knew she had this illness.
It may appear that I am giving some conflicting advice here- it is a delicate
balance. But if I could do it, I know you and your daughter can.
I did not know my neighbor well enough to know details. But, as far
as your daughter having a daughter, this is good. When I had a 50%
chance of surviving cancer, what kept me fighting was the fact that
I had a young child. There is no better incentive to force one to have
a positive outlook- and a positive outlook has been proven to help in
healing. Just as you are willing to do anything to help your daughter,
I am sure your daughter feels the same way about her daughter. I
don't know if I am making any sense... it is hard to explain... but working
together, you will all come through this. And digging in for a little faith
(in whatever/whomever) helps as well.
I can also tell you that as the emotional hurdle (shock) of it begins to
wear off, it helps to attack the solutions available with a vengeance.
Leave no stone unturned- remember that no question is too 'dumb' to ask.
Study- gather all the info you can. The knowledge made me feel as if I
had more power over the illness.
And do not be afraid to do whatever helps ease the stress. I shocked my
doctor when I came for treatments and listened to tapes of water, forest
sounds, etc. He thought I was a loon ! But it relaxed me and I would kind of
meditate about the chems killing the bad cells. It turned out to be such a good
relaxant, that he began to encourage other patients to do similar things, instead
of just lying there while being infused.
But the best thing I can offer is this: do not allow the illness to consume your
daughter or you. It is an obstacle to be overcome, it does not define your daughter
as a whole- she is still the person she was before anyone knew she had this illness.
It may appear that I am giving some conflicting advice here- it is a delicate
balance. But if I could do it, I know you and your daughter can.
I am so glad I have my 2 forums to confide in....I consider you my great friends...even more sometimes than the ones I meet face to face on a daily basis.
Pie, you are a great inspiration, and I hope that you are free from your cancer.
I know that your children are a great motivation in getting well. The sad thing is, that when my daughter came home from the cat-scan, and told us what the radiologist had said, we were joking around (as we always do in a crisis), and asked her daughter if she would give her mom one of her kidneys, never even dreaming that her mom would ever need a transplant. Her daughter said she would be too afraid of the surgery....and I told her it would never come to that.
Today she said she would give her mom a kidney, but I told her she does not have to worry because we will find a kidney for her mom.
Pie, you are a great inspiration, and I hope that you are free from your cancer.
I know that your children are a great motivation in getting well. The sad thing is, that when my daughter came home from the cat-scan, and told us what the radiologist had said, we were joking around (as we always do in a crisis), and asked her daughter if she would give her mom one of her kidneys, never even dreaming that her mom would ever need a transplant. Her daughter said she would be too afraid of the surgery....and I told her it would never come to that.
Today she said she would give her mom a kidney, but I told her she does not have to worry because we will find a kidney for her mom.
Ulrika, I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. I am totally unfamiliar with Kidney transplants so I have no words of wisdom to share. Here are a few sites that discuss transplants that may be helpful. I know when we found out about Dad's dementia I wanted to read everything that I could lay my hands on. Hopefully these sites will provide some useful information and other links. I posted the Stanford article because it had some helpful information about Medicare eligibility and some other things. The article also had a phone number for the reporter who covers the health beat. He may be able to answer some questions too.
I hope you will keep us posted and let us know how we can help. You know we will be here for you.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/kidney-transplant/
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/transplant/...ney/default.htm
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozItem.cfm?id=86
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the April 23, 2004 print edition
Stanford to expand top-rated kidney transplant program
Troy May
Kidney transplants at Stanford University Hospital result in some of the country's best outcomes, according to a new national survey, which comes just in time to boost Stanford's plans to expand its program to meet growing demand for the procedure.
Most of the 240 kidney transplant centers in the United States receive a good rating, and Stanford is among the 15 centers regarded as exceptional, but Stanford recorded the best one-year survival rates on the West Coast, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, an organization that tracks transplant programs for the federal government.
In addition to Stanford, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Davis and California Pacific Medical Center have kidney transplant programs that met expectations. Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco is revving up to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer.
"Many of these centers do well," says Dr. John Scandling, medical director of the Adult Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program at Stanford. "It just so happens we ended up on top."
Stanford has physicians, nurses and other clinical support staff working with patients as a team. But Dr. Scandling says he can't say exactly what Stanford's medical team does to get such good results. "That's a good question," he says. The medical community usually focuses its research on why programs aren't doing well, rather than what makes them stand out.
In general, kidney transplant outcomes have improved over the 44 years since Stanford did California's first such procedure because anti-rejection drugs, prescribed for the rest of the patient's life, have become more effective.
More kidneys are transplanted than any other organ. There are 66,000 people on a nationwide waiting list for a kidney, while only 18,500 are on the waiting list for all other organs, says Mary Wallace, spokeswoman for California Transplant Donor Network in Oakland.
Kidney failure, which is when the organ stops adequately cleaning waste from the blood, occurs as a result of a variety of factors, including age, diabetes and hypertension. Because all of these conditions are growing problems in the United States, demand for kidney transplants is expected to grow about 6 percent each year.
Regardless of age, a patient with kidney failure becomes eligible for Medicare coverage, which pays for the transplant. The growing demand for kidneys and guaranteed Medicare coverage represent a lucrative business opportunity for medical centers. Although transplanting a kidney from a deceased donor usually is a break-even or slightly profitable proposition at UC San Francisco, "we make money on a living donor," says Dr. John Roberts, chief of liver, kidney and pancreas surgery there.
Because patients can survive on dialysis, a process through which a machine cleans the blood, kidney transplants are considered elective surgery. But dialysis, which must be done up to three times a week for life, is more expensive than a kidney transplant, which is why Medicare pays for the procedure. "A kidney transplant is still considered the best treatment for kidney failure," says Dr. Scandling.
Dialysis costs more than $43,000 annually, says Erik Gross, Stanford's administrative director of transplantation. Transplant surgery, on the other hand, costs around $100,000 with follow-up medications costing at least $15,000 per year, says Mr. Gross.
Stanford plans to hire two more doctors for its kidney transplant team. It also plans to market its transplant program to physicians as far east as Nevada and as far south as Central America, says Mr. Gross. PacifiCare, one of the state's largest health plans, recently designated Stanford as its primary provider for kidney transplants.
A transplanted kidney doesn't last a lifetime. Even with improved anti-rejection drugs, the kidney tissue is still foreign to the patient's body, which slowly breaks it down to the point of failure again, Dr. Scandling says. At that point, which generally occurs in about a decade, the patient needs another kidney.
There is more demand than supply of kidneys, especially in the California donor region, which is part of the national donor network. Some regions, such as the Midwest, have fewer people on the waiting list, which is why some California patients travel out-of-state for a kidney transplant, Dr. Roberts says.
A shortage of kidneys in a region can limit a medical center's growth, unless more living donors such as friends or family step forward as donors. The number of living kidney donors surpassed cadaver donors for the first time last year, Dr. Roberts says.
Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco hopes to win state and federal approval in time to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer, says Dr. Sharon Inokuchi, medical director of Kaiser's transplantation department.
Currently, Kaiser has 150 to 175 patients each year who undergo a kidney transplant at either UC San Francisco or UC Davis. About 1,000 people from Kaiser's Northern California district usually are on the donor waiting list. Because a kidney transplant patient needs regular care for life, Dr. Inokuchi says Kaiser's comprehensive patient-care approach is expected to improve outcomes, reducing costs over time.
Troy May covers health care and health sciences for the Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1820.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/sto...tml?t=printable
I hope you will keep us posted and let us know how we can help. You know we will be here for you.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/kidney-transplant/
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/transplant/...ney/default.htm
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozItem.cfm?id=86
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the April 23, 2004 print edition
Stanford to expand top-rated kidney transplant program
Troy May
Kidney transplants at Stanford University Hospital result in some of the country's best outcomes, according to a new national survey, which comes just in time to boost Stanford's plans to expand its program to meet growing demand for the procedure.
Most of the 240 kidney transplant centers in the United States receive a good rating, and Stanford is among the 15 centers regarded as exceptional, but Stanford recorded the best one-year survival rates on the West Coast, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, an organization that tracks transplant programs for the federal government.
In addition to Stanford, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Davis and California Pacific Medical Center have kidney transplant programs that met expectations. Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco is revving up to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer.
"Many of these centers do well," says Dr. John Scandling, medical director of the Adult Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program at Stanford. "It just so happens we ended up on top."
Stanford has physicians, nurses and other clinical support staff working with patients as a team. But Dr. Scandling says he can't say exactly what Stanford's medical team does to get such good results. "That's a good question," he says. The medical community usually focuses its research on why programs aren't doing well, rather than what makes them stand out.
In general, kidney transplant outcomes have improved over the 44 years since Stanford did California's first such procedure because anti-rejection drugs, prescribed for the rest of the patient's life, have become more effective.
More kidneys are transplanted than any other organ. There are 66,000 people on a nationwide waiting list for a kidney, while only 18,500 are on the waiting list for all other organs, says Mary Wallace, spokeswoman for California Transplant Donor Network in Oakland.
Kidney failure, which is when the organ stops adequately cleaning waste from the blood, occurs as a result of a variety of factors, including age, diabetes and hypertension. Because all of these conditions are growing problems in the United States, demand for kidney transplants is expected to grow about 6 percent each year.
Regardless of age, a patient with kidney failure becomes eligible for Medicare coverage, which pays for the transplant. The growing demand for kidneys and guaranteed Medicare coverage represent a lucrative business opportunity for medical centers. Although transplanting a kidney from a deceased donor usually is a break-even or slightly profitable proposition at UC San Francisco, "we make money on a living donor," says Dr. John Roberts, chief of liver, kidney and pancreas surgery there.
Because patients can survive on dialysis, a process through which a machine cleans the blood, kidney transplants are considered elective surgery. But dialysis, which must be done up to three times a week for life, is more expensive than a kidney transplant, which is why Medicare pays for the procedure. "A kidney transplant is still considered the best treatment for kidney failure," says Dr. Scandling.
Dialysis costs more than $43,000 annually, says Erik Gross, Stanford's administrative director of transplantation. Transplant surgery, on the other hand, costs around $100,000 with follow-up medications costing at least $15,000 per year, says Mr. Gross.
Stanford plans to hire two more doctors for its kidney transplant team. It also plans to market its transplant program to physicians as far east as Nevada and as far south as Central America, says Mr. Gross. PacifiCare, one of the state's largest health plans, recently designated Stanford as its primary provider for kidney transplants.
A transplanted kidney doesn't last a lifetime. Even with improved anti-rejection drugs, the kidney tissue is still foreign to the patient's body, which slowly breaks it down to the point of failure again, Dr. Scandling says. At that point, which generally occurs in about a decade, the patient needs another kidney.
There is more demand than supply of kidneys, especially in the California donor region, which is part of the national donor network. Some regions, such as the Midwest, have fewer people on the waiting list, which is why some California patients travel out-of-state for a kidney transplant, Dr. Roberts says.
A shortage of kidneys in a region can limit a medical center's growth, unless more living donors such as friends or family step forward as donors. The number of living kidney donors surpassed cadaver donors for the first time last year, Dr. Roberts says.
Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco hopes to win state and federal approval in time to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer, says Dr. Sharon Inokuchi, medical director of Kaiser's transplantation department.
Currently, Kaiser has 150 to 175 patients each year who undergo a kidney transplant at either UC San Francisco or UC Davis. About 1,000 people from Kaiser's Northern California district usually are on the donor waiting list. Because a kidney transplant patient needs regular care for life, Dr. Inokuchi says Kaiser's comprehensive patient-care approach is expected to improve outcomes, reducing costs over time.
Troy May covers health care and health sciences for the Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1820.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/sto...tml?t=printable
I will put your family in my prayers tonight. My oldest son son almost died on us when he was five days old and although there were great doctors involved, there was also a tremendous amount of prayer from my community. And although it might have turned out the same without the prayer, it was a comfort to know that we were not alone. I will offer up my prayers for you.
QUOTE(texas bandman @ Nov 25 2005, 09:26 PM)
I will put your family in my prayers tonight. My oldest son son almost died on us when he was five days old and although there were great doctors involved, there was also a tremendous amount of prayer from my community. And although it might have turned out the same without the prayer, it was a comfort to know that we were not alone. I will offer up my prayers for you.
I hope your son is ok now bandman. And I agree, it does help to know that other people are thinking about you, be it by prayer or by thought....
QUOTE(ulrika @ Nov 25 2005, 08:06 PM)
Thanks for the encouraging words Pie.
I was a bit concerned about the age factor when I said I wanted my daughter to have my kidney, but the specialist said that that would not be a problem, as long as I am healthy, and a match. This is all so new, so we have not gone through all the tests yet. There is so much to take in.
I am so glad we live in Canada, because we never have to worry about the cost factor as far as drugs and treatment goes. We also have a pretty good federal system when you go on sick leave from your work for an extended time. Even so, it is very scary. My daughter has a 13-year old daughter.
I was a bit concerned about the age factor when I said I wanted my daughter to have my kidney, but the specialist said that that would not be a problem, as long as I am healthy, and a match. This is all so new, so we have not gone through all the tests yet. There is so much to take in.
I am so glad we live in Canada, because we never have to worry about the cost factor as far as drugs and treatment goes. We also have a pretty good federal system when you go on sick leave from your work for an extended time. Even so, it is very scary. My daughter has a 13-year old daughter.
A friend of ours went through a transplant and gave the best analogy I've heard. It's like you're moving to France but you end up in Belgium. It was not how you expected to live your life, but you adapt and life goes on.
And yes, you are lucky to live in Canada for reasons such as this.
My prayers are with you ulrika, and I hope all goes well for you and your daughter. Thank you for sharing this with us, and for considering us as your friends.
QUOTE(Noonan @ Nov 25 2005, 08:03 PM)
We had a girl in my school diagnosed with childhood leukemia two years ago. Once word got out that no one in her family fit as a bone marrow donor, 90% of the eligible kids signed up to be tested. Eventually, one was found for her and things have worked out fine for her, although it was a very tough process.
Never give up on the power of good within humans.
Never give up on the power of good within humans.
Thank you for sharing....what a heart warming story...
QUOTE(ulrika @ Nov 25 2005, 11:32 PM)
I hope your son is ok now bandman. And I agree, it does help to know that other people are thinking about you, be it by prayer or by thought....
My son is 8 years old now. At 7 days old, he was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus and was placed on DDVAP, an artificial hormone that his pituitary gland was not producing. At the age of 2 and 1/2 he started having adverse reactions to the DDVAP so we took him off it and he was found to be having normal kidney function! The endochronologist said that he'd never seen this happen before, so my son is now considered in remission. He has been off of medication for the last 6 years and is a healthy 3rd grader. We still don't know what happened or why, but you can say that I believe in miracles. So please have hope and faith that things can turn out well.
QUOTE(no retreat @ no surrender,Nov 26 2005, 01:13 AM)
Ulrika, I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. I am totally unfamiliar with Kidney transplants so I have no words of wisdom to share. Here are a few sites that discuss transplants that may be helpful. I know when we found out about Dad's dementia I wanted to read everything that I could lay my hands on. Hopefully these sites will provide some useful information and other links. I posted the Stanford article because it had some helpful information about Medicare eligibility and some other things. The article also had a phone number for the reporter who covers the health beat. He may be able to answer some questions too.
I hope you will keep us posted and let us know how we can help. You know we will be here for you.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/kidney-transplant/
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/transplant/...ney/default.htm
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozItem.cfm?id=86
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the April 23, 2004 print edition
Stanford to expand top-rated kidney transplant program
Troy May
Kidney transplants at Stanford University Hospital result in some of the country's best outcomes, according to a new national survey, which comes just in time to boost Stanford's plans to expand its program to meet growing demand for the procedure.
Most of the 240 kidney transplant centers in the United States receive a good rating, and Stanford is among the 15 centers regarded as exceptional, but Stanford recorded the best one-year survival rates on the West Coast, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, an organization that tracks transplant programs for the federal government.
In addition to Stanford, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Davis and California Pacific Medical Center have kidney transplant programs that met expectations. Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco is revving up to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer.
"Many of these centers do well," says Dr. John Scandling, medical director of the Adult Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program at Stanford. "It just so happens we ended up on top."
Stanford has physicians, nurses and other clinical support staff working with patients as a team. But Dr. Scandling says he can't say exactly what Stanford's medical team does to get such good results. "That's a good question," he says. The medical community usually focuses its research on why programs aren't doing well, rather than what makes them stand out.
In general, kidney transplant outcomes have improved over the 44 years since Stanford did California's first such procedure because anti-rejection drugs, prescribed for the rest of the patient's life, have become more effective.
More kidneys are transplanted than any other organ. There are 66,000 people on a nationwide waiting list for a kidney, while only 18,500 are on the waiting list for all other organs, says Mary Wallace, spokeswoman for California Transplant Donor Network in Oakland.
Kidney failure, which is when the organ stops adequately cleaning waste from the blood, occurs as a result of a variety of factors, including age, diabetes and hypertension. Because all of these conditions are growing problems in the United States, demand for kidney transplants is expected to grow about 6 percent each year.
Regardless of age, a patient with kidney failure becomes eligible for Medicare coverage, which pays for the transplant. The growing demand for kidneys and guaranteed Medicare coverage represent a lucrative business opportunity for medical centers. Although transplanting a kidney from a deceased donor usually is a break-even or slightly profitable proposition at UC San Francisco, "we make money on a living donor," says Dr. John Roberts, chief of liver, kidney and pancreas surgery there.
Because patients can survive on dialysis, a process through which a machine cleans the blood, kidney transplants are considered elective surgery. But dialysis, which must be done up to three times a week for life, is more expensive than a kidney transplant, which is why Medicare pays for the procedure. "A kidney transplant is still considered the best treatment for kidney failure," says Dr. Scandling.
Dialysis costs more than $43,000 annually, says Erik Gross, Stanford's administrative director of transplantation. Transplant surgery, on the other hand, costs around $100,000 with follow-up medications costing at least $15,000 per year, says Mr. Gross.
Stanford plans to hire two more doctors for its kidney transplant team. It also plans to market its transplant program to physicians as far east as Nevada and as far south as Central America, says Mr. Gross. PacifiCare, one of the state's largest health plans, recently designated Stanford as its primary provider for kidney transplants.
A transplanted kidney doesn't last a lifetime. Even with improved anti-rejection drugs, the kidney tissue is still foreign to the patient's body, which slowly breaks it down to the point of failure again, Dr. Scandling says. At that point, which generally occurs in about a decade, the patient needs another kidney.
There is more demand than supply of kidneys, especially in the California donor region, which is part of the national donor network. Some regions, such as the Midwest, have fewer people on the waiting list, which is why some California patients travel out-of-state for a kidney transplant, Dr. Roberts says.
A shortage of kidneys in a region can limit a medical center's growth, unless more living donors such as friends or family step forward as donors. The number of living kidney donors surpassed cadaver donors for the first time last year, Dr. Roberts says.
Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco hopes to win state and federal approval in time to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer, says Dr. Sharon Inokuchi, medical director of Kaiser's transplantation department.
Currently, Kaiser has 150 to 175 patients each year who undergo a kidney transplant at either UC San Francisco or UC Davis. About 1,000 people from Kaiser's Northern California district usually are on the donor waiting list. Because a kidney transplant patient needs regular care for life, Dr. Inokuchi says Kaiser's comprehensive patient-care approach is expected to improve outcomes, reducing costs over time.
Troy May covers health care and health sciences for the Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1820.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/sto...tml?t=printable
I hope you will keep us posted and let us know how we can help. You know we will be here for you.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/kidney-transplant/
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/transplant/...ney/default.htm
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozItem.cfm?id=86
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the April 23, 2004 print edition
Stanford to expand top-rated kidney transplant program
Troy May
Kidney transplants at Stanford University Hospital result in some of the country's best outcomes, according to a new national survey, which comes just in time to boost Stanford's plans to expand its program to meet growing demand for the procedure.
Most of the 240 kidney transplant centers in the United States receive a good rating, and Stanford is among the 15 centers regarded as exceptional, but Stanford recorded the best one-year survival rates on the West Coast, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, an organization that tracks transplant programs for the federal government.
In addition to Stanford, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Davis and California Pacific Medical Center have kidney transplant programs that met expectations. Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco is revving up to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer.
"Many of these centers do well," says Dr. John Scandling, medical director of the Adult Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program at Stanford. "It just so happens we ended up on top."
Stanford has physicians, nurses and other clinical support staff working with patients as a team. But Dr. Scandling says he can't say exactly what Stanford's medical team does to get such good results. "That's a good question," he says. The medical community usually focuses its research on why programs aren't doing well, rather than what makes them stand out.
In general, kidney transplant outcomes have improved over the 44 years since Stanford did California's first such procedure because anti-rejection drugs, prescribed for the rest of the patient's life, have become more effective.
More kidneys are transplanted than any other organ. There are 66,000 people on a nationwide waiting list for a kidney, while only 18,500 are on the waiting list for all other organs, says Mary Wallace, spokeswoman for California Transplant Donor Network in Oakland.
Kidney failure, which is when the organ stops adequately cleaning waste from the blood, occurs as a result of a variety of factors, including age, diabetes and hypertension. Because all of these conditions are growing problems in the United States, demand for kidney transplants is expected to grow about 6 percent each year.
Regardless of age, a patient with kidney failure becomes eligible for Medicare coverage, which pays for the transplant. The growing demand for kidneys and guaranteed Medicare coverage represent a lucrative business opportunity for medical centers. Although transplanting a kidney from a deceased donor usually is a break-even or slightly profitable proposition at UC San Francisco, "we make money on a living donor," says Dr. John Roberts, chief of liver, kidney and pancreas surgery there.
Because patients can survive on dialysis, a process through which a machine cleans the blood, kidney transplants are considered elective surgery. But dialysis, which must be done up to three times a week for life, is more expensive than a kidney transplant, which is why Medicare pays for the procedure. "A kidney transplant is still considered the best treatment for kidney failure," says Dr. Scandling.
Dialysis costs more than $43,000 annually, says Erik Gross, Stanford's administrative director of transplantation. Transplant surgery, on the other hand, costs around $100,000 with follow-up medications costing at least $15,000 per year, says Mr. Gross.
Stanford plans to hire two more doctors for its kidney transplant team. It also plans to market its transplant program to physicians as far east as Nevada and as far south as Central America, says Mr. Gross. PacifiCare, one of the state's largest health plans, recently designated Stanford as its primary provider for kidney transplants.
A transplanted kidney doesn't last a lifetime. Even with improved anti-rejection drugs, the kidney tissue is still foreign to the patient's body, which slowly breaks it down to the point of failure again, Dr. Scandling says. At that point, which generally occurs in about a decade, the patient needs another kidney.
There is more demand than supply of kidneys, especially in the California donor region, which is part of the national donor network. Some regions, such as the Midwest, have fewer people on the waiting list, which is why some California patients travel out-of-state for a kidney transplant, Dr. Roberts says.
A shortage of kidneys in a region can limit a medical center's growth, unless more living donors such as friends or family step forward as donors. The number of living kidney donors surpassed cadaver donors for the first time last year, Dr. Roberts says.
Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco hopes to win state and federal approval in time to start its own kidney transplant program in late summer, says Dr. Sharon Inokuchi, medical director of Kaiser's transplantation department.
Currently, Kaiser has 150 to 175 patients each year who undergo a kidney transplant at either UC San Francisco or UC Davis. About 1,000 people from Kaiser's Northern California district usually are on the donor waiting list. Because a kidney transplant patient needs regular care for life, Dr. Inokuchi says Kaiser's comprehensive patient-care approach is expected to improve outcomes, reducing costs over time.
Troy May covers health care and health sciences for the Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1820.
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/sto...tml?t=printable
Myy apologies Ulrika. Somehow I managed to read right over where you said that you live in Canada. I guess you won't be needing any of that Medicare info. Sorry about that. I hope the other site links that I posted are of some use to you.
I don't know anything about Transplants Ulrika, but You and yours will be in my prayers.
Take care Ulrika, i dont pray much but you will be in my thoughts, and i whish you and your family the best, hope it will be will be over by christmas so you can enjoy it together, you and your whole family
Ulrika, I am so glad you have the support of friends here, and I pray everything will work out. My foreman at work has a son who received a Kidney from his mother several years ago, and the biggest problem he faces is affording the drugs to counter rejection. Thankfully, you live in a country where that shouldn't be as big a problem. Wade, his son has a bad day now and then, but mostly he is living a normal life, and the drugs are more effective against rejection than the ones they used to have. Please keep us posted, and you will be in our thoughts and prayers.
QUOTE(no retreat @ no surrender,Nov 25 2005, 10:37 PM)
Myy apologies Ulrika. Somehow I managed to read right over where you said that you live in Canada. I guess you won't be needing any of that Medicare info. Sorry about that. I hope the other site links that I posted are of some use to you.
No need to apologize nrns. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are such programs in the US, and the info will help many Americans who may be in need of your Medicare info.
Thank you so much for your interest and information
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