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Tag: kidney transplants

  • 6 kidney transplants successfully performed at UGMC

    6 kidney transplants successfully performed at UGMC

    The University of Ghana Medical Centre has reported the successful completion of its initial six kidney surgeries.

    In a press statement released on Sunday, the Centre highlighted that under the guidance of a skilled and dedicated team comprising both local and international medical professionals, it “has so far conducted six kidney transplant surgeries with utmost precision, care, and expertise.”

    Dr. Emmanuel Asante, the head of Urology at UGMC, emphasized that the procedures were executed seamlessly, demonstrating the Centre’s proficiency in complex surgical interventions and post-operative care.

    The Chief Executive of UGMC, Dr. Kwame Anim Boamah, stated, “The successful completion of the first set of six kidney transplants underscores the Centre’s commitment to pushing boundaries, achieving medical excellence, and improving the lives of patients through cutting-edge interventions and compassionate care.”

    He added, “UGMC looks forward to continuing its mission of advancing healthcare standards and innovations practices in the field of transplantation.”

  • Widely used test kept Black people from getting kidney transplants

    Widely used test kept Black people from getting kidney transplants

    Kristal Higgins just wants to be healthy, become a nurse and travel to Greece. But she has kidney failure and has been on a transplant waiting list for six years.

    The disease and its comorbidities have touched many of her loved ones. Her mother has Stage 2 kidney disease. Her father has diabetes, a risk factor for kidney failure, as did her late grandmother. Several of her relatives have kidney failure.

    Black people are almost four times as likely to be diagnosed with renal failure as white people – but many are often diagnosed late, and it takes longer to get on transplant lists.

    That’s because of an antiquated kidney function test that can overestimate kidney function in Black patients, which masks the severity of their kidney disease and results in late diagnosis and delayed transplant referrals.

    The test has drawn scrutiny from experts in recent years. Last summer, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network board, which links transplant centers and develops policies, prohibited use of the calculation.

    And in what experts are calling an unprecedented move to correct racial inequity in access to kidney transplants, the board recently approved a waiting time adjustment for Black transplant candidates.

    It’s a “restorative justice project in medicine,” said Dr. Martha Pavlakis, nephrologist and kidney transplantation committee chair at the transplantation network.

    The new backdating policy, which took effect this month, aims to make up for that lost time for Black kidney transplant candidates who should have qualified for a transplant sooner but didn’t because the test showed their kidney function wasn’t severe enough.

    The policy requires kidney transplant programs to identify and notify Black candidates who should have qualified sooner. Programs have a year to identify patients and apply to the network for waiting time adjustments.

    Source: yahoo.com