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For Mike Guffey, Working Was Key to Staying Positive

2024-03-28T20:57:27-04:00June 14th, 2023|Categories: Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, Dialysis, Employment, Hemodialysis, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Mental Health, Quality of Life, The Kidney Citizen|

Mike Guffey When Mike Guffey began dialysis treatments in 2008, one of his top priorities was to ensure he had a reason to keep moving forward, something to look forward to when he got out of bed which would allow him to push through his treatment regimen. For him, that meant returning to work as quickly as he could after starting his treatments, especially given how quickly he crashed into life on dialysis. Normally based in Kansas City, Mike was working temporarily as a project manager in Colorado when he noticed something was off. He went to the [...]

Ask the Doctor

2024-03-28T20:57:29-04:00June 14th, 2023|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Dialysis, Hemodialysis, Home Hemodialysis, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, The Kidney Citizen|

Velma Scantlebury, MD, DPC Education Center Health Care Consultant 1. Four hours is too long for me to sit in dialysis. Do I have to attend every treatment? Answer: Think of dialysis as being the only way to get the toxins out of your body from the food that you consume everyday - three times a day. When you lose kidney function and are on dialysis, you are usually then only cleansing your body every other day. Those toxins will build up and can cause your body to deteriorate over time. Missing dialysis is harmful to your body. [...]

Bringing Racial Equity to Kidney Transplant Evaluation

2024-03-28T20:57:34-04:00April 14th, 2023|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant, Treatment|

By V. Scantlebury, MD, FACS, DPC Education Center Healthcare Consultant Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina’s Department of Surgery has developed an initiative that will help address the disparities seen in kidney transplantation for African Americans. While African Americans develop kidney failure at a rate that is three times greater than Whites, they are four times less likely to receive a kidney transplant by 12 months after a diagnosis of kidney failure. There are many barriers that contribute to these inequities and the researchers at MUSC, hope to implement strategies designed to reduce the structural barriers that prevent [...]

Just a Dad with Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:57:40-04:00January 11th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Quality of Life|

By Gene Blankenship, DPC Board Member Being a dad with kidney disease is something that I never imagined when I was younger.  Actually, I never once pictured myself as a person who would be challenged by kidney failure, even though I watched my dad "Big Gene" struggle with end stage renal failure all my life until his death when I was 12 years old. Now, my weeks each have an automatic 16 hours at the dialysis center (20 hours with travel) during “prime time” completely scheduled for me until I receive a transplant.  Those 20 hours are the perfect [...]

Improving Pregnancy Outcomes for Women on Dialysis or with a Kidney Transplant

2024-03-28T20:57:43-04:00December 1st, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Kidney Transplant, Physical Health|

New research suggests that pregnancy outcomes are improving for women on dialysis or with a kidney transplant. Hayet Baouche, MPH, of APHP-Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, REIN Registry in Paris, France and colleagues reported in Clinical Kidney Journal that from 2010 – 2020, the frequency women on dialysis becoming pregnant increased. There was a decrease in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and polyhydramnios, as well as lower rates of neonatal and perinatal deaths compared to previous decades, likely attributed to advancements in obstetric and neonatal care, and progress in fetal monitoring and dialysis treatments. A systematic review of 14 retrospective and prospective studies [...]

Navigating a Renal Diet: Decoding the Mystery

2024-03-28T20:57:49-04:00October 27th, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, Kidney Transplant, Nutrition, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen|

By Fanny Sung Whelan, MS, RDN, LDN How to navigate a renal diet based on your kidneys’ needs No matter what stage of kidney disease you’re in, all of the different diet recommendations can cause your head to spin. Pair it with other conditions you may have, and you’ve got a real recipe for confusion! So how can you sort out all of the differences in what you can and can’t eat? Here we are going to outline the diet guidelines for the different stages of kidney disease. Disclaimer: it is important to discuss any diet changes with your [...]

Organ Transplants Are Up, but the Agency in Charge Is Under Fire

2024-03-28T20:57:55-04:00September 20th, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Kidney Transplant|

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio September 7, 2022 For the past decade, Precious McCowan’s life has revolved around organ transplants. She’s a doctoral candidate studying human behavior in Dallas who has survived two kidney transplants. And in the midst of her end-stage renal disease, her 2-year-old son died. She chose to donate his organs in hopes they would save a life. Now her kidney function is failing again, and she’s facing the possibility of needing a third transplant. But the process of finding that lifesaving organ is rife with problems. Roughly 5,000 patients a year are dying on the waitlist — even as [...]

World’s First HIV-Positive to HIV-Positive Heart Transplant Performed

2024-03-28T20:57:59-04:00August 4th, 2022|Categories: eNews, Kidney Transplant|

Earlier this spring, a woman in her 60s became the first to receive an HIV-positive to HIV-positive heart transplant. She suffered from advanced heart failure and received the donation, which happened simultaneously with a kidney transplant, during a four-hour surgery at Montefiore Health System in the Bronx. The woman spent five weeks recovering in the hospital and is currently being monitored by transplant physicians at Montefiore. In 2013, the HIV Organ Policy Equality Act enabled people living with HIV to donate their organs to HIV-positive recipients, but this is the first time this opportunity has been able to happen for heart [...]

Telehealth with a Mental Health Professional: What to Know Before You Start

2024-03-28T20:58:07-04:00May 5th, 2022|Categories: Dialysis, eNews, Kidney Transplant, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Stress Management|

By Kirsten Weir If you or a family member are managing chronic kidney disease, you’re probably thinking a lot about physical health—the health of the kidney and the rest of the body. Caring for your mental health is just as important. And with telehealth options that let you see a mental health professional from your home, it’s more convenient than ever. “The increased availability and acceptance of telehealth might be one of the few positive changes to come out of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” says Amy Walters, PhD, a clinical health psychologist and the director of Behavioral Health Services for St. Luke's [...]

DPC’s State Advocacy Efforts Flourish with Elevated Voice of DPC Patient Ambassadors

2024-03-28T20:58:09-04:00April 25th, 2022|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Kidney Transplant, The Kidney Citizen, Uncategorized|

Image: Medigap champion Kentucky State Rep. Tom Burch and Elizabeth Lively, DPC Eastern Region Advocacy Director By Kelly Goss, J.D., LL.M., Western Region Advocacy Director and Elizabeth Lively, Eastern Region Advocacy Director, Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) It’s been a busy start in 2022 for DPC’s state advocacy efforts. Many states are holding shorter legislative sessions due to the upcoming primary elections, and several bills impacting dialysis patients have been introduced and are moving quickly through the legislative process. Legislation to expand Medigap access has been introduced in Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Improving access [...]

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