There are currently 93,000 people in the United States on a waiting list for a donated kidney, yet at least 3,500 donated kidneys are discarded every year, according to a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

The lack of organs for kidney failure patients is a major public health problem and one that President Donald Trump addressed in July when he signed an executive order promising to transform kidney care in this country.

More than 37 million Americans have chronic kidney disease and roughly 5,000 die each year while on the kidney waiting list. That’s about 12 people each day, making kidney disease the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.

In this new study, researchers looked at the number of deceased donors with organs offered to kidney transplant centers between 2004 and 2014. Over that time period, 156,089 kidneys were donated; 128,102 were transplanted; 27,987 were discarded. That means more than 17% of kidneys donated in this United States were discarded.

Since the end of the study period in 2014, the number of discarded kidneys has increased. In 2016, 3,631 donated kidneys — about 20% — were discarded, according to the researchers.

In comparison, in France, only about 9% of donated kidneys were discarded during the study period. The difference was because, in France, doctors were more willing to use older kidneys and kidneys from people who had other ailments such as diabetes or hypertension.

Research has found that new treatment approaches to manage the complications of donated organs make the transplant even of a lesser quality organ, a better option than dialysis, but US policies haven’t kept up.

One of the main drivers of this trend, the authors say, is that there is “intense regulatory scrutiny of US transplant programs, which may lose credentials if their one-year death and graft failure outcomes exceed predicted outcomes.” In other words, if the organ isn’t in the best shape, transplant centers may be risk averse and reluctant to take a chance.

There are guidelines, but there is no one universally applied method to determine which kidneys will be transplanted and which kidneys will be discarded.

There are several other reasons a kidney would be discarded. It could be in bad shape, there could be an abnormal biopsy on the organ, or some other physical issues. But there are also financial and regulatory reasons that they get discarded. An older kidney or one with comorbidities costs more to transplant, because a patient is hospitalized longer and it takes a patient longer to recover.

Some regions discard more kidneys than others, the study said, suggesting that a decision to keep or discard a donated organ is at least somewhat subjective.

A 2016 study of discarded kidneys deemed unfit for transplant was reviewed by a panel of transplant experts that found as many as 50% of the kidneys that were discarded could have been transplanted, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

To address this issue, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) — which governs the transplant system in the United States — created a kidney donor profile index that’s been used since 2012. The score predicts the survival of deceased donor kidneys. In 2014, UNOS changed the kidney allocation system so that lower quality kidneys can be offered to a wider region, but neither of these initiatives changed the rate of discarded organs. The number of discarded organs has actually risen to 20%, according to a study published in January 2019. It was 14.9% in 2006, and in some regions the discard rate is even higher than 30%.

For years, kidney advocacy organizations have called for a change in the standards used to determine if a donated kidney should be transplanted or discarded.

An invited commentary that accompanied Tuesday’s study mentions that Europe uses an “old-for-old” approach, meaning an older kidney that may otherwise be rejected, might be a good fit for an older patient. Biopsies that are commonly done in the US may not be the best predictor of organ quality. Biopsies are less frequently performed in Europe. The commentary also suggests that regulations will need to change.

“It is recognized that the overly stringent and restrictive process of monitoring transplant programs in the United States has resulted in many transplant programs taking a risk averse approach,” wrote Dr. Ryoichi Maenosono and Dr. Stefan G. Tullius of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in the commentary. “Hospital administrators and patients alike are attracted by superficial five-star ranking approaches that are easy to read but not necessarily reflective of the approach of individual programs aiming to provide their patients on waiting lists with the best opportunities.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been considering eliminating some regulations that put these transplant programs funds at risk if the programs don’t meet expected outcomes.

Kidney disease is a costly problem for the United States. The government currently spends more than $114 billion each year on patients with kidney disease. According to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, That is one-fifth of the spending of all Medicare dollars.

via: https://ktla.com/2019/08/26/u-s-throws-away-at-least-3500-donated-kidneys-every-year-study-finds/

Photo Credit: ktla.com

AY, Okla. – A woman who starved her children and made them eat dog feces will avoid jail time after pleading no contest to charges connected to the crime.

Mary Elizabeth Moore’s 5-year-old and 3-year-old children were hospitalized in the intensive care unit and were “so malnourished that hospital staff had to place them on a special diet and applied nasal feeding tubes to both children,” according to court documents obtained by KFOR.

Investigators say the 5-year-old weighed just 26 pounds, while the 3-year-old weighed 18 pounds.

“While DHS was at the hospital and speaking with one of the children, the child disclosed that she was allegedly being fed dog feces,” said Delaware County Undersheriff Tracy Shaw. “This is definitely an extreme case of child neglect, one of the worst that I’ve seen.”

The affidavit went on to say one of the children “had pinworms in her stool as well” and indicated she “gets spanked for hitting and laughing.”

According to court documents, Moore was in denial about the extent of the neglect. At the time, she claimed she didn’t want them hospitalized because she had a meeting with DHS the next day.

Shaw said that while DHS had received “many complaints” about Moore in the past, this was the first time the sheriff’s office was alerted to the case.

“As the investigator got around to the actual allegations, she became very upset and walked out of the interview,” Shaw said. “If somebody had not reported this, the hospital records and the child abuse expert that examined them in Tulsa stated that they would probably be dead.”

Moore was ultimately charged with two counts of child neglect.

Last week, Moore pleaded no contest to the charges and was given a suspended seven-year sentence. According to online court records, Moore has been ordered to not have contact with the victims.

via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/26/oklahoma-mother-who-forced-kids-to-eat-dog-feces-avoids-prison/

Photo Credit: pix11.com

(Meredith) — As customers waited in line to try the new chicken sandwich at Popeyes, one North Carolina teen saw it as the perfect opportunity to register people to vote. 

David Ledbetter, 17, stood outside the Charlotte restaurant on Saturday with a small group of volunteers to encourage other people in their community to get involved with local politics, WCNCreported. 

“I decided to register people to vote after I saw there was a lack of young people politically involved,” Ledbetter told the station. “I believe that it is our duty to vote as American citizens, and it would be wrong not to exercise our political voice.” 

In total, the high school senior said he helped register 16 people to vote over the weekend. He said many of the customers he spoke to were already registered voters.

Popeyes created a social media frenzy last week with the launch of its new crispy chicken sandwich. The restaurant chain even went toe-to-toe with Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s on Twitter, causing #ChickenWars to trend on the social media site.

Thousands of fans joined in on the Twitter feud and created even more buzz around the new menu item. In fact, there was so much hype, some restaurants reported being sold out of the sandwich. 

According to a report from Apex Marketing Group, Popeyes received an estimated $23 million in equivalent ad value within 11 days — thanks to all that hype.

via: https://www.kmov.com/news/teen-registers-people-to-vote-as-they-wait-in-line/article_ce8281d8-f335-5f4f-b518-56e5fdd1b632.html

Photo Credit: David Ledbetter/Instagram

Children everywhere are going to get the chance to have two historical female role models as part of their play sets.

Mattel is honoring Rosa Parks and Sally Ride with their very own Barbie dolls.

Rosa Parks was an American activist known as the Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement and Sally Ride was the first American woman — and youngest American — to fly in space.

Each doll comes with educational material about each woman’s contributions to society, authentic clothing and unique accessories.

“Both Sally Ride and Rosa Parks made the world better for future generations of girls,” a Mattel spokesperson told CNN. “By celebrating their achievements with dolls made in their likeness, we hope girls will be inspired to pursue their dreams.”

It’s only fitting that these two new Barbies debuted on Women’s Equality Day.

“Women’s Equality Day celebrates the hard-won achievement of women’s suffrage and pays tribute to the trailblazers who paved the way for future generations,” the Mattel spokesperson said.

According to Mattel, research has shown that starting at the age of five, many girls are less likely than boys to view their own gender as smart and begin to lose confidence in their own competence — this is coined the “Dream Gap.” Showing girls more role models, historical and present, and telling their stories can help close that gap.

The new dolls are part of the Inspiring Women Series, which debuted on International Women’s Day in 2018. Its mission is to honor historical role models who paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than before.

Amelia Earhart, Katherine Johnson and Frida Kahlo are also part of this collection.

Both dolls are available for purchase Monday, August 26.

via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/26/rosa-parks-and-sally-ride-get-their-very-own-barbie-dolls/

Photo Credit: pix11.com

A 46-year-old man was shot dead at his nieces’ baptism party in The Bronx after his family turned away a scorned ex of one of his guests, according to police and family.

Edgar Perez, 46, was shot in the back just before 3:30 a.m. on the sidewalk near Rochambeau Avenue and Bainbridge Avenue in Bedford Park, according to police.

“He was a really good guy, he never looked for any problems. I can’t believe this happened,” his 40-year-old brother, Genero Perez, told The Post.

Edgar Perez’s 26-year-old cousin, Rodolfo Rodriguez, had told the would-be gunman he couldn’t come into the party for the two tots where his ex-girlfriend was with her new man, according to the family.

“You don’t belong here,” Rodriguez told the Post he said to the man.

When the ex came back with a gun, Perez thought his 22-year-old son was involved in a fight outside the church and had gone out to break it up.

Instead he ran into the shooter.

“My uncle woke me up at 4 in the morning and said we had to go to the hospital, and when I saw my father’s cold body I…” the son, Edgar Perez, said to The Post before breaking down in tears.

EMS rushed Perez to Montefiore Medical Center, where he died.

Neighbors told The Post the church rents out its basement hall almost every weekend for raucous parties with guests stumbling out, smashing bottles and getting into fights.

via: https://nypost.com/2019/08/25/gunman-fatally-shoots-man-after-being-turned-away-from-bronx-church-party-cops/

Photo Credit: Seth Gottfried