Almost half of patients in us over 60 will die waiting for a transplant--study.Forty-six percent of patients over age 60 currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant kidney transplant or renal transplant Replacement of a diseased or damaged kidney with one from a living relative or a legally dead donor. The former's tissue type is more likely to match, reducing the chance of rejection; but removal puts the donor at risk, will die before they receive an organ from a deceased donor, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new report in the June Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology nephrology Branch of medicine dealing with kidney function and diseases. An understanding of kidney physiology is important not only in treating kidney disease but in knowing the effect of drugs, diet, and hypertension on kidney disease, and vice versa. (CJASN). Researchers from the University of Florida University of Florida is the third-largest university in the United States, with 50,912 students (as of Fall 2006) and has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year). UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. , Gainesville analyzed data on nearly 55,000 patients over the age 60 that were placed on the US waiting list for a kidney transplant from 1995 to 2007. They projected that 46% of patients wait-listed in 2007-2008 would die before receiving a kidney from a deceased donor. They also found that certain groups were at even higher risk before getting a kidney transplant, including African Americans African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. and patients age 70 or over. The study found that medical factors like blood type and being on dialysis dialysis (dīăl`ĭsĭs), in chemistry, transfer of solute (dissolved solids) across a semipermeable membrane. Strictly speaking, dialysis refers only to the transfer of the solute; transfer of the solvent is called osmosis. at the time of listing also affected risk. In addition, wide variations in who gets transplanted varied widely by transplant region. "Our results emphasize the particular need to consider living donation as an alternative source for some older patients--or alternatively, the critical importance of navigating the steps to receive a deceased donor transplant as rapidly as possible," observed Jesse Schold, PhD, the lead author on the study. The study emphasized the need for kidney transplantation Kidney Transplantation Definition Kidney transplantation is a surgical procedure to remove a healthy, functioning kidney from a living or brain-dead donor and implant it into a patient with non-functioning kidneys. is increasing while donor rates remain stable, leading to longer waiting times and increased rates of death on the waiting list. "We have now reached a notable benchmark in which nearly half of listed older patients will not survive the interval to receive a deceased donor transplant," Schold said. The researchers hope the report will help provide patients with specific information on their chances of receiving a transplant, based on factors like age, race, and transplant region, in addition to their medical status. Schold recommended that "patients and their caregivers should understand their specific circumstances in their decision-making process." While the CJASN report illustrates many important factors associated with the survival of older patients awaiting a kidney transplant, it does not offer specific information on other variables that affect prognosis, the authors cautioned. The study appears online at http://jasn.asnjournals.org |
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