In the United States, at any given point in time there are more patients waiting for a kidney transplant than there are donors. Many public campaigns have tried to increase awareness about how donating organs helps save lives. Kidneys are at the center of many of these campaigns since every person has two kidneys but can live healthy with only one. If more people with low risk of kidney failure donated a kidney, many lives would be spared. To have low risk of the disease you should not have kidney failure in your family history, you should eat and drink right, exercise, not have diabetes, and more.

In 2011 over 87,000 patients were waiting for a kidney in the United States alone. In 2008, only slightly over 17,000 transplants were performed. This shows that the United States needs more voluntary donors. Transplants can come from relatives, friends, deceased organ donors, or a stranger. Just because somebody is a member of the patient’s family, however, does not guarantee a match. Actually, in most cases, the kidney donated comes from a deceased donor. Many family members and friends might be willing to donate but are not a match, or they might themselves be at high risk for kidney failure.

What is more terrifying and awful than having a sick child? Having both your children diagnosed with an incredibly rare disorder that can result in kidney failure by age ten. Two sisters, Emily and Poppy, have been diagnosed with cystinosis, an incurable genetic disorder that causes a build-up of the amino acid cystine within the cells of the body. Over time, the crystals form in the kidneys, eyes, liver, and the thyroid gland. It is very rare for people with crystinosis to survive into adulthood. The disorder only affects 1 person in 3.5 million.

Emily was born first and she seemed to be a happy, healthy baby. When she was about ten months old, Emily suddenly started vomiting frequently and losing a lot of weight. At first medics thought it was just a passing virus. But after three different hospital trips within five months medics started testing the girl for every possible condition from leukemia to cystic fibrosis. Emily’s mother, Jessica Kemp, was told that the rarer Emily’s condition was, the harder it will be to diagnose.

Over the past decade the number of cancer cases has risen dramatically. Anti-smoking campaigns have brought a lot of attention to cancers of the throat, mouth, and lungs. Also, companies like Avon and Susan G. Komen have worked on bringing attention to breast cancer. These companies and the efforts of all those affected by these diseases have raised million for research to find cures. But there are other types of cancer in the world that do not receive as much attention, or as much funding. Kidney cancer is one of them.

How come kidney cancer is sometimes overlooked? Well, In 2011 the National Cancer Institute estimated that 230,480 women would be diagnosed with breast cancer out of which 39,520 women were expected to die from the disease. However, during the same time, the Institute estimated that 60,920 men and women would be diagnosed with kidney cancer out of which 13,120 will die as a result of the disease. So it makes sense that fewer resources would be allocated to the diseases that kills fewer people. However, kidney cancer cannot be ignored or placed on the back-burner any longer. A new study coming out of the U.K reported that kidney cancer rates have tripled since 1975. Now, kidney cancer occupies the 8^th spot in the top ten killer cancers in the U.K. This type of cancer is actually the 6^th most common cancer in men in the U.K and the 9^th most common in women.

If your kidneys are failing and you have not yet found a matching donor, dialysis is the most important part of your weekly routine. Although it is time consuming, expensive, and simply annoying, it can keep a kidney failure patient alive for years. Every year 400,000 U.S citizens undergo dialysis treatments. Now, new studies suggest that longer and more frequent dialysis treatments may provide more benefits for patients. These studies will be published in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

How frequent you wonder? Well, these studies suggest that daily or nightly treatment sessions at home are viable treatment options for those suffering from kidney failure. Today, most patients receive dialysis treatments at outpatient facilities about three times a week for three to four hours. That sounds like a lot doesn’t it? Waking up in the morning three times a week to be in a hospital or clinic bed for three or four hours is difficult. And not just for the patient, but for their whole family. So, doing this daily sounds like a nightmare, right? I understand and so do the doctors. This is why the experts have recommended nighttime dialysis. Thus, while you sleep, the dialysis machine can clean your body of toxins and you do not have to waste four hours of your day, every day.

Pretty much every ethnic group in the United States was the subject of racism or ethnocentrism at one point in history. Native Americans were robbed of their land; African Americans were condemned to a life of slavery; citizens of Asian origin were rounded up during the red scare; the Irish and Italians were discriminated against; and let us not forget what citizens from Latin American origins go through today. However, most people assume nowadays that racism is going away. When I was in college I used to hear how blacks are not really discriminated against anymore. Now the focus is on Latin Americans and those who follow the Muslim religion. As I expected, that is not true, not at all. Racism is all around us poisoning our life and sometimes helping kill innocents.

A new study of more than 2,200 patients treated at the Emory Transplant Center showed that black patients with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) had a 59% lower rate of kidney transplant than whites at this southeastern center. How bad is this? Extremely bad, especially since African Americans suffer from End Stage Renal Disease disproportionately compared to other races. For example, the incidence of kidney failure in blacks is 998 per million, while in whites it is 273 per million. African Americans constitute only about 15% of the total U.S population; however, they constitute about 30% of kidney failure cases. Not only this, but African Americans also develop kidney disease at an earlier age than Caucasian, 56 years old for blacks compared to 66 for whites. So, since African Americans seem to be more prone to kidney failure, one would think that transplant rates would be proportionate to the number of cases. Yet, in the case of Emory Transplant Center, black patients have a 59% lower rate of transplant. How does this make sense? Don’t all people have the right to life? Shouldn’t all people be treated equally when it comes to life saving treatments?!

Amelia Rivera is a three-year-old girl who desperately needs a kidney to survive.  However, unlike most patients, she was denied even the chance to try and find a matching kidney. Finding a donor is not an easy job. There are always more patients waiting for a kidney than there are willing and able donors. But there is hope. After a few tests needed to find a match are done, a kidney patient is placed on a waiting list. The wait can be long and it depends or urgency, age, and other medical problems. If a willing stranger happens to match that patient, a donation is possible. If the stranger happens to also match another patient who is in more urgent need of a transplant, or higher on the list, the patient must wait for a different donor. Kidneys can also come from deceased donors.  Even while on the list the patient is encouraged to try and find a donor on his own as this can sometimes shorten the wait time.  

Many patients in need of a kidney never actually find a donor even though they are on a list. However, they still have the security that, while on the list, there are people out there who are trying to help them find a match. Amelia Rivera and her family are on their own in this battle.

There are different ways to diagnose kidney failure. One way to confirm kidney failure is to be done through blood test. The blood test checks the buildup of waste products in the blood. What they check for is BUN, creatinine, and GFR. GFR stand for glomerular filtration rate. This is the rate with which blood is filtered through the kidneys and can be calculated based upon the creatinine level, age, race, and gender. These are the waste that builds up in your blood. Your BUN, and creatinine levels rise greatly, and your GFR decreases.

                You can also check through a urine test. In the urine test they will try to detect protein, abnormal cells or the concentration of electrolytes. Protein shouldn’t be in the urine. That can be a clue to alarm you that your kidney has damage to it. When someone has kidney disease usually abnormal aggregations of red and white blood cells can be seen in their urine.  Comparing the concentrations of electrolytes in the blood and urine can help decide whether the kidneys are able to appropriately monitor and filter blood.

Apparently a study shows that women, who have been taking calcium supplements, have increased risk in kidney stones. Post-menopausal women are urged to take calcium supplements combined with vitamin D for better absorption for bone protection. This intake of calcium is increasing the risk and may be the reason why some people have an excess of calcium in their body. The major component in kidney stones is calcium. So because of excess calcium it turns into stones in the kidney, and the body attempts to pass them out of the body.

This to me has to be one of the most painful things an elder must endure. My father’s side of the family has kidney stones at genetics. Drinking a lot of water has become part of my daily routine. I make sure my kidney is healthy and my body is in the normal range. I personally suggest you get your blood test done about every 3-6 months. It is vital into knowing how your body is, if your health is on point and what your body has deficient or in excess.

                A study was done on 36,282 post-menopausal women. At the start of the study they were roughly taking the same amount of calcium daily. This was about 1,145 milligrams. Some of the women were randomly given supplements of calcium and vitamin D while other was given placebo pills. They were told to take the pills twice daily with meals for seven years. Out of all of these women 830 of the women who took the supplement and not the placebo developed kidney stones. It was 17 percent higher for women taking the supplement than the placebo. The majority affected by this are Post-menopausal women. They are very prone to loss of bone density and the occurrence of osteoporosis. The problem that I see occurring is that at around the age of 51 most women are informed that 1,200 milligrams a day of calcium is recommended. They can achieve this by dietary sources, such as dairy products and leafy green vegetables, and supplements as well.

I recently renewed my driver’s license and I read at the bottom. There was a check box that asked if I wanted to be an organ donor. I sat at the DMV thinking for a bit if I should or shouldn't. Then I realized that when I die, what will happen to my body? It will just decompose. I asked myself, what if I needed an organ? I saw it as, what a waste of an organ, if I don’t donate it. I could’ve given someone a chance to continue their life. Even though I can’t because I’m sitting in a box, why not allow someone else to live. I checked the box and decided to be a donor, and to this day I stand as a firm believer in donors. After I got my license and got home from the DMV that day, I began to think as I looked down at my license. When I die I won’t even know which organ was donated, and to who. To me the satisfaction of knowing I changed a life and going through it seems like one of the biggest things I can ever accomplish in my life.  There are approximately 80,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant. About 10 to 12 die every year waiting on the list to receive a kidney. The wait for a kidney transplant varies from month to month; but on average the wait to be on a list is 5 to 7 years. This is a long time for someone who is in need of a transplant and who doesn't have much time left with their life.

Years ago doctors would try to hold patients off of dialysis as long as possible, but now the tides have turned and more and more patients are going on dialysis even with sufficient kidney function left. However, this may actually be causing more harm than good, as found in a new study conducted by Dr. Steven J. Rosansky, who is a senior research fellow at the Dorn Research Institute of the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia, S.C. as well as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina. Dialysis is a procedure that mechanically filters the blood and helps people with kidney disease live longer. It is usually presumed that people with absolutely no kidney function are put on dialysis, but research has shown that doctors put people on dialysis with as much as 15% kidney function!

In the study published yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Rosansky’s team looked at the information for 81,176 patients who began dialysis between 1996 and 2006. The only condition that the patients suffered from was high blood pressure. Rosansky found a “remarkably higher risk of death in healthy people that are being put on dialysis at higher levels of kidney function.” The findings were as follows: 9% of patients died during the first year of treatment and 7% died in the second year. There was a 20% more chance that those who started dialysis early in relation to kidney function would die in the first year of treatment, as opposed to 7% for those who started treatment in later stages. Also noteworthy was that those with the lowest levels of albumin, a protein made by the liver, had a 21% higher risk of dying in the first year, compared to only 5% for those with higher levels of the protein. Other risk factors for earlier death included older age, being African American or male, and having a lower body mass index. On the other hand, those that were Asian, had certain types of kidney disease, higher levels of hemoglobin and were treated at a later stage, were in luck because those factors signified better survival.