The first robotic kidney transplant at Columbia is a groundbreaking fete, but what it really demonstrates is the power of love and beautiful bond of family.
If xenotransplantation is the future, then the future is closer than we think. It's now priority to many transplantation surgeons and experts because it could address many of the barriers that have existed in organ access for decades.
Dr. Lloyd Ratner discusses the logistical ins and outs of transplantation—the latest changes to allocation boundaries for donor organs, all that’s transformed for the better, and everything that still needs to be done.
Jennifer’s story is evidence of the lasting impact of kidney donation. Her sister lived for 16 years beyond transplant, an utterly remarkable amount of time in those days. And 50 years after the fact, Jennifer brought her kids and grandkids to New York to reconnect with the transplant program that extended her sister’s life.
Three main issues plague the way we treat kidney disease in the United States: the business of dialysis, access to kidney transplants, and monetary barriers that stand in the way of donating a kidney to someone in need.
Living donor transplantation has saved countless lives, but traditionally meant finding a compatible donor amongst a person’s close friends and family, which isn’t always possible.