Kidney Transplant News and Research

RSS

A kidney transplant is an operation where a healthy kidney from one person (the donor) is transferred to a person who has little or no kidney function (the recipient).

Long COVID poses lasting health risks for young people

Long COVID can result in increased risk for a variety of serious health problems for young people, including those affecting the kidney, gut, and cardiovascular system, according to a group of new studies led by investigators at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

21 Apr 2025

Concierge approach enables more people to receive kidney transplants and erases disparities

Patients hoping for a kidney transplant must first undergo a battery of medical tests to determine whether they are suitable candidates for the procedure and healthy enough to take post-transplant immunosuppressant drugs to prevent organ rejection.

22 Mar 2025

Study shows benefits of GLP-1 drugs for kidney transplant recipients with type 2 diabetes

Kidney transplant recipients with type 2 diabetes treated with a new class of anti-obesity drugs were less likely to experience organ failure and survived longer, a new study shows.

5 Mar 2025

Pig kidney transplant patient completes recovery and returns home

Three months after her breakthrough surgery at NYU Langone Health, Towana Looney, the longest-living recipient of a genetically engineered pig kidney, is headed back home to Alabama.

25 Feb 2025

New genetic map offers hope for more precise diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease

Over 1,000 genes may serve as possible treatment targets for individuals with kidney disease, according to a new study, published in Science, from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Feb 2025

EBV exposure linked to life-threatening cancer risk in kidney transplant patients

More than 90% of the adult population in the U.S. is or has been infected with Epstein Barr virus (EBV). EBV is a highly contagious member of the herpes virus family, best known for causing infectious mononucleosis ("mono") and for its association with several cancers and autoimmune diseases.

10 Feb 2025

NHS introduces genetic test to help reduce kidney failure risk for black donors

Hundreds of potential kidney donors of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage in the UK can now get a simple blood test to help reduce the risk of kidney failure.

28 Jan 2025

New GFR formula offers better diagnosis of hyperfiltration in elderly patients

Annual health checkups regularly include urine tests that serve several purposes, including checking for symptoms of kidney disease.

6 Jan 2025

Breakthrough pig kidney transplant ends dialysis for Alabama woman

An Alabama woman is free from dialysis and in better health after surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed a gene-edited pig kidney transplant last month.

17 Dec 2024

Scientists identify potential therapeutic targets for diabetic kidney disease

New potential therapeutic targets have been identified for diabetic kidney disease (DKD) - the leading cause of kidney failure in the world - that could see patients treated with new gene and drug therapies preventing the disease's progression into end stage kidney failure.

10 Dec 2024

Breakthrough discovery in BK polyomavirus replication offers hope for kidney transplant protection

BK polyomavirus, or BKPyV, is a major cause of kidney transplant failure. There are no effective drugs to treat BKPyV.

6 Dec 2024

CMS introduces new payment model to improve kidney transplant outcomes

A new final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week for a mandatory alternative payment model called the Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model aimed to improve the number of life-saving kidney transplants for patients whose kidneys have failed.

2 Dec 2024

New risk score identifies heart disease risk in kidney transplant patients

Using an innovative risk score assessment score, heart researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City say they can accurately predict whether patients being assessed for kidney transplant will likely have a future major cardiac event, like a heart attack or stroke, according to a new study.

18 Nov 2024

Social Security tackles overpayment ‘injustices,’ but problems remain

In March, newly installed Social Security chief Martin O'Malley criticized agency "injustices" that "shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans."

18 Nov 2024

Clinical trial highlights efficacy of imlifidase for kidney transplant recipients

For kidney transplant recipients experiencing antibody-mediated rejection, the current standard of care involves removing donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) through plasmapheresis (PLEX) - a procedure that removes antibodies from the plasma portion of the blood.

27 Oct 2024

Phase 3 trial assesses clazakizumab in kidney transplant recipients with caAMR

Chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (caAMR) is a common cause of allograft loss after transplantation, with no approved therapies. Clazakizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), stabilized kidney transplant recipients' kidney function in a phase 2 trial.

27 Oct 2024