Kidney Transplant News and Research

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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).

Methuselah Foundation, Silverstone Solutions partner to create online NewOrgan Registry

Methuselah Foundation, a medical non-profit dedicated to extending healthy human life, today announced that it has made an investment in Silverstone Solutions, Inc., a San Francisco-based innovator in life science computing.

27 Mar 2010

Most transplant candidates agree to receive kidney from donor at increased risk of viral infection

Most kidney transplant candidates are willing to receive a kidney from a donor at increased risk of viral infection, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that kidney disease patients can make rational tradeoffs between the virtues and risks conferred by donated kidneys.

26 Mar 2010

Isotechnika Pharma releases fourth quarter financial results; reviews operational and scientific highlights for 2009

Isotechnika Pharma Inc. has released its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009 and provided a review of the Company's operational and scientific highlights for 2009

25 Mar 2010

Johns Hopkins Hospital completes 100th kidney transplant

Surgeons at The Johns Hopkins Hospital have successfully completed their 100th kidney swap — a procedure popularized here to enlarge the pool of kidneys available for donation and provide organs to patients who might have died waiting for them.

24 Mar 2010

NKF: Certain ethnic minorities are at higher risk for developing CKD

Certain ethnic minorities, including African Americans and Hispanics, are at a higher risk than the general population for developing potentially life-threatening chronic kidney disease (CKD), which has been linked to higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

16 Mar 2010

Investigators develop new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data

Investigators have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states.

11 Mar 2010

Kidney donors have similar survival rates as healthy individuals, says study

An analysis of outcomes for live kidney donors in the U.S. over a 15 year period finds they have similar long-term survival rates compared to healthy individuals who were not kidney donors, according to a study in the March 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Mar 2010

Scientists devise software algorithm to detect medically useful information from whole-blood samples

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a software algorithm that could enable a common laboratory device to virtually separate a whole-blood sample into its different cell types and detect medically important gene-activity changes specific to any one of those cell types.

8 Mar 2010

Dialysis patients gather to encourage state lawmakers to support Medigap legislation

More than 50 dialysis patients, family members and kidney care advocates from across South Carolina gathered at the state Capitol today with the National Kidney Foundation Serving the Carolinas, South Carolina Region (NKF) and Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) to encourage state lawmakers to support Medigap legislation (S. 1128, sponsored by Senators Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) and Phillip Shoopman (R-Greenville), and H. 4552, sponsored by Representatives Joan Brady (R-Richland), Bill Sandifer (R-Seneca) and Kristopher Crawford (R-Florence)).

5 Mar 2010

Belatacept drug can prevent graft rejection in kidney transplant recipients

The experimental drug belatacept can prevent graft rejection in kidney transplant recipients while better preserving kidney function when compared with standard immunosuppressive drugs, data from two international phase III clinical trials show.

4 Mar 2010

Greffex Group signs Strategic Alliance Framework Agreement with UPMC and ISMETT

The Greffex Group of regenerative medicine companies announces the signing of a Strategic Alliance Framework Agreement with UPMC and ISMETT, Italy.

2 Mar 2010

Belatacept Biologics License Application: FDA drug advisory committee recommends approval

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee has voted 13 to 5 to recommend approval of belatacept, a selective co-stimulation blocker, for the prophylaxis of acute rejection in de novo kidney transplant patients.

2 Mar 2010

Rare Disease Day 2010: Alexion Pharmaceuticals joins NORD and EURORDIS to raise awareness

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has joined the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and the European Organization for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS) in supporting the goals of the third annual Rare Disease Day, February 28, 2010.

26 Feb 2010

Georgia State Senate praised for passing legislation to help kidney failure patients have access to health insurance

Georgia’s kidney care community today praised the Georgia State Senate for unanimously passing important legislation (S.B. 316) to secure access to needed health insurance for approximately 2,000 Georgians suffering from kidney failure. The bill, which was originally introduced by Senators Don Thomas (R-Dalton) and Ed Harbison (D-Columbus), has received support from across the patient advocacy community and legislators alike.

20 Feb 2010

Report examines how medical technology changes state of health care

Federal researchers Wednesday released a report that examines how medical technology is changing the state of health care.

19 Feb 2010

Belatacept costimulation blocker can prevent rejection of new organs by the immune system

Initial results of a study conducted at 100 centers worldwide indicate that belatacept, a first-in-class costimulation blocker can prevent the immune system rejecting new organs. The results also suggest that it may provide similar patient and graft survival to cyclosporine but with fewer side effects and superior kidney function after 12 months. The study, published today in the American Journal of Transplantation, provides the first findings to come from BENEFIT (Belatacept Evaluation of Nephroprotection and Efficacy as First-line Immunosuppression Trial).

17 Feb 2010

Quark Pharmaceuticals' QPI-1002 receives orphan drug designation from FDA

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, announced today that the US FDA has granted orphan drug designation for QPI-1002 (also referred to as "I5NP"), a synthetic siRNA targeting p53 mRNA for the prophylaxis of delayed graft function (DGF) in kidney transplant patients.

17 Feb 2010

Older patients waiting longer for kidneys from younger donors

One-third of people over the age of 65 wait longer than necessary for lifesaving, new kidneys because their doctors fail to put them in a queue for organs unsuitable to transplant in younger patients but well-suited to seniors, research from Johns Hopkins suggests.

16 Feb 2010

Alexion Pharmaceuticals announces financial results for quarter and year ended December 31, 2009

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. For the three months ended December 31, 2009, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Alexion" or, the "Company") reported net product sales of Soliris® (eculizumab) of $110.6 million, reflecting strong additions of new patients, compared to $77.4 million for the same period in 2008.

11 Feb 2010

Quebec transplantation: 431 people receive 499 organs from 138 deceased donors

Owing to the generosity of Quebecers, 499 organs from 138 deceased donors in 2009 were transplanted into 431 recipients. Though there were 13 fewer donors than in 2008, Québec posted an average of more than 3.6 transplanted organs per deceased donor in 2009, placing the province among the leaders in Canada and even North America. "We're particularly proud of the sustained collaboration of professionals in hospitals in 2009," says Louis Beaulieu, chief executive officer of Québec-Transplant, the organization responsible for coordinating the organ donation process.