I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: twirl on May 20, 2009, 04:35:06 PM
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I just read it on yahoo
she did not have to wait long or do dialysis --- I guess :waiting;
wait, she is 59 and has done dialysis since Sept.... not a long time :waiting;
EDITED: Moved to News Section - Sluff/Admin
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Must be nice!! Hey ! I don't wanna be on dialysis anymore...where is my kidney? Oh that's right I am not famous....no kidney for me.
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The story is pretty much the same AP story for CNN, Yahoo News and Google News. All it says is that she received a kidney transplant at Cedars-Sanai, but doesn't say where the kidney came from. Was it living donor or did she somehow magically become part of the "must-have-it-now" emergency portion of the list.
I'm not going to judge her early transplant until I have all the facts, but something is truly missing from the story.
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This probably belongs in the News forum.
Still, it's good news.
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I certainly hope it is not a case of another celebrity jumping to the head of the line. . .
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I found this on the net:
"The kidney came from a deceased organ donor through the regional organ procurement agency, One Legacy," her rep said in a statement.
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i am so fing mad about this.....she goes on larry king and look....she now has a kidney.....must be really nice to have money to get what you want.....this is going to sound wrong but i hope it stops working......
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who here would say, if offered a kidney, 'oh, i don't want it, there are people that have been waiting much longer than me, give it to one of them.'
:urcrazy;
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Perhaps, in the future, all people will be seen as equal. Maybe she will use her fame to speak for those who will never get a chance to have their voice heard and in the long run, do more good than just get a kidney for herself. I wish her well.
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Perhaps it was the luck of the draw...some don't wait as long as others. Many of you have been waiting years....I consider myself very lucky that I was listed for just 15 months. I was blessed to get a new kidney BEFORE dialysis. It happens...and I have no money...no fame...and no Larry King.
I might could get on a Gong Show if they still had one!
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That's good to know Whenchie. I imagine there are many factors when it comes to getting a kidney.
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I imagine there are many factors when it comes to getting a kidney.
Antigen match and luck. Of which I have neither. :banghead;
She is one lucky girl. Hopefully she looks after her gift and its lasts a long time.
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I don't begruge her a kidney. There has got to be something up when famous people seems to get transplants really quickly.
I did read an article about her and the first line was Natalie Cole finally receives a kidney transplant. What do they mean finally???? She was only on dialysis for 7 months.
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My hubby has been on dialysis for two-and-a-half years and he hasn't even received a call from the transplant people. I have no idea what takes place or what they have to do to see if he's even eligible for one. What are antigens?
If it weren't for this site, I wouldn't know anything.
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I was surprised too that she received a kidney so quickly. Does anyone know what One Legacy is? Is that some private listing that has nothing to do with UNOS??
Also, can HepC reoccurr and cause this transplanted kidney to be damaged?
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You can be listed at 20% function. I was listed at 15% (June '05). And if I remember correctly, it was a while back that she was diagnosed. For me, the listing process took 2 months, and then it was just hurry up and wait.
Of course, in those years, I traveled to Egypt, Turkey and Europe (where no one knew that I was "sick" and they thought that my virgin fistula was just a weird bump on my arm). Then, 18 months later, I started dialysis, waited almost 2 more years, and then I got the call. http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=10893.msg187492#msg187492 (http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=10893.msg187492#msg187492).
So, even if it appears that she waited a short time (and relatively speaking, I know that my 3.5 years was short). You can accumulate time on the list BEFORE you start dialysis.
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When she made the announcement on Larry King, though, there were donors coming out of the woodwork for her.
Wouldn't it be grand if they still offered their kidney in an undirected live donation?
Not much chance of that, though. :thumbdown;
I would never wish for Natalie's kidney to fail as I wouldn't wish that on anyone. but sometimes life really doesn't seem fair. Like having O+ blood so that O+ kidneys can go to anyone on the list meaning an O+ person has the longest wait of all...
Oh, oh. I feel a rant coming on, so I better stop.
Aleta
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Here is the link
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=410409>1=28102
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from Tinah's link http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=410409>1=28102
Cole had been receiving dialysis three times a week since September [08] . She still continued to perform, even overseas, in support of her latest album, the Grammy-winning "Still Unforgettable,"
The kidney dialysis is unrelated to Cole's struggle with hepatitis C, a liver disease spread through contact with infected blood. She announced her hepatitis diagnosis last year [08] and said that the disease was likely caused by her drug use years ago.
Cole received painful chemotherapy to treat the hepatitis and "within four months, I had kidney failure," she told Larry King on his CNN show last month. Without a donor, she would need dialysis for the rest of her life, she said.
According to One Legacy Stats: http://www.onelegacy.org/prod/components/donation/nationalstats.html (http://www.onelegacy.org/prod/components/donation/nationalstats.html)
# of Kidneys harvested 2008 605
# of people waiting for Kidney (in CA): 16,527
Either she has AMAZING luck (yes, some have gotten the call soon after being listed. She has a child born in 1978 - I wonder what her PRA is?) OR....... we should all move to Beverly Hills and do national media when waiting for a kidney. (yeah, I see the irony - but I didn't do national press until AFTER my transplant!)
Announces Hep C in '08; (now this is an assumption) Did she start treating Hep C in summer 08? Or had she been treated prior and had CKD4 for a while before she announced?, kidneys fail summer '08, dialysis September '08; Transplant from wait list MAY '09 [less than a year from kidney failure]
All of this hinges on when she was in CKD4 & listed - was it before the initial announcement or after? You don't always start dialysis as soon as your kidneys fail (unlikely, but I am leaving room for benefit of the doubt here).
I can't knock her for not wanting a living donor - I couldn't do it. But I would like to know the more of the details of her deceased donor transplant journey.
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Also, can HepC reoccurr and cause this transplanted kidney to be damaged?
that is a possibility. hep C is basically a viral infection that resides in the liver and slowly reproduces
over time, inundating the blood.
i was infected at the age of 2 through a blood transfusion, but the symptoms didn't show until my 50's. some never show symptoms. but, once you have it, you have it for life. sometimes, it can go in to remission, but there is always a possibility of re-occurrance, sooner or later...
i found it interesting that the report above stated that her kidneys were destroyed by the chemotherapy applied to treat the hep C. the usual treatment is interferon, so i'm a little confused at this feature. i've always wanted to ask my nephrologist exactly what destroyed my kidneys. i suspect it was the interferon treatments that did it. they almost killed me and i had to be taken off of it after 6 weeks. i doubt that i would get a clear answer for that question, so i'll probably never ask.
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I still don't understand what One Legacy is.
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http://www.onelegacy.org/prod/components/
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I live in California and I've been on that list for 5 freakin years.
How did she pull it off so quickly? Because she's famous, that's how! Money and fame go a long way in this world.
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Another drug addict superstar gets an organ.....big surprise!
I have read the One Legacy website and still don't understand what it is. Is it independant of the national organ donor listings? Do you pay some fee to join their listing?
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Geez you know I always try to keep my head in a good space, but I am having a hard time feeling happy about Nat and her new kidney...
First off she missed a great opportunity to educate people about kidney disease
and second I get scared letting on if I have a drink, and here she is blabbing about her drug use...
That settles it, I am not happy
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I am afraid that people will think it is quick and easy to get a kidney ???
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That is such a good point, Twirl.
Look, it only takes a couple months. What's all the fuss about kidney donation. >:(
I hope she takes the high road and really promotes kidney donation. She is in the perfect postion to do that.
Aleta
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I can't see her doing that, she told Larry Kings audience that dialysis is a breeze :boxing;
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I truly believe she got the kidney so fast because she is a celebrity! I'm listed with Cedar Sinai for four years now and absolutely no news. I just go see them once a year and every year, they say, "Hang in there. It will be soon". It just makes me so mad.
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I would like to think that her transplant was not in any way related to the fact that she's a celebrity and rich. However, my head tells me that's not the case. I don't know all the facts (and we probably never really will), but my gut feeling right now is that she "moved up" and got her transplant because of who she is. And, quite frankly, that thought makes me sick to my stomach.
I'm afraid that cases like this will do more harm for kidney donations in the future than it does good. Many people don't want to be donors (even cadaveric ones) because of the misinformation about the process of donation. I'm afraid that now even more potential donors will think again about consent-to-donate because they think the system isn't "fair" (i.e., the rich and famous get them, the "average" man must wait his turn and hope it comes).
Also, from what I saw in her Larry King Live interview, I don't want this woman to be a spokesman for people like my husband who are living on dialysis and waiting for a transplant. It's not some glorious "show" -- let's face it, dialysis is tough. For anyone to go on national tv and make out like it's nothing that big doesn't speak for my husband. She may have been on dialysis for not quite a year, but she certainly hasn't "walked a mile" in Marvin's shoes -- I don't care what she claims!
So, I'm mad about it.
I asked my husband Marvin for his thoughts. He's been on dialysis twice -- from March of 1995 until July of 2000 (living donor -- me) and then again from October of 2003 until the present. On May 28, 2009 (next Thursday), Marvin will have his 2,000th dialysis treatment. All total, his name has been on the UNOS list for almost 11 years. Here's what Marvin thinks about it:
Marvin said, "It does seem rather 'suspicious' that she got a transplant so soon, and I'm thinking that it is because she's a celebrity. That disappoints me -- because if she got a transplant because of who she is and not because of the 'luck of the draw' that often times means some people don't have to wait as long, well that means I live in a society that places more value on her life than they do on mine. I'm not mad; a dialysis patient got a transplant. For that, I'm very glad for her. I'm glad that she doesn't have to do dialysis anymore. I'm glad that there's one more name OFF the list -- I just wish it had been mine or the name of someone who's struggled as long and as hard as I have. I wish this particular transplant could have come in time to save the life of someone who died waiting on the list. And, I wish that the thousand or so people who called and volunteered to be tested for her after she appeared on Larry King Live would agree to be tested for someone else who's waiting. If she really wants to help those of us who are 'like her' and on dialysis and waiting, she would use her celebrity status to encourage those who volunteered for testing for her to be tested for 1,000 of the rest of us. Now, that would be a terrific impact on the world of donation and transplantation! If she got her transplant because of who she is, that's not fair. And while Life itself is never fair, it's times like these that make the unfairness of it all pretty hard to swallow."
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Here's the scoop from CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/21/natalie.cole.transplant/index.html
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The more I hear the sicker it's making me...
Maybe we need a march , We have NO Kidneys... Our God**** brains still work !!!!
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Well after reading the CNN story from Redz812's link, I feel better about it (as long as everyone involved is telling the truth). Yes, it sucks that she has more fans than we do, but you have to look at it like a living donor situation. Someone wanted to give her a kidney and they did.
Anyone can bequeath a kidney, in most cases, it actually works. Some times there are situations where the procurement agency does not give the kidney to the intended (there have been lawsuits) but in this case, a fan (or fan's family) wanted her to get it, it was a match and end of story.
I am glad the the procurement people are not guilty of favoritism. Just like when I was in center and someone got a UNOS kidney, you can't help but feel a pang of "why not me?" - this is the same - just on a larger scale. Let's wish her good health and move on.
Here is the text from the CNN link:
CNN story from Redz812's link
Natalie Cole kidney came from deceased fan
By Alan Duke
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Natalie Cole's search for a new kidney ended this week when someone with a compatible organ died and their family asked that it be given to the singer, according to the organ procurement group that handled the donation.
Cole, who underwent a successful kidney transplant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, was "responding well and recuperating" Thursday, her publicist said.
Cole had been on what she called "a very long list" of people waiting for an organ donation when she got word recently that OneLegacy, an organ procurement agency in Southern California, had a kidney that was a biological match.
It was a "directed donation" from a deceased organ donor, according to OneLegacy CEO Tom Mone.
"Having heard of Ms. Cole's need for a kidney, the family asked that one of their loved one's kidneys be transplanted to Ms. Cole if they were a match," Mone said.
Directed organ donations are rare, and rarer still are those directed to someone not related to or known personally by the deceased, he said.
The donor will remain anonymous until the family gives permission for the name to be made public, he said.
Cole's need for a kidney donation was highly publicized, including with an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" on March 31.
"I'm on a very long list, which is why we are looking to donors," said Cole, the daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole.
Cole said her kidney troubles date to February 2008 when she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Cole said she attributes the Hepatitis C to her well-publicized struggles to stop using cocaine and heroin. Cole said she has been sober for some time now after two stints in a rehabilitation clinic.
Cole said she underwent chemotherapy in an aggressive way to fight the virus. Within four months of getting chemotherapy, both of Cole's kidneys failed.
"I couldn't breathe. I -- I went into -- literally, my kidneys stopped functioning. They stopped, you know, processing the fluid that was starting to build up in my body."
Since then Cole has been on dialysis three days a week and has been searching for a kidney, she told King in one of the first public interviews about the issue.
Cole won six Grammys for her 1991 critically acclaimed album "Unforgettable: With Love," a jazzy tribute to her father. She won a Grammy this year for her new album "Still Unforgettable" and another Grammy for her work on another album.
Cole was still able to tour this year even with her kidney ailment. She canceled a planned show last week in South Korea because of her illness, which meant she was in Los Angeles when the organ became available.
"I have been on dialysis in Istanbul, Milan, Indonesia, Manila, London. It's -- it's amazing," Cole said.
During King's show, dozens of people sent e-mails to CNN telling Cole that they would get tested to see if their kidney could be donated.
King handed a thick stack of paper to Cole.
"These are all e-mails from dozens -- dozens of people offering to be tested to see if they can match, who want to give you a kidney," King said.
Cole stared at the papers for a moment.
"There are some great human beings out there. That's all I can say," Cole said.
Cole is expected to return to the tour after three to four months of recovery.
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I would like to think that her transplant was not in any way related to the fact that she's a celebrity and rich. However, my head tells me that's not the case. I don't know all the facts (and we probably never really will), but my gut feeling right now is that she "moved up" and got her transplant because of who she is. And, quite frankly, that thought makes me sick to my stomach.
I'm afraid that cases like this will do more harm for kidney donations in the future than it does good. Many people don't want to be donors (even cadaveric ones) because of the misinformation about the process of donation. I'm afraid that now even more potential donors will think again about consent-to-donate because they think the system isn't "fair" (i.e., the rich and famous get them, the "average" man must wait his turn and hope it comes).
Also, from what I saw in her Larry King Live interview, I don't want this woman to be a spokesman for people like my husband who are living on dialysis and waiting for a transplant. It's not some glorious "show" -- let's face it, dialysis is tough. For anyone to go on national tv and make out like it's nothing that big doesn't speak for my husband. She may have been on dialysis for not quite a year, but she certainly hasn't "walked a mile" in Marvin's shoes -- I don't care what she claims!
So, I'm mad about it.
I asked my husband Marvin for his thoughts. He's been on dialysis twice -- from March of 1995 until July of 2000 (living donor -- me) and then again from October of 2003 until the present. On May 28, 2009 (next Thursday), Marvin will have his 2,000th dialysis treatment. All total, his name has been on the UNOS list for almost 11 years. Here's what Marvin thinks about it:
Marvin said, "It does seem rather 'suspicious' that she got a transplant so soon, and I'm thinking that it is because she's a celebrity. That disappoints me -- because if she got a transplant because of who she is and not because of the 'luck of the draw' that often times means some people don't have to wait as long, well that means I live in a society that places more value on her life than they do on mine. I'm not mad; a dialysis patient got a transplant. For that, I'm very glad for her. I'm glad that she doesn't have to do dialysis anymore. I'm glad that there's one more name OFF the list -- I just wish it had been mine or the name of someone who's struggled as long and as hard as I have. I wish this particular transplant could have come in time to save the life of someone who died waiting on the list. And, I wish that the thousand or so people who called and volunteered to be tested for her after she appeared on Larry King Live would agree to be tested for someone else who's waiting. If she really wants to help those of us who are 'like her' and on dialysis and waiting, she would use her celebrity status to encourage those who volunteered for testing for her to be tested for 1,000 of the rest of us. Now, that would be a terrific impact on the world of donation and transplantation! If she got her transplant because of who she is, that's not fair. And while Life itself is never fair, it's times like these that make the unfairness of it all pretty hard to swallow."
I totally agree with petey. I kind of pissed. :waving;
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I'm confused....the news article says that a deceased donor's family made a direct donation to Cole BUT the Legacy One website says that they do not do direct donation only provide names and info for UNOS. Maybe I'm just reading it incorrectly.