Newspaper story on kidney transplants

[loupgh]

Hi all! I am a medical reporter for a daily newspaper in Pittsburgh, PA I am working on a story about people on dialysis and their knowledge of treatment options such as transplantation. Some doctors have told me that some patients don't even know transplantation is an option until years after they have been on dialysis.  Is that true?
I would like to correspond with any of you about this matter, to learn more about your dialysis experience and your decision to pursue or not pursue transplantation. Feel free to e-mail me directly at Lfabregas@tribweb.com.

By way of introduction, a colleague and I last year published a series about liver transplants on people who don’t need them. You can look at the stories at www.pghtrib.com/transplant  It was a well-received series that gained the attention of UNOS as well as leading transplant surgeons. The site has my bio and my background, so you know this is a legitimate request.

Thanks,
Luis Fabregas
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Tel. 412-320-7998

[Razman]

Thanks for visiting IHD, I hope that you take some time to look around.  There is a lot of information and I think that you can learn that the members are very informed.   I find it hard to believe that "patients don't even know transplants"  but  maybe others can share their thoughts.

[cariad]

Hi Luis,

I would be very interested to read your article when it is completed and see what you discover.

I find it hard to believe that "patients don't even know transplants"

Razman, I was thinking the same thing. In my experience, the opposite has always been true: doctors are loathe to admit that dialysis could ever be a longterm solution.

I once asked a transplant surgeon if any of his patients ever chose dialysis over transplant, and he said he could think of only two. One patient apparently changed his mind at some point, but his vascular system had deteriorated to the point where the doctor claimed it was too late for a transplant. Then the doctor quickly mumbled "The other one is doing fine."

I suppose that doctor bias could prevent some patients from learning about transplant - the doctor has decided that the patient would not make a good transplant candidate, so does not even mention the eval process. It's a big country, so I guess there is always the possibility that such patients are out there.

Good luck with your story, Luis!

[Hanify]

It's great to have someone getting transplant stories out there.  I definitely have been kept well informed of my transplant options (mainly cos there ain't any for a while ha ha) and most people seem to know about transplants per se - but I get the feeling there's a real gap in knowing the ins and outs of being on lists, and the different kinds of lists, and where you go etc.