Transplant Industry Hypocrisy

[kristina]

Many people will not sign a donor card feel that they will not get the best effort at saving their lives.

Many humanitarian Christians in England (and on the Continent) are not prepared any longer to sign donor cards ...
... because they feel the donor-card-system wishes to exploit their humanitarian Christian good mindedness...

... many healthy humanitarian Christians (with a normal body weight and a healthy life style who look after themselves)
also feel that they were born with two kidneys in the first place and it was meant by nature to stay this way...
... and it was meant by nature that they need both kidneys to function properly for the rest of their lives...

... many are not willing anymore to give away one of their kidneys
to assist an obese life style of some other people who seem to be unable
to care for their own body...and/or their own life...  and as a result end up on a kidney transplant list 
as a direct result of their own (often obese) life style...
which results in self-inflicted kidney failure... and many other health problems...

... many people also wonder why mainly humanitarian Christians are being targeted
to give away one of their kidneys ... whilst no other people seem to be targeted for a kidney donation....
and many people are wondering why that should be so ?

[amanda100wilson]

where is your information source for this observation, Kristina?  what do you mean by humanitariun?  I would have thought that it would be very humanitarian to gibe a kidney to a fellow human being?

[kristina]

One of the sources of the information comes from a phone-in-discussion
 ...instigated by a London Radio Station ... and inspired by the story of a UK Christian family
who had donated the kidneys of their diseased son in good trust to a needy person on the British Kidney Transplant Waiting list...
...and this family found out later that one of the donated kidneys was transplanted by NHS nephrologists for money
to a Middle Eastern business man who was flown in to receive his kidney transplant
in a  London NHS hospital ...   but this Middle Eastern business man was not even registered
on the UK kidney transplant waiting list...

... As you can imagine, emotions ran very high during this phone-in-discussion...
 and this discussion made many listeners re-think...
 
... Many wondered about the integrity of the UK kidney transplant waiting list...
 and it was mentioned that these days  “The Christians” are not being thrown to the lions any longer ...
... but instead they seem to be exploited to supply  “spare body parts” whenever needed...

...  I listened to this discussion with great interest...

[Simon Dog]

The original post deals with living donation, not cadaver, and the issues raised are irrelevant to deceased donation.

[KarenInWA]

Not only that, but not all ESRD patients are overweight and/or caused their kidneys to fail....

[amanda100wilson]

 :Kristina, out of curiosity, how did these people find this information out?  Was there a follow up, where people said that they did not wish to donate any longer?

[kristina]

Not only that, but not all ESRD patients are overweight and/or caused their kidneys to fail....

... that may be true but Radio and many other news, including newspapers
inform people in the UK that NHS health services face a crisis
because so many obese people (including children) experience ESRF due to self-inflicted kidney failure...

... I wonder: do other countries experience similar problems?

[kristina]

This is at the heart of the ethical considerations using a paid organ system where the coercion of the financial gain could lead someone to place their on life at risk.

The same could be said of coal mining, police work, fire fighting or working as a convenience store clerk - all cases of placing one's life at risk for financial gain.

And there is the job of "royal organ donor" (yes, really) in at least one country where a peasant is type matched to the king and given a great life - in return for agreeing to donate ANY organ should the king need it.

Hello Simon,

could you please tell me more about the "job" of the "royal organ donor" ? Where and when does/did it take place ?

Thanks from Kristina

[NDXUFan]

Many people will not sign a donor card feel that they will not get the best effort at saving their lives.

Many humanitarian Christians in England (and on the Continent) are not prepared any longer to sign donor cards ...
... because they feel the donor-card-system wishes to exploit their humanitarian Christian good mindedness...

... many healthy humanitarian Christians (with a normal body weight and a healthy life style who look after themselves)
also feel that they were born with two kidneys in the first place and it was meant by nature to stay this way...
... and it was meant by nature that they need both kidneys to function properly for the rest of their lives...

... many are not willing anymore to give away one of their kidneys
to assist an obese life style of some other people who seem to be unable
to care for their own body...and/or their own life...  and as a result end up on a kidney transplant list 
as a direct result of their own (often obese) life style...
which results in self-inflicted kidney failure... and many other health problems...

... many people also wonder why mainly humanitarian Christians are being targeted
to give away one of their kidneys ... whilst no other people seem to be targeted for a kidney donation....
and many people are wondering why that should be so ?

Kristina, obesity, kidney failure, and diabetes have not been scientifically proven.  In fact, most of the grossly overweight people in a dialysis clinic are the people working at the clinic, not the patients. 

The situation has not changed since 1998 when, in their New Year’s Day editorial, “An illfated New Year’s resolution,” Marcia Angell, MD, and Jerome P. Kassirer, MD, editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, warned of the dismal record and questionable value of weight loss interventions:

 “Until we have better data about the risks of being overweight and the benefits and risks of trying to lose weight, we should remember that the cure for obesity may be worse than the condition.”(29)

Weight loss surgery can work, but cannot be considered safe. This is an elective surgery that can turn deadly or leave previously-healthy patients incapacitated for life.(18)

Bariatric surgery carries a higher mortality risk than often claimed, especially for older patients, according to a study that analyzed risks for 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent this surgery between 1997 and 2002.

While many surgeons count only deaths on the operating table, or within a few days, and report a death rate of under 1 percent, this study found mortality risk of nearly 5 percent within the first year. Older patients had higher risk – nearly half of patients age 75 and over died within the year.(19)

A recent study in Pennsylvania found a high suicide rate as well as similarly higher death rates for older patients.(20)

In addition, morbidity risk includes severe infection, leaks, blood clots, malnutrition, brain disorder, memory loss and confusion, inability to coordinate movement, vision impairment and a long list of other complications, along with repeated hospitalizations.

Many patients regain all the weight lost.(21)

 
Liposuction is another popular body-shaping surgery that is not risk-free. It can result in death, severe injury or disfigurement.(22)

“The inability of the volunteers to maintain their diets must give us pause,” wrote Dr. Martijn Katan in a recent Feb. 2009 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. He was reviewing a careful two-year diet program reported in the same issue.(25)

It’s an old story: Participants had lost weight for 6 months, then regained and were still gaining more weight at the end of the two-year trial. Nevertheless, a positive spin by the authors claimed “clinically meaningful weight loss.”


In addition, many in the medical industry are taking money from the weight loss industry.   

[NDXUFan]

Mark Kern, Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University, has pointed out that many of Lustig’s arguments are not scientifically supported, including his demonizing of fructose: only if 95 percent of our calorie intake were to come from fructose would we expect it to affect our metabolism in the ways Lustig describes. According to Kern, Lustig doesn’t even get the biochemistry right: fructose does not often (much less always, as Lustig has it) metabolize to fat.

Case Western Reserve University professor Paul Ernsberger explains the implications of the ADA's 1997 redefinition:
"Is the overall incidence of diabetes rising? It is difficult to say. This is because the standards for diagnosing diabetes have changed radically over the last 30 years. We have gone from measuring glucose in the urine to carrying out an elaborate procedure known as the oral glucose tolerance test and finally to relying solely on fasting blood glucose. The level defining diabetes was dropped from 140 to 126 mg/dL in the 1990s. Loosening the diagnostic standards greatly increased the number of people classified as diabetic. Also, screening for diabetes has been stepped up, and now most people over age 45 are supposed to be checked every 3 years. In contrast, the average fasting blood glucose level in the adult population is about 85 mg/dL, and this value has not changed in decades. If there truly were an epidemic of diabetes, the average blood glucose level would rise, just as the average body weight has risen."

[Hemodoc]

Mark Kern, Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University, has pointed out that many of Lustig’s arguments are not scientifically supported, including his demonizing of fructose: only if 95 percent of our calorie intake were to come from fructose would we expect it to affect our metabolism in the ways Lustig describes. According to Kern, Lustig doesn’t even get the biochemistry right: fructose does not often (much less always, as Lustig has it) metabolize to fat.

Case Western Reserve University professor Paul Ernsberger explains the implications of the ADA's 1997 redefinition:
"Is the overall incidence of diabetes rising? It is difficult to say. This is because the standards for diagnosing diabetes have changed radically over the last 30 years. We have gone from measuring glucose in the urine to carrying out an elaborate procedure known as the oral glucose tolerance test and finally to relying solely on fasting blood glucose. The level defining diabetes was dropped from 140 to 126 mg/dL in the 1990s. Loosening the diagnostic standards greatly increased the number of people classified as diabetic. Also, screening for diabetes has been stepped up, and now most people over age 45 are supposed to be checked every 3 years. In contrast, the average fasting blood glucose level in the adult population is about 85 mg/dL, and this value has not changed in decades. If there truly were an epidemic of diabetes, the average blood glucose level would rise, just as the average body weight has risen."

126 is absolutely an abnormal blood glucose value. You fail to acknowledge the epidemic of "adult onset" diabetes seen in kids today.  Fructose is an issue in that it is a cause of inflammation as well as contributing to obesity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/opinion/no-longer-just-adult-onset.html?_r=0

The reason for changing from a diagnosis of diabetes at 140 to 126 was the knowledge that much of the damage for diabetes happens in many patients BEFORE they even know that they have diabetes. In addition, we now have preventive measures to slow the progression to diabetes in the "pre-diabetic" patients who are also growing in number. Sorry, I can't agree whatsoever with your contentions.

[NDXUFan]

Mark Kern, Professor of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at San Diego State University, has pointed out that many of Lustig’s arguments are not scientifically supported, including his demonizing of fructose: only if 95 percent of our calorie intake were to come from fructose would we expect it to affect our metabolism in the ways Lustig describes. According to Kern, Lustig doesn’t even get the biochemistry right: fructose does not often (much less always, as Lustig has it) metabolize to fat.

Case Western Reserve University professor Paul Ernsberger explains the implications of the ADA's 1997 redefinition:
"Is the overall incidence of diabetes rising? It is difficult to say. This is because the standards for diagnosing diabetes have changed radically over the last 30 years. We have gone from measuring glucose in the urine to carrying out an elaborate procedure known as the oral glucose tolerance test and finally to relying solely on fasting blood glucose. The level defining diabetes was dropped from 140 to 126 mg/dL in the 1990s. Loosening the diagnostic standards greatly increased the number of people classified as diabetic. Also, screening for diabetes has been stepped up, and now most people over age 45 are supposed to be checked every 3 years. In contrast, the average fasting blood glucose level in the adult population is about 85 mg/dL, and this value has not changed in decades. If there truly were an epidemic of diabetes, the average blood glucose level would rise, just as the average body weight has risen."

126 is absolutely an abnormal blood glucose value. You fail to acknowledge the epidemic of "adult onset" diabetes seen in kids today.  Fructose is an issue in that it is a cause of inflammation as well as contributing to obesity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/opinion/no-longer-just-adult-onset.html?_r=0

The reason for changing from a diagnosis of diabetes at 140 to 126 was the knowledge that much of the damage for diabetes happens in many patients BEFORE they even know that they have diabetes. In addition, we now have preventive measures to slow the progression to diabetes in the "pre-diabetic" patients who are also growing in number. Sorry, I can't agree whatsoever with your contentions.

   


"...the prevalence of diabetes … did not appear to increase substantially during the 1990s."
-CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2003


Diabetes "epidemic" amounts to 0.4% increase
Adjusted percentage of adults aged >= 20 with fasting blood glucose levels above 126 mg/dL 
NHANES III (1988-1994)   NHANES (1999-2000)   
8.2                                    8.6

"Type 2 diabetes is still a rare condition [in children]."
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005


While I would not disagree that most of the damage happens before the individual knows that they are a diabetic, I would submit the lowering of the fasting score is because the drug companies want to make more money from giving diabetic drugs......   Indiana University has stated that many times, blood sugar is not well controlled if the individual is not getting the proper amount of sleep.  Yes, I know it is true, because that was the issue with my blood sugar, now it is a 5.4  A1C score.  My blood sugar was a disaster(Labs proved it) when I did not get the right amount of sleep.  As a kid, I was thin and I played sports year around, football, basketball, track, and baseball.   I rarely, if ever ate carbs or Ice Cream, ever.  I might have been lucky to eat candy once per month.  Even when I weighed 265, my body fat levels were normal and I bench pressed 450.  My height is 6'3."  I walked 3 miles every day of the week.  There is a donut shop right near my house, I have been there once in seven years.  My old nephrologist who played college football said my bench press was "awesome."  Instead of obsessing about what I ate, which I have never been a big sugar eater, please explain to me why I became a diabetic?  By the way, when I was 265, I was wrestling heavyweight, and if you know anything about conditioning in wrestling, that will not need any further explanation.  No sugar or very little and no ice cream, can you explain that to me?  No sugary drinks or any of that crap.....  How do you pass a police physical if you are out of shape, please explain that one?  I was drinking sugar free many years before it was popular.  Actually, my very favorite drink is ice cold water and has been since I was a child. 

If the weight and diabetes theory is true, many who work in dialysis better be worried, because the very vast majority of them are grossly overweight.  I get sick and tired of being lectured by people who are grossly overweight, abuse alcohol, smoke, and abuse their body every single day, while telling me how to live and I did none of those things.  One of your friends in medicine told me that I was "overweight."  Spoke to a nurse who was a major college athlete and she said "that is a load of total crap."  It might be a good idea for our friends to practice what they preach, however, I will not waste anytime waiting.  If it is so great, why are they not setting the example???

[kristina]

Many people will not sign a donor card feel that they will not get the best effort at saving their lives.

Many humanitarian Christians in England (and on the Continent) are not prepared any longer to sign donor cards ...
... because they feel the donor-card-system wishes to exploit their humanitarian Christian good mindedness...

... many healthy humanitarian Christians (with a normal body weight and a healthy life style who look after themselves)
also feel that they were born with two kidneys in the first place and it was meant by nature to stay this way...
... and it was meant by nature that they need both kidneys to function properly for the rest of their lives...

... many are not willing anymore to give away one of their kidneys
to assist an obese life style of some other people who seem to be unable
to care for their own body...and/or their own life...  and as a result end up on a kidney transplant list 
as a direct result of their own (often obese) life style...
which results in self-inflicted kidney failure... and many other health problems...

... many people also wonder why mainly humanitarian Christians are being targeted
to give away one of their kidneys ... whilst no other people seem to be targeted for a kidney donation....
and many people are wondering why that should be so ?

Kristina, obesity, kidney failure, and diabetes have not been scientifically proven.  In fact, most of the grossly overweight people in a dialysis clinic are the people working at the clinic, not the patients. 

The situation has not changed since 1998 when, in their New Year’s Day editorial, “An illfated New Year’s resolution,” Marcia Angell, MD, and Jerome P. Kassirer, MD, editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, warned of the dismal record and questionable value of weight loss interventions:

 “Until we have better data about the risks of being overweight and the benefits and risks of trying to lose weight, we should remember that the cure for obesity may be worse than the condition.”(29)

Weight loss surgery can work, but cannot be considered safe. This is an elective surgery that can turn deadly or leave previously-healthy patients incapacitated for life.(18)

Bariatric surgery carries a higher mortality risk than often claimed, especially for older patients, according to a study that analyzed risks for 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent this surgery between 1997 and 2002.

While many surgeons count only deaths on the operating table, or within a few days, and report a death rate of under 1 percent, this study found mortality risk of nearly 5 percent within the first year. Older patients had higher risk – nearly half of patients age 75 and over died within the year.(19)

A recent study in Pennsylvania found a high suicide rate as well as similarly higher death rates for older patients.(20)

In addition, morbidity risk includes severe infection, leaks, blood clots, malnutrition, brain disorder, memory loss and confusion, inability to coordinate movement, vision impairment and a long list of other complications, along with repeated hospitalizations.

Many patients regain all the weight lost.(21)

 
Liposuction is another popular body-shaping surgery that is not risk-free. It can result in death, severe injury or disfigurement.(22)

“The inability of the volunteers to maintain their diets must give us pause,” wrote Dr. Martijn Katan in a recent Feb. 2009 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. He was reviewing a careful two-year diet program reported in the same issue.(25)

It’s an old story: Participants had lost weight for 6 months, then regained and were still gaining more weight at the end of the two-year trial. Nevertheless, a positive spin by the authors claimed “clinically meaningful weight loss.”


In addition, many in the medical industry are taking money from the weight loss industry.

Hello, NDXFan,

I agree with you wholeheartedly...  I also find it very odd that obese & overweight people seem to be victimized
as (the latest) scape-goats to hide financial problems many health services face these days ...

It is also strange that governments still promote (directly or indirectly) fast food & ready-made food at a time
when it has become obvious that many ingredients in such food contribute to health problems  ...

One of my neighbours has made me aware of the serious problems overweight and/or obese people face
when they receive no real constructive medical help to address their problem...
because they HAVE to eat every day in order to stay alive and it seems very difficult for many
to avoid eating fast food and “ready-made food” – whilst they receive no no medical help to address their problem...
... my neighbour does not even know where to turn to receive medical help for her problem...

...my neighbours sad story also made me realize that I am certainly not the only one, who –
suffering from a rare disease (SLE/MCTD) –  is being victimized by a very unhealthy health system...
because after I was diagnosed with pre-dialysis ESRF in August 2006 I was given no NHS medical help to avoid dialysis -
and I was left traumatized and left alone to face my failing kidney function alone ...

... but I was lucky to find assistance & help to refine my (already vegetarian) diet through the Internet... 
and - with the help of my refined diet - I was very lucky to avoid dialysis ever since...

... I also feel very lucky because I found constructive special diet-assistance to avoid dialysis in my ESRF - courtesy of the Internet...
... whereas my neighbour has had no luck at all to address her eating-disorder ...  not even through the Internet...

... I also realized how difficult it can be for diabetes patients in ESRF when IHD-member boxman experienced medical complications ...

(P.S. does anyone know how boxman is doing ?)

Best wishes from Kristina.

[obsidianom]

All I will say is that I have actually treated over 1000 diabetics in my 25 years of practice. I agree with Hemodoc. The disease does so much damage, often before it is diagnosed. It is not some drug company conspiracy to make money. The damage to the nervous system and circulatory system is horrendous. The eyes , kidneys and feet are often damaged.

[Hemodoc]

All I will say is that I have actually treated over 1000 diabetics in my 25 years of practice. I agree with Hemodoc. The disease does so much damage, often before it is diagnosed. It is not some drug company conspiracy to make money. The damage to the nervous system and circulatory system is horrendous. The eyes , kidneys and feet are often damaged.

Absolutely true. Diabetes in many ways is a disease of the blood vessels which causes blindness by affecting the retinal vessels, heart attacks, strokes, peripheral artery disease, peripheral neuropathy and several other manifestations of diabetes including of course renal disease. I had very few adult onset diabetic patients who were not obese and manifest the constellation of findings described in the metabolic syndrome. If Jerome wishes to believe that obesity has nothing to do with diabetes, good for him. Expert opinions by themselves are not evidence for or against any medical theory. THe evidence to date supports the correlation between obesity and diabetes.

BTW, what does this have to do with transplant. Talk about a thread hijack.

[MooseMom]

Kristina, I'm not sure it is entirely correct to claim that governments promote fast-food.  To be fair, it is true that companies that produce these products lobby hard, but it is government that pushes fast food restaurants to prominently display nutritional information about the food they sell.  At least consumers can't claim that they don't know what they're eating.  I don't think anyone in the US nor in the UK thinks that Big Macs and fries with a 32oz soda is a source of good nutrition!

[kristina]

It is true that governments and government MP's do not openly promote the fast food industry...
but I do remember vividly reading about different companies where MP's had "a share"
as board-members and/or "advisers" and my hair was standing up !!!

[kristina]

This is at the heart of the ethical considerations using a paid organ system where the coercion of the financial gain could lead someone to place their on life at risk.

The same could be said of coal mining, police work, fire fighting or working as a convenience store clerk - all cases of placing one's life at risk for financial gain.

And there is the job of "royal organ donor" (yes, really) in at least one country where a peasant is type matched to the king and given a great life - in return for agreeing to donate ANY organ should the king need it.

Hello Simon,

could you please tell me more about the "job" of the "royal organ donor" ? Where and when does/did it take place ?

Thanks from Kristina

[NDXUFan]

All I will say is that I have actually treated over 1000 diabetics in my 25 years of practice. I agree with Hemodoc. The disease does so much damage, often before it is diagnosed. It is not some drug company conspiracy to make money. The damage to the nervous system and circulatory system is horrendous. The eyes , kidneys and feet are often damaged.

NDXUFan: 
I thought of each and every one of you, today, at the primary care/endocrinologist's office.  As I was leaving, I saw a physician who was grossly overweight.  Does not look like he practices what he preaches, must not work in any field of dialysis, LOL!  I had to admit, I thought of you and HemoDoc.  Anyone who tells you that a blood sugar score of 104 is high, is an individual who is looney tunes.  No, not a big fan of conspiracy theories, which I think are crazy.  I think the drug companies want to make money and this is a way to line their coffers, in addition to weight loss companies....... 


The notion that 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese derives in part from a 1998 decision to redefine "overweight," which cast more than 35 million Americans into that category. This decision was made by a National Institutes of Health obesity panel chaired by Xavier Pi-Sunyer, one of the most influential obesity researchers in the country.

 Over the years, Pi-Sunyer has received support from virtually every leading weight-loss company, including Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Ortho-McNeil, Wyeth-Ayerst, Knoll, Weight Watchers, and Roche. He has served on the advisory boards of Wyeth-Ayerst, Knoll, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and McNeil Nutritionals. He once headed up the Weight Watchers Foundation and is currently a board member of that organization. Pi-Sunyer gave the "obesity overview" presentation on behalf of Knoll, maker of the weight-loss drug Meridia, at a 1996 FDA advisory panel hearing on the drug. He has also been paid to sign his name to ghost-written journal articles used to promote the dangerous weight-loss combination known as "fen-phen."

[Hemodoc]

All I will say is that I have actually treated over 1000 diabetics in my 25 years of practice. I agree with Hemodoc. The disease does so much damage, often before it is diagnosed. It is not some drug company conspiracy to make money. The damage to the nervous system and circulatory system is horrendous. The eyes , kidneys and feet are often damaged.

NDXUFan: 
I thought of each and every one of you, today, at the primary care/endocrinologist's office.  As I was leaving, I saw a physician who was grossly overweight.  Does not look like he practices what he preaches, must not work in any field of dialysis, LOL!  I had to admit, I thought of you and HemoDoc.  Anyone who tells you that a blood sugar score of 104 is high, is an individual who is looney tunes.  No, not a big fan of conspiracy theories, which I think are crazy.  I think the drug companies want to make money and this is a way to line their coffers, in addition to weight loss companies....... 


The notion that 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese derives in part from a 1998 decision to redefine "overweight," which cast more than 35 million Americans into that category. This decision was made by a National Institutes of Health obesity panel chaired by Xavier Pi-Sunyer, one of the most influential obesity researchers in the country.

 Over the years, Pi-Sunyer has received support from virtually every leading weight-loss company, including Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Ortho-McNeil, Wyeth-Ayerst, Knoll, Weight Watchers, and Roche. He has served on the advisory boards of Wyeth-Ayerst, Knoll, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and McNeil Nutritionals. He once headed up the Weight Watchers Foundation and is currently a board member of that organization. Pi-Sunyer gave the "obesity overview" presentation on behalf of Knoll, maker of the weight-loss drug Meridia, at a 1996 FDA advisory panel hearing on the drug. He has also been paid to sign his name to ghost-written journal articles used to promote the dangerous weight-loss combination known as "fen-phen."

??

Well, if you are calling me and obsidianom looney toons, at least I am in good company.

You fail to understand that diabetes is not yes or no at any certain level, it is instead an insidious slow onset. My mother in law had a blood glucose fasting a couple of years ago about 104. I warned her to lose weight and exercise. She didn't. Today, a short time later, she has full blown diabetes. Sorry, if I am looney toons, how did I predict that outcome?

No sense arguing further especially on a thread about transplant about weight correlations with diabetes. Really, nothing more to say except, I am in good company with obsidianom. Thank you.

[NDXUFan]

Many people will not sign a donor card feel that they will not get the best effort at saving their lives.

Many humanitarian Christians in England (and on the Continent) are not prepared any longer to sign donor cards ...
... because they feel the donor-card-system wishes to exploit their humanitarian Christian good mindedness...

... many healthy humanitarian Christians (with a normal body weight and a healthy life style who look after themselves)
also feel that they were born with two kidneys in the first place and it was meant by nature to stay this way...
... and it was meant by nature that they need both kidneys to function properly for the rest of their lives...

... many are not willing anymore to give away one of their kidneys
to assist an obese life style of some other people who seem to be unable
to care for their own body...and/or their own life...  and as a result end up on a kidney transplant list 
as a direct result of their own (often obese) life style...
which results in self-inflicted kidney failure... and many other health problems...

... many people also wonder why mainly humanitarian Christians are being targeted
to give away one of their kidneys ... whilst no other people seem to be targeted for a kidney donation....
and many people are wondering why that should be so ?

Kristina, obesity, kidney failure, and diabetes have not been scientifically proven.  In fact, most of the grossly overweight people in a dialysis clinic are the people working at the clinic, not the patients. 

The situation has not changed since 1998 when, in their New Year’s Day editorial, “An illfated New Year’s resolution,” Marcia Angell, MD, and Jerome P. Kassirer, MD, editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, warned of the dismal record and questionable value of weight loss interventions:

 “Until we have better data about the risks of being overweight and the benefits and risks of trying to lose weight, we should remember that the cure for obesity may be worse than the condition.”(29)

Weight loss surgery can work, but cannot be considered safe. This is an elective surgery that can turn deadly or leave previously-healthy patients incapacitated for life.(18)

Bariatric surgery carries a higher mortality risk than often claimed, especially for older patients, according to a study that analyzed risks for 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent this surgery between 1997 and 2002.

While many surgeons count only deaths on the operating table, or within a few days, and report a death rate of under 1 percent, this study found mortality risk of nearly 5 percent within the first year. Older patients had higher risk – nearly half of patients age 75 and over died within the year.(19)

A recent study in Pennsylvania found a high suicide rate as well as similarly higher death rates for older patients.(20)

In addition, morbidity risk includes severe infection, leaks, blood clots, malnutrition, brain disorder, memory loss and confusion, inability to coordinate movement, vision impairment and a long list of other complications, along with repeated hospitalizations.

Many patients regain all the weight lost.(21)

 
Liposuction is another popular body-shaping surgery that is not risk-free. It can result in death, severe injury or disfigurement.(22)

“The inability of the volunteers to maintain their diets must give us pause,” wrote Dr. Martijn Katan in a recent Feb. 2009 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. He was reviewing a careful two-year diet program reported in the same issue.(25)

It’s an old story: Participants had lost weight for 6 months, then regained and were still gaining more weight at the end of the two-year trial. Nevertheless, a positive spin by the authors claimed “clinically meaningful weight loss.”


In addition, many in the medical industry are taking money from the weight loss industry.

Hello, NDXFan,

I agree with you wholeheartedly...  I also find it very odd that obese & overweight people seem to be victimized
as (the latest) scape-goats to hide financial problems many health services face these days ...

It is also strange that governments still promote (directly or indirectly) fast food & ready-made food at a time
when it has become obvious that many ingredients in such food contribute to health problems  ...

One of my neighbours has made me aware of the serious problems overweight and/or obese people face
when they receive no real constructive medical help to address their problem...
because they HAVE to eat every day in order to stay alive and it seems very difficult for many
to avoid eating fast food and “ready-made food” – whilst they receive no no medical help to address their problem...
... my neighbour does not even know where to turn to receive medical help for her problem...

...my neighbours sad story also made me realize that I am certainly not the only one, who –
suffering from a rare disease (SLE/MCTD) –  is being victimized by a very unhealthy health system...
because after I was diagnosed with pre-dialysis ESRF in August 2006 I was given no NHS medical help to avoid dialysis -
and I was left traumatized and left alone to face my failing kidney function alone ...

... but I was lucky to find assistance & help to refine my (already vegetarian) diet through the Internet... 
and - with the help of my refined diet - I was very lucky to avoid dialysis ever since...

... I also feel very lucky because I found constructive special diet-assistance to avoid dialysis in my ESRF - courtesy of the Internet...
... whereas my neighbour has had no luck at all to address her eating-disorder ...  not even through the Internet...

... I also realized how difficult it can be for diabetes patients in ESRF when IHD-member boxman experienced medical complications ...

(P.S. does anyone know how boxman is doing ?)

Best wishes from Kristina.

NDXUFan;

The claims about fast food are simply bunk.....  Have talked with a number of chemists who disagree with this claim......  By the way, when I ate mostly fast food, my cholesterol tanked to 40, how can we explain that fact?   I am not talking about sugar drinks, but food.     

Uffe Ravnskov, Professor of Nephrology and Professor of Clinical Chemistry: 
 What is particularly shocking is that the effect of the low-fat diet on clinical events was never tested before it was recommended to the public. To get a drug into clinical practice demands that it has been shown to be harmless or at least without serious side effects, first in various laboratory animals, then in healthy voluntary test subjects, and finally its therapeutic value must have been proven in a number of clinical trials. But dietary advices are given to millions of people based on speculation only. 

Sound familiar? 

[NDXUFan]

All I will say is that I have actually treated over 1000 diabetics in my 25 years of practice. I agree with Hemodoc. The disease does so much damage, often before it is diagnosed. It is not some drug company conspiracy to make money. The damage to the nervous system and circulatory system is horrendous. The eyes , kidneys and feet are often damaged.

NDXUFan: 
I thought of each and every one of you, today, at the primary care/endocrinologist's office.  As I was leaving, I saw a physician who was grossly overweight.  Does not look like he practices what he preaches, must not work in any field of dialysis, LOL!  I had to admit, I thought of you and HemoDoc.  Anyone who tells you that a blood sugar score of 104 is high, is an individual who is looney tunes.  No, not a big fan of conspiracy theories, which I think are crazy.  I think the drug companies want to make money and this is a way to line their coffers, in addition to weight loss companies....... 


The notion that 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese derives in part from a 1998 decision to redefine "overweight," which cast more than 35 million Americans into that category. This decision was made by a National Institutes of Health obesity panel chaired by Xavier Pi-Sunyer, one of the most influential obesity researchers in the country.

 Over the years, Pi-Sunyer has received support from virtually every leading weight-loss company, including Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Ortho-McNeil, Wyeth-Ayerst, Knoll, Weight Watchers, and Roche. He has served on the advisory boards of Wyeth-Ayerst, Knoll, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and McNeil Nutritionals. He once headed up the Weight Watchers Foundation and is currently a board member of that organization. Pi-Sunyer gave the "obesity overview" presentation on behalf of Knoll, maker of the weight-loss drug Meridia, at a 1996 FDA advisory panel hearing on the drug. He has also been paid to sign his name to ghost-written journal articles used to promote the dangerous weight-loss combination known as "fen-phen."

??

Well, if you are calling me and obsidianom looney toons, at least I am in good company.

You fail to understand that diabetes is not yes or no at any certain level, it is instead an insidious slow onset. My mother in law had a blood glucose fasting a couple of years ago about 104. I warned her to lose weight and exercise. She didn't. Today, a short time later, she has full blown diabetes. Sorry, if I am looney toons, how did I predict that outcome?

No sense arguing further especially on a thread about transplant about weight correlations with diabetes. Really, nothing more to say except, I am in good company with obsidianom. Thank you.

NDXUFan: 

You are also leaving out the fact that she is probably over 50 years old and at that point is when most people become diabetics because the system quits making insulin(George Washington University Hospital-Endocrinology)

[Hemodoc]

NDXUFan: 

You are also leaving out the fact that she is probably over 50 years old and at that point is when most people become diabetics because the system quits making insulin(George Washington University Hospital-Endocrinology)

Not to cut to the jugular, but you appear to be completely unaware that type II, "adult onset" diabetes is associated with an EXCESS insulin production with insulin resistance. Once again, what is your point my friend? Your facts are simply in error. You appear to be suggesting the type of finding with Type I diabetes which is actually an autoimmune disease wiping out insulin production in the pancreas. Type II diabetes is quite different than Type I and has NOTHING to do with reduced insulin levels until VERY late in the process. Sorry, you are simply wrong about your assertions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_resistance

[obsidianom]

NDXUFan: 

You are also leaving out the fact that she is probably over 50 years old and at that point is when most people become diabetics because the system quits making insulin(George Washington University Hospital-Endocrinology)

Not to cut to the jugular, but you appear to be completely unaware that type II, "adult onset" diabetes is associated with an EXCESS insulin production with insulin resistance. Once again, what is your point my friend? Your facts are simply in error. You appear to be suggesting the type of finding with Type I diabetes which is actually an autoimmune disease wiping out insulin production in the pancreas. Type II diabetes is quite different than Type I and has NOTHING to do with reduced insulin levels until VERY late in the process. Sorry, you are simply wrong about your assertions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_resistance

I concur with Hemo doc. Type 1 and type 2 are quite different.
I have never heard of any study showing 50 year olds reduce insulin production. 
I had a patient in my offfice the other day with a glucose over 500 ( the meter read HI, which doesnt mean hello.  It means WAKE UP OR DIE.
He was grossly obese and not taking his insulin. He refuses to check his sugar at home and is frustrating his wife who is a nurse. This guy is a walking time bomb. Yet like a lot of people doesnt want to deal with the issue and now is in great danger. He claims he cant get his sugar down. In reality he needs to lose 100 pounds and take his diabetes seriously. He doesnt get it that his weight is a major factor . Meds alone probably wont get him under control. So he just does nothing as he doesnt want to face that fact.

[NDXUFan]

NDXUFan: 

You are also leaving out the fact that she is probably over 50 years old and at that point is when most people become diabetics because the system quits making insulin(George Washington University Hospital-Endocrinology)

Not to cut to the jugular, but you appear to be completely unaware that type II, "adult onset" diabetes is associated with an EXCESS insulin production with insulin resistance. Once again, what is your point my friend? Your facts are simply in error. You appear to be suggesting the type of finding with Type I diabetes which is actually an autoimmune disease wiping out insulin production in the pancreas. Type II diabetes is quite different than Type I and has NOTHING to do with reduced insulin levels until VERY late in the process. Sorry, you are simply wrong about your assertions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_resistance

I am curious, if the cause of type II diabetes is so well known, why are the top academic Nephrologists telling me that they do not know what causes Type II diabetes? 

http://medicine.iu.edu/nephrology/faculty-and-staff-directory/michael-a-kraus-md/

Clinical Interests:

•Home Dialysis
•Peritoneal Dialysis
•Dialysis Access Problems
•Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT)
•Acute Renal Failure
•Chronic Kidney Disease
•Hypertension
•Glomerulonephritis

http://intmed.uc.edu/contact/directory/profile.aspx?epersonID=gallajh
Professor Emeritus of Nephrology, John Galla-University of Cincinnati. Dr. Galla is extensively published. 

Cincinnati Children's Hospital which is ranked #3 in the United States, "The cause of Type II diabetes is unknown." 

Our diabetes and endocrinology program was rated No. 6 in the country in the 2013-14 list of Best Children’s Hospitals published by U.S. News & World Report

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/d/diabetes/default/

http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings/diabetes-and-endocrinology


Honestly, never had any health problems until listening to your profession and their obsessive low fat diets.  The old food standard was filled with bread and pasta, which is very, very bad for diabetics and blood sugar control. Never really was a big carb eater or sugary drinks, rather have peanuts than a candy bar.  I am curious, I have a friend who is the same height as I am and same weight, is the picture of health, how could this be???  My body fat was tested at the University of Cincinnati and was told that it was "excellent."  Care to explain?  Now, that I am off of that stupid night shift, getting enough sleep and going back to my old ways of eating, my last A1C was 5.4 and the blood sugar score after that was 83, care to explain that one? 

Professor Emeritus of Organic Chemistry Joel Kauffman, 14 drug patents, 100 peer reviewed publications: 

Richard K. Bernstein, was diagnosed with IDDM at the age of 12 in 1946.  Following the advice of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Diabetes Association (ADbA) to eat a high-carb (40%, then 60% carb) diet, his condition worsened and most of the complications of IDDM began to appear.  He found that he could not normalize his blood sugars with any insulin regimen, and that exercise in his condition did not help.  By doing a literature search himself in 1965, he realized the potential benefits of normal blood sugars.

By using himself as the test animal he found that  about 30 g/day of slow-acting carbohydrate (essentially fiber with no simple sugars or high GI starches at all) was necessary to normalize his blood glucose levels, the rest of his diet being fat and protein. He obtained an MD degree at about age 45 partly to have his observations published in medical journals, because the papers were rejected when he did not have the MD degree. 

He has continued the diet for 35 years so far, which includes on many days, 3 eggs for breakfast  and no fruit.  His total cholesterol dropped from 300 mg/dL to 179, of which LDL-C = 63 and HDL-C = 116 (that is not a misprint).  His triglycerides dropped from 250 to 45. His lipoprotein(a) level, a marker of inflammation, became undetectable. In 1983 he began his own medical practice for diabetics. At the time of writing he is age 72 and he still works 12-14 hour days in his medical practice on diabetics.