WFUBMC kidney research may help solve organ shortage

[okarol]

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - 1:30 PM EST
WFUBMC kidney research may help solve organ shortage
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area

New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center suggests that age alone shouldn't be a barrier to receiving a kidney transplant and that using donated kidneys that once would have been discarded helps to alleviate the burgeoning organ shortage among older adults.

The research, which involved 356 kidney transplants over a 59-month period, is reported in the journal Surgery.

The study found that both patient and organ survivor rates were similar regardless of the age of the patient or if the patient received a standard-criteria donor organ or a kidney that once would have been excluded due to the age or health conditions of the donor.

Kidney transplantation is a preferred treatment for end-stage renal failure, which increases disproportionately with older age. While the number of patients younger than 50 added to the waiting list for kidney transplants has remained constant during the last decade, the number of patients 65 or older has tripled.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/11/12/daily11.html?ana=from_rss