Transplant drive for Kidney Day
Thursday March 10th, 2011
More effort should be made to enable kidney patients to get transplants before they need dialysis, new UK guidelines say today.
The
guidelines are launched for World Kidney Day today by the National Institute
for Health and Clinical Excellence.
They say patients with chronic kidney disease should be assessed for heart disease risk - and should have access to good psycho-social report.
Kidney specialist Dr Paul Stevens, from the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, said the guidelines were "robust, clear and evidence-based."
Kidney patients welcomed the proposals. Patient Kate Shipton said: "After two years on dialysis, my wonderful son gave me one of his kidneys last year, and so far things are going well.
"My experience of having chronic kidney disease has made me acutely aware of how important it is to have clear standards in place that will help people like me."
Meanwhile the UK transplant service launched a fresh drive for donors to meet the growing demand for transplants.
Some 6,933 people are on the UK waiting list for kidney transplants. NHS Blood and Transplant said a quarter of these were black or Asian people.
The service has gained the profile of celebrities from ethnic minority communities to back the campaign, including footballer Ian Wright and chef Ainsley Harriott.
Anthony Clarkson, of the service, said: "A kidney transplant is more likely to be successful if the donor and recipient are from the same ethnic group.
"It's absolutely vital that people from all ethnic backgrounds sign up to the organ donor register and discuss their decision with their families, so that their wishes can be respected."
Tags: Internal Medicine | NHS | UK News | World Health
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