The Process of Kidney Transplant Essay Example

from those in long-term care. The administration of medication in a hospital setting is monitored by staff rather than by patients themselves. Therefore, this discussion will focus on the common medications taken by patients at home.

According to Peters, patients in outpatient settings often take a combination of anti-rejection drugs, which go by different names but contain the same active ingredients, such as Cyclosporine, Prograf, Imuran, Cell Cept, and Prednisone. These drugs prevent certain cells from causing rejection and have mostly similar side effects.

Despite the possibility of patients experiencing side effects such as high blood pressure, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, joint pain, and cholesterol elevation from taking medication or treatment, these negative responses can be effectively controlled through careful monitoring.

When a person is diagnosed with renal failure, doctors typically suggest using a dialysis machine to filter the blood and remove harmful cells that can damage the kidneys. Prior to this treatment, an arm shunt will be provided to make it easier for tubes to connect with the dialysis machine. Dialysis can extend a person's life until they are eligible for kidney transplantation. Harrison has indicated that mortality rates increase by 85% after 18 months of undergoing dialysis; nonetheless, when considering differences in risk profiles, there is still a 50% lower relative risk of mortality between 31 and 365 days as compared to transplantation.

Oniscu's research, as cited by Harrison, indicates that kidney transplant recipients have a lower 30-day mortality rate than those undergoing dialysis. Additionally, even diabetic patients experience reduced risk of death after one year. Oniscu recommends evaluating elderly individuals based on biological rather than chronological age. Although kidney transplantation can be costly, most insurance

policies cover it and the procedure typically costs around $100.

The yearly cost of kidney dialysis for a single patient is around $44,000. On the other hand, a kidney transplant procedure costs between $25,000 to $38,000 which includes hospital fees, operating room charges and supplies costs along with payments for staff like nurses and surgeons and medicines taken during hospitalization. For uncomplicated transplant patients within 90 days after transplantation there are no additional expenses incurred. The complete medical care and surgical expenditure in the first year following transplantation can add up to $89,939. Additionally an average of $16,043 annually is spent on medication costs beyond that period to prevent rejection for transplant patients.

According to Englesbe, Dimick, Fan, Basr, and Birlmayer, Medicare awards hospitals with more than $200 million. Research shows that kidney disease is more prevalent among African-Americans compared to Caucasians. Despite being included on the transplant waitlist, black patients have a lower chance of receiving a kidney due to the extended waiting periods resulting from the transplant gap. This challenge poses difficulties for African-American individuals as there is a limited supply of compatible donors within their community.

This article presents a chart displaying the percentage of kidney transplant patients in the U.S waiting list for five or more years, revealing that 45% are black, 29.5% are white, and 17%…

The number of patients on the kidney transplant waiting list increases by 3000 to 4000 annually. Among these patients, there are those who identify as Hispanic (1%), Asian (5.8%), and another ethnicity (2.7%).

In May 2011, UNOS reported that there were 72,213 individuals on the waiting list for kidney transplants. However, only 28,664 transplants occurred from December

2010 to January 2011 with just 14,506 donors during that time. This indicates a shortage of kidney donations due to inadequate supply. The scarcity of donors drives organizations to encourage cost-free methods of donation that can save lives.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are two types of kidney transplants - those from living donors and those from cadavers with irreversible brain damage whose families have agreed to donate their organs. To ensure successful transplantation, both donors must undergo testing to prevent rejection. Living donors can be either blood relatives or close friends who choose to have one of their kidneys removed for the recipient. Blood and tissue testing is crucial in finding a suitable match for the recipient's transplant.

UK Health Care necessitates various tests, including laboratory tests, EKGs for heart assessment, urologic screening studies, pulmonary function tests, noninvasive vascular studies, GI workup and abdominal imaging. The United Network for Organ Sharing reports that the national waiting list for kidneys in America is currently around 70,000 individuals. Of these, about 16,000 underwent kidney transplants last year; living donors comprised roughly 40% of these with the rest coming from deceased donors. Additionally, many others await liver, heart and lung transplants which primarily come from deceased donors as well. This results in a total of around 92,000 individuals presently on the waiting list. Wait times can be five to eight years in large cities where the ratio of acceptable organs to needy patients is at its worst level and it is expected to double by 2010. Unfortunately one person dies every ninety minutes while still remaining on the organ list.