Hmm. The policy (ok, the law) of this land is that it is illegal to pay another human being to induce them to donate a kidney to you or to a loved one. That actually is a good idea, because otherwise not only would there be bidding wars for organs, but only the richer among us could probably arrange for transplants.
Continue reading A concrete way to improve renal transplants
I bet you didn’t know that you could lose 90% of your kidney function without a clue. So, maintaining your kidney health is pretty critical. Two conditions that can make that problematic are high blood pressure and diabetes. But, there are eight conditions we should monitor to ensure proper kidney health.
Continue reading Kidneys for Life
You know I talk about dialysis a lot. And, advocate that stem cell research should be allowed.
Not only could we provide an unlimited set of kidneys for transplant, but hearts, lungs, and a slew of other organs. But, stem cell research is disallowed due to politics (read: religious group lobbying).
Continue reading Donate a kidney?
Many of you wonder if we will see a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 soon. Given the fact that the virus has been genetically mapped and the disease caused by this virus is rampaging across the planet, the odds are likely. Note I didn’t say it would be a fully effective vaccine or that it would be perfectly safe.
Continue reading A decade’s long trip
Tell me again that we can’t use stem cells…
Just like we did two decades ago- right before the s…t hit the fan and stem cell research was outlawed. We made a (very crude) kidney using stem cells. Now, folks smarter and more skilled than us are taking the steps to truly make dialysis a thing of the past.
Continue reading Breakthrough!
We discussed late last year how the injection of stem cells seems to help heart patients recover. Not because the stem cells are growing and rebuilding the heart. No, they are helping because they are stimulating an immune response that helps the heart recover.
Continue reading MSC to the rescue?
I was reading an article published by an old friend. (No, he’s not old- I am.)
From the second the first dialyzer was invented by Abel, Rowntree, and Turner 115 years ago, it should have been clear that dialysis- which cleans the blood of most of the toxins that accumulate when the subject has kidney failure, was, at best, incomplete.
Continue reading 2nd Best Ain’t Good Enough
As a child of the 50s and 60s, I was surrounded by folks who experimented with all sorts of “mind-enhancing” drugs. Me? I was content to keep my experiments contained within my chem lab. (Nowadays, my fraternity brothers and friends would term me the “designated driver”.)
Continue reading And,the wind, it cries Mary…
Not quite the culmination- but the week of “Spring Ahead” is a major one for those who’ve been working since “Fall Back”.
