Insights from kidney recipients, living donors and transplant professionals
Written by Martha Gershun, Guest Blogger When I first called the transplant center to offer to donate one of my kidneys to a woman I read about in the newspaper, I didn’t know anything about the process. There were a few paragraphs on the center’s website on a page labeled “Living-donor transplantation.” That was it. When I called the phone number in the newspaper, I assumed I would learn more. But the person who answered …
Hello everyone! My name is Alexa Sokhon and I am from Lebanon. I am an upcoming senior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Medical Humanities. This summer, I had the prestigious opportunity to be a research intern with the Department of Surgery and J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center at the Houston Methodist Hospital. I worked alongside Dr. LaShara Davis and Dr. Amy Waterman, who leads …
By Martha Gershun, Guest Blogger Sharing stories helps people connect and learn from each other in powerful and unique ways. It also allows the storyteller to process their own experiences as they structure and organize their personal narrative to offer to others. The Living Digital Storytelling Project is a compelling, user-friendly platform for real-life living donation stories that provides first-person information about the challenges and benefits of living kidney donation in order to help others …
Written by Vandana Suresh, PhD, Communication & External Relations, Houston Methodist Academic Institute Houston Methodist’s Amy Waterman and LaShara Davis are participating in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Programs to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research. Even before his official foray into politics, former President Barack Obama looked up to South African leader-humanitarian-activist Nelson Mandela for inspiration — Mandela’s release from prison gave Obama “a sense of what human beings can …
At the end of June, I will have worked at Houston Methodist Hospital and J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center for nine months as Director of Patient Engagement, Diversity, and Education. A common question that I continue to hear is, “Why did you move from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Terasaki institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) to Houston, Texas?” Here is my belated explanation. It is true that my professional experience working at …
We were jumping for joy to finally be able to attend the annual American Transplant Congress (ATC) conference in person in Boston from June 3-7, 2022 to network and learn from other experts in the field of organ and tissue transplantation. The new Patient Engagement Research Lab in the Department of Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital celebrated the many accomplishments of all the researchers and clinicians from J.C. Walter Transplant Center representing so many facets …
Introducing Martha Gershun, New Living Donation Guest Blogger In 2018 I donated a kidney at the Mayo Clinic to a woman I read about in the newspaper (1). Deb Porter Gil was in her mid-50s; the mother of two young adult daughters; a retired attorney, raised in Kansas City, where I lived; who had recently moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Decades before, while still in law school in Kansas City, Deb had been diagnosed with …
I want to thank everyone associated with the Terasaki Institute of Biomedical Innovation for the incredible opportunity to serve as the Deputy Director of Personalized Transplant Education and Communication. The CEO, Dr. Ali Khademhosseini, the President, Mr. Stewart Han, and the Terasaki Family Foundation have fully supported my advocacy work with transplant patients and helped me honor Dr. Paul Terasaki’s legacy. It’s been a productive four years! During this time, my research team published over …
By Mindy Kim, Intern The large costs of kidney transplants are no secret; however, the impacts of insurance type on kidney transplant are often overlooked. Most patients in the United States have some form of public insurance (Medicare or Medicaid), private insurance, or are uninsured. In 2018, 32.3% of patients with prevalent end-stage renal disease only had Medicare coverage, 20.8% had non-Medicare insurance, and the remainder of patients had some form of dual or add-on …
By Erica Ho, Senior Research and Education Associate Post-transplant cancer (PTC) is one of the leading causes of death among organ and tissue transplant recipients. This is because the immunosuppressive medicines recipients need to take to prevent graft rejection weakens their immune system, increasing their risk of developing cancer by 2-3 times compared to the general population.1 However, many cancers, if detected early enough, can be treated and transplant recipients can continue living long and …
By Mindy Kim, Intern I first came across the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC) Intern position by chance, but I knew as soon as I started reading more about TREC that its mission was one I wanted to contribute to. Although I knew little about kidney transplants and the specific inequalities that exist in the kidney transplant waiting system, health inequities and access to healthcare were two interests I had been growing through other …
The American Transplant Congress is the annual meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and the American Society of Transplantation (AST). This year, Dr. Amy Waterman and the Transplant Research and Education Center team have participated in submitting 13 abstracts to the event—all of which have been accepted and will be available for public viewing at the virtual event from June 4 – 9. Eight of the 13 abstracts list Dr. Waterman and …
By Erica Ho, Senior Research & Education Associate On Friday April 16, Dr. Amy Waterman spoke at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s virtual public webinar, “A Fairer and More Equitable, Cost-Effective, and Transparent System of Donor Organ Procurement, Allocation, and Distribution”. This webinar was held to educate the public on two important aspects of the current state of deceased donor organ transplantation in the country. The morning session comprised of medical leaders …
By Yaquelin Arevalo Iraheta, Junior Research Associate At TREC, we have assembled a new group of researchers working in transplantation called the TREC Fellows. This week, we’re learning more about Dr. Cristina Farkas-Skiles, who began having an interest in kidney transplantation when she was in medical school. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Farkas-Skiles decided to specialize in pediatrics. During her residency at UCLA, she explored different specialties and ultimately landed in nephrology. When asked …
By Erica Ho, Research and Education Associate With the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out, kidney and transplant patients have had many important questions about how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may affect their health and treatment regimens. To help get these questions answered, the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation and its Deputy Director, Dr. Amy Waterman, hosted an informational panel called, “What do I need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines & …
By Alice Yang, Intern When I applied to become an undergraduate research assistant at TREC/TIBI, I had the opportunity to tour the lab and meet with everyone in person. Walking through the glass doors and into the high ceiling of the main lobby for the first time, I couldn’t believe that soon I would get to be part of the research team working under Dr. Waterman to help educate others about the benefits of living …
By Erica Ho, Research Associate Did you know that approximately 13% of the world’s population has chronic kidney disease (CKD), and over 10% have end-stage kidney failure1? In the 1990’s, CKD was the 17th most common cause of death in the world, but has risen to 12th by 20172. This may be because previous efforts to reduce CKD and CKD-related mortality either have not been successful, or do not exist. This is an even more …
By Brian Ha, Intern With 2020 winding down, let’s take a moment to reflect on all that we have accomplished this year for the transplant and living donation community. Together with our partners, we launched the COVID-19 Kidney / Transplant Listening and Resource Center, designed new education for living donors and transplant recipients in partnership with the community, presented our work on digital storytelling and innovative education tools at talks and conferences hosted by the …
By Ally Zweigle, Intern Throughout my time at TREC, I progressed from knowing very little about what kidney disease is like for those who have it, let alone its astounding effects on both the diagnosed individual as well as those around them, to being convinced that I should someday donate my own kidney to someone in need. Perhaps this was a consequence of one of my internship assignments, which was to code video submissions for …
By Jessica Nunez, Intern On November 20, 2020, Dr. Waterman gave a talk titled “The Power of Digital Storytelling to Educate, Empower, and Engage Patients and Prospective Donors” as part of a virtual series hosted by the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation. You can view the full talk here. The talk highlighted the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC)’s Living Donation Storytelling Project, which aims to share the real-life testimonies of living kidney donors and …