How outdated stigmas can limit living organ donation

Mayra AlmendarezTransplant News

Written by Martha Gershun, Guest Blogger No one has ever accused me of being a drug addict.  In fact, no one has ever even suggested I drank too much or was impaired in any way due to substance use.  I am a pretty reliable, law-abiding, sober person.  But in 2017 when I started the process to donate my kidney to a woman I read about in the newspaper, the suspicion of drug abuse almost derailed …

Dr. Amy Waterman and Parsa, member of the Rising Stars program at Houston Methodist

It takes a village part 1: One more new surgeon:

Karen HandelmanTransplant News

My friend Joe Sinacore and I work in the field of kidney transplantation together, he in New Jersey and me in Houston. One evening we ate dinner together and he shared, “My taxi driver really wants to help his son Parsa, an incoming high school senior, get into medical school.” He explained that Peter Rajabi, his driver from the airport, had told him that most hospitals had stopped offering many opportunities to high school and …

Our first Transplant Games: what we learned from attending the 2022 Transplant Games of America

Former StaffTransplant News

Written by Alexis Bobu, Scientific Writer, Houston Methodist Hospital Department of Surgery and J.C. Walter, Jr. Transplant Center    “Meeting transplant patients and families for the first time was meaningful and fulfilling, adding depth to the work that we do.”   The city of San Diego hosted the 2022 Transplant Games of America on July 29 – August 3, 2022 bringing back the world’s largest celebration of life to the transplant community after being canceled in 2020 …

A recap of Dr. Waterman’s participation at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s virtual public webinar

Former StaffOur Lab in the News, Transplant News

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 …

The global burden of chronic kidney disease

Former StaffTransplant News

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 …

2020 year in review: championing patient-centered work

Former StaffStaff Updates, Transplant News

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 …

The power of digital storytelling featuring recipients and donors from the Living Donation Storytelling Project

Former StaffDonation Stories

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 …

COVID-19 vaccine vials

COVID-19 vaccine FAQs and recommendations for transplant patients

Karen HandelmanCOVID-19, From the Founder, Transplant News

At the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC), we believe that rapid communication of information about COVID-19 vaccination to transplant patients and ongoing monitoring of patient outcomes are two important ways to keep our patients safe as we move forward into 2021. In the recent weeks, one of the many SARS-COV-2 vaccines being developed in the United States has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization. This vaccine …

Important takeaways from the American Association of Kidney Patients annual patient meeting

Former StaffTransplant News

By Erica Ho, Research and Education Associate On September 11, I attended Day 1 of the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) National Patient Meeting. AAKP is the oldest and largest kidney patient organization in the United States and its mission is to improve the lives of kidney patients through education, advocacy, and community engagement. The National Patient Meeting is an annual event where members of the kidney community can access the latest news and …

The importance of tailored education to address transplant disparities

Former StaffTransplant News

By Annika Pearson, Guest TREC Communication Writer A recent study titled, “Ethnic background is associated with no live kidney donor identified at the time of first transplant assessment—an opportunity missed? A single-center retrospective cohort study”, suggests that people from different minority ethnicity groups are not given the same amount or quality of information about their options for managing chronic kidney disease or for renal replacement therapies like transplantation, as others. Research has shown that patients …

A recent TREC publication on the power of a digital library of living donor stories

Former StaffNew Publications, Transplant News

By Erica Ho, Research Associate There are over 740,000 people in the United States living with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD)1,2, but only around 6500 transplants are performed every year due to a severe shortage in available kidneys2. Problems like limited kidney transplant education and medical mistrust make it difficult for enough donors and recipients to be matched3,4. Storytelling has been proven to be an effective strategy in increasing education and awareness for other health issues …

Surveying Spanish-speaking kidney patients

Former StaffDonation Stories, Transplant News

By Yaquelin Arevalo Iraheta, Junior Research Associate. Using an interpreter is worse than having both the patient and provider speak the same language because it loses the personal and intimate element between both parties. Breaking the language barrier that Spanish-speaking patients face when receiving healthcare can also help them overcome cultural barriers such as mistrust of their provider. One of the research projects going on at the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC) involves surveying …

Intern, Sarah Brecher Shares About her Time as an Intern at TREC

Former StaffStaff Updates

By, Sarah Brecher, Intern My name is Sarah Brecher and over the last two years, I have served as an intern at the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC). I initially entered the lab as a sophomore interested in the basic principles of preventing disease and promoting health through public health research. Two years later as I enter my senior year at UCLA, the work at the lab has increased my commitment to public health …

Announcing the launch of the Listening & Resource Center (KTLRC) & bilingual educational guide

Former StaffCOVID-19, Transplant News

By Emily H. Wood, Research Associate The Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC), has launched the COVID-19 Kidney / Transplant Listening & Resource Center (KTLRC). The KTLRC is a toll-free call center that allows patients, their loved ones, and caregivers to connect with our experienced staff to share their questions, concerns, and receive answers, education, and referrals for additional resources. The KTLRC can be reached at: 1-800-830-0484 trec@mednet.ucla.edu We created the KTLRC in direct response …

What it is like to join TREC as a researcher during COVID-19

Former StaffCOVID-19, New Research from Our Lab

By Dr. Rachyl Pines, Postdoctoral Research Fellow My name is Rachyl Pines, and I just finished my PhD in Communication from University of California, Santa Barbara in Communication. This picture is of me defending my dissertation to finish my PhD at home.   My research during my PhD focused on ways we can use communication between doctors and patients to improve patient care in a lot of ways. For example, how can healthcare professionals use …

Recommendations for making transplant education accessible for patients with CKD stages 3-5

Former StaffNew Publications, New Research from Our Lab, Transplant News

By Grace H. Kim, Research Associate The recent publication, “Recommendations for Systematizing Transplant Education Within a Care Delivery System for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 3 to 5”1 by Waterman et al., discusses the findings from a telephone survey of 40 kidney patients, 13 support persons, and 10 providers who were asked about barriers to transplant education and their educational preferences. This review highlights the key barriers identified by chronic kidney disease (CKD) and …

ET @Home improves decision-making for black & low-income patients

Former StaffNew Publications, New Research from Our Lab, Transplant News

By Anne Osuji, Research Associate & Jessica Nunez, Intern Access to Transplant Education is Unequal There are more than 700,000 Americans with kidneys that can no longer support the needs of the body to remove waste and excess fluid; they have End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD).1 Patients with ESKD must either receive frequent dialysis or receive a kidney transplant from a deceased or living donor in order to stay alive. Because waiting for a kidney from …

image of Explore Transplant and Explore Living Donation covers in English and Spanish

It’s time to get your new and improved kidney transplant education materials!

Former StaffTransplant News

Did you hear? Explore Transplant and Explore Living Donation education has been fully revised with evidence-based health literate best practices, and it’s now ready for purchase! These programs, available in English and Spanish, have helped tens of thousands of kidney patients and their loved ones make informed choices about treatment. Health Literacy Media worked with Dr. Amy Waterman to revise her gold standard kidney transplant education programs with a health literacy lens to bring impactful, …

Explore Transplant educational materials and trainings available

Former StaffTransplant News

In this short video, Explore Transplant’s Christina Goalby, MSW and HLM’s Director of Partnerships and Initiatives Allen Todd discuss educational opportunities available to the transplant community. These include Explore Transplant and Explore Living Donation educational materials and trainings to educate dialysis providers about kidney transplant and living donation.

New resource for kidney patients, the UNOS Kidney Transplant Learning Center

Former StaffTransplant News

Where should a kidney patient or potential living donor go online to get comprehensive information about transplant and living donation? How do they know that the information available online can be trusted to be accurate and unbiased? In June 2016, nationally recognized transplant and kidney disease education experts were invited to take part in President Obama’s Organ Donation Summit to improve outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants and enhance support for living donors. One …