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Highlights
When determining whether kidneys are suitable for transplantation in the United States, biopsy analyses don t provide useful information beyond standard donor and recipient characteristics.
Many kidneys discarded based on biopsy findings would likely benefit U.S. patients who are waiting for a transplant.
Washington, DC (December 15, 2020) New research indicates that analyses of kidney biopsies from deceased donors don t provide meaningful information beyond standard assessments of donor and recipient characteristics. In addition, the study revealed that relying on these analyses has prompted the discard of many potentially suitable organs for transplantation in the United States. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of
Last winter, JaMarcus Crews forced his feet, however numb, to walk a paved public track in the town of Centreville, Alabama, until his calves cramped and sweat bloomed across his T-shirt. He knew the route well, from Library Street to Hospital Drive. He’d walked it as a kid, when he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and determined to shed weight. With freckled cheeks and soft eyes, JaMarcus was built big: 6-foot-1, wide shoulders, a round torso on skinny legs. Now, at the age of 36, he was back again. The diabetes had destroyed his kidneys, and he was trying to slim down so that he could get a transplant.