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Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

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Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#21

Post by porkbeer »

piyushpr134 wrote: post #15

hope as much money & marketing is poured in cure, is also poured into prevention as it is better to prevent than to cure. I believe that many types of kidney diseases are linked to metabolic syndrome. Hope media and doctors highlight this to all and sundry that eating less, moving more, keeping weight and blood sugar in control can stop disease progression.

I respect what you are saying, but both people I know suffering through it are type 1, and are just struggling to stay alive in a way where they want to continue living.

Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#23

Post by porkbeer »

ck2 wrote: post #11

American health insurance is allowed to refuse to pay for any treatment considered experimental so the correct question is "will anyone be able to afford it" and the answer is "not the masses not anytime this decade".

I bet its cheaper than the alternative, expensive treatment for life...

Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#24

Post by RetroTechie »

piyushpr134 wrote: post #15

hope as much money & marketing is poured in cure, is also poured into prevention as it is better to prevent than to cure. I believe that many types of kidney diseases are linked to metabolic syndrome. Hope media and doctors highlight this to all and sundry that eating less, moving more, keeping weight and blood sugar in control can stop disease progression.

Kidney problems can also be acute. Resulting from some kind of poisoning, out-of-control infection, or some situation where immune system attacks the body itself.

Husband of an friend of mine (~75y old at the time) got unwell during a heatwave. Kidneys gave up, resulting in blood poisoning & that was the end.

I hope for the grow-spare-from-own-body-cells method to become a practical option. That would do away with donor shortages & immune system rejection problems. Kidneys & liver would probably rank high as desired replacement organs.

Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#27

Post by idontunder »

rocky1138 wrote: post #20
esotericsean wrote: post #13

This probably isn't a viable solution for my father who has been on dialysis for 2 years and is in ESRD. I am a candidate for a kidney transplant for him (I went through the whole process), but he has other issues that have been preventing him from having another surgery. I'm pretty scared to do the procedure, too. But really glad to see progress being made here. Hopefully, also, the world works toward improving diet…

As a living kidney donor, I can tell you that it's not all that scary. It's much scarier to be ESRD and suffering the hellish purgatory of dialysis. The operation is quick and recovery isn't too bad. As long as you have support at home from friends and family it's not terrible. What struck me, though, was how weak it made me. Walking for the first time in a week was very slow, very sweaty, and put me into a state of…

are you feeling okay now? have you had other consequences from donating your kidney?

Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#28

Post by f6v »

ck2 wrote: post #11

American health insurance is allowed to refuse to pay for any treatment considered experimental so the correct question is "will anyone be able to afford it" and the answer is "not the masses not anytime this decade".

I see this argument very often in relation to various medical interventions. First off, insurance anywhere isn’t going to just pay for experimental treatment. Second, a great deal of inventions were not available to the masses at first. So should we stop inventing things? Or wait for a new worldwide socialist revolution first?

Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#29

Post by bobmaxup »

mdhen wrote: post #19
cardy31 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of research going into making kidneys without the markers that cause rejection. They hope to make pig kidneys compatible with human transplantation this way.

They have one in a brain dead patient right now, been over a month with no issues.

https://nyulangone.org/news/pig-kidney-xenotransplantation-p...

Re: Can an artificial kidney finally free patients from dialysis?

#30

Post by hnbad »

porkbeer wrote: post #23
ck2 wrote: post #11

American health insurance is allowed to refuse to pay for any treatment considered experimental so the correct question is "will anyone be able to afford it" and the answer is "not the masses not anytime this decade".

I bet its cheaper than the alternative, expensive treatment for life...

Yes, and most people can't afford neither.
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