September 28, 2009
Dialysis Patients Often Not Told About Transplant Options
Are people told about the full range of options when they begin dialysis? Information detailed in the Sunday edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review suggests that they are not. Kidney transplants can add years to a patient's life, and is overall, a much cheaper procedure than long-term dialysis care. Some key factors are fear, education of kidney disease and options, organ "availability" and the insurance associated with care.
The Tribune conducted its own four month investigation and found:
More than 32,000 of the 105,653 people who started treatment for kidney failure in 2006 were not informed about the option of kidney transplantation, according to the latest available information reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The article also spoke with some dialysis providers who dispute the claim that they don't provide information on transplants to enough of their patients.
Read the story on the Pittsburgh Tribune website.