Medical Advances Expand Kidney Transplants
The number of Americans and Chicagoans suffering from chronic kidney disease has drastically increased in recent years, driven by high rates of hypertension and diabetes. Likewise the reported cases of patients with end stage renal disease has risen, which can only be treated with dialysis or a kidney transplant. And despite improvements in dialysis technology and the possibility of transplant errors, the transplant remains the most effective and preferred treatment due to its better long term outcomes and quality of life.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, almost 80,000 Americans are currently on a waiting list for a new kidney. However, not everyone is considered a prime candidate for transplant surgery.
Consider the case of a stunned patient suffering from kidney failure who was informed by a group of physicians that her mother's attempts to donate one of her own kidneys was out of the question. Like 3 out of 10 kidney-transplant candidates, this patient had tested positive on a panel reactive antibody (PRA) blood test, which revealed that the patient had high levels of PRAs, or proteins that attack foreign tissue. So even though her mother's kidney would have been a good match based on its blood type and tissue, the patient's body would have attacked it.
Until recently patients with high PRA levels had little chance of success for transplantation and were oftentimes forced to remain on dialysis. In fact, as recently as 10 years ago a kidney transplant was absolutely contradicted for patients with high PRA levels. Increased PRA levels can be caused by blood transfusions, pregnancy, or a previous transplant.
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Medtronic estimates that the cable has failed in a little more than 5% of patients after 45 months of being implanted. But as a preventive measure, some patients with working cables are having them removed. 
Dr. Roozrokh, the transplant surgeon, was found not guilty of a felony count of abuse of a dependent adult. Two other charges for administering harmful substances and unlawful prescription medicines had both been dropped last spring.
The issue in Longnecker was whether Loyola University Medical Center was negligent when they transplanted the decedent with a severely hypertrophic replacement heart. The harvested heart was severely diseased and was only considered for transplantation because the harvesting doctors did not examine it. Despite the diseased state of the new heart, the decedent's heart surgeon went ahead with the transplant. The decedent died without ever waking up from the surgery. 
Claudia Blanco was diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis and needed to have her natural valve replaced with an artificial one. During surgery a bileaflet mitral heart valve manufactured by Baxter-Travenol Laboratories was inserted. A year after Blanco received the valve Baxter suspended marketing of its product due to reports of possible valve failures. 
