Welcome to the Chronic Kidney Disease Insider Newsletter. If you are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis, have had a kidney transplant or are helping care for someone who is, this newsletter was created for you and your family! The content is meant to keep you and/or a family member up to date on the latest information to help you manage your health now and in the near future in consultation with your physician.
In this month’s CKD Insider: The Department of Veteran Affairs expands live donor care & support, DOVE donor registry for veterans, AAKP Annual Summit on Kidney Innovations, FDA cleared home smartphone enable kidney function test and your Fun Tip of the Day!
News from Veterans Affairs and Kidney Organizations
The Department of Veterans Affairs expands live donor care & support
As of July 1, 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its live donor organ care support for those who donate an organ or bone marrow to a veteran. You can read the final rule here.
Live donor support includes the following at no cost to the live donor, both in-house and in the community:
Initial screening, tests and studies necessary to qualify an interested individual as a live donor for a specific Veteran.
Medical care and services related to the solid organ or bone marrow donation procedure.
Post-donation follow-up, to include medical care and services required to address reasonably foreseeable donor health complications resulting directly from the donation procedure for the period specified in the regulation.
Necessary travel and temporary lodging expenses, including those of one needed attendant or support person for the live donor, at rates prescribed in the regulation.
You can learn more about the VA Transplant Program here.
Donor Outreach for Veterans (DOVE) support
The nonprofit Donor Outreach for Veterans, or DOVE promotes living kidney donation by creating a registry of potential donors through online advocacy campaigns and in-person events. Since January 2020, DOVE has enrolled 500 donors.
Learn more about DOVE or sign up to be a living kidney donor here.
AAKP 4th Annual Virtual Global Summit on Kidney Innovations
The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) in partnership with George Washington University have scheduled the 4th annual Global Summit on Kidney Innovations for August 23rd and August 24th, 2022. Agenda to follow. You can register for free here.
Your Fun Tip of the Day!
Listen to a book! Do you want to read while on dialysis but find it hard to manage a book with one hand or maybe your eyesight is not the best which makes reading a challenge? If this is you, it might be time to try audiobooks. Listening to books can be a fun experience, it allows you to create your own mental pictures of the characters in the book and the situations that occur, and allows you to escape your current reality and daily concerns all with your eyes closed. You can find best selling novels and classic stories easily online for free or for purchase. You might be surprised to learn how many electronic audiobooks (e-books) your local library offers. Go to your local libraries website and see what they have to offer. You can find your local library at: https://www.usa.gov/libraries Many of the public libraries have been upgraded to provide offerings beyond the books you can borrow. Check out the recent story that CBS News did recently to learn more: Welcome to the library of the 21st century.
FDA clearance for the first at home smartphone-enabled test for monitoring kidney health
What it is: FDA 510k clearance for the Minuteful Kidney test, the first at-home smartphone-enabled test for people at risk of developing kidney disease.
The at-home Minuteful Kidney test measures the albumin to creatine ratio (ACR) in a urine sample. Unlike previous testing options, the urine sample doesn’t need to be sent to a lab and the results are available immediately, making testing easier and more private. A clinical trial previously showed that the at-home smartphone-enabled kidney test developed by Healthy.io improved testing compliance.
Why it's important: If your physician recommends monitoring your kidney health, this at home testing option makes it easier to conduct your kidney health testing on a regular basis without having to schedule a doctors appointment. Earlier detection means earlier intervention opportunities which can help slow CKD progression.
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