Livingston, N.J. – The Renal and Pancreas Transplant
Program at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, in collaboration with New
Jersey Renal Council, is holding a free Dialysis and Kidney/Pancreas
Transplant Symposium for people with chronic kidney disease and their
families. The informal education seminar will include information
on home dialysis and kidney and/or pancreas transplantation, including
eligibility. Firsthand accounts from dialysis patients and transplant
recipients will provide program participants with the patient’s
perspective. The program is open to people who are currently on dialysis,
interested in pursuing transplantation or already on a transplant
waiting list. Attendees need not be current patients at Saint Barnabas
Medical Center.
The program will be held on October 1, 2009, from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m. in the Islami Auditorium at Saint Barnabas Medical Center,
94 Old Short Hills Road in Livingston. The program will include
a description of the transplant process and include success rates,
financial considerations, technological advances, new medications
and how the waiting list operates. Living donation, including
donor/recipient matching, is also described. There is ample
time for discussion. The program is free, but registration is
required by calling (973) 322-2285.
According to Shamkant Mulgaonkar, M.D., Chief of the Renal Division
for the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, the Symposium provide
an essential outreach effort, educating individuals who may not be
aware that renal transplantation is an option for them or the latest
advances in the field.
“Understandably, some people are under the impression that
transplantation is experimental or new. In fact, patients find
that once they learn about the surgery, our excellent survival rates,
and, in general, educate themselves about what to expect, they often
wish they had investigated the transplant option sooner. Transplantation
remains the best treatment option for those with chronic kidney disease,” said
Dr. Mulgaonkar.
The integrated Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division, located
at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and Newark Beth Israel Medical
Center, is one of the world's most progressive transplant programs.
Together they form one of the largest programs among 240 in the
country with more than 225 transplant surgeries performed each
year, and more than 4,380 since 1968. Since its inception
40 years ago, The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division has remained
a leader in the field and pioneered a series of medical firsts
in New Jersey, among them, the first living donor kidney transplant
program, pediatric nephrology and transplantation program, paired
kidney exchange, program for incompatible transplantation, and
robotic-assisted kidney transplantation. In 2006,
Saint Barnabas created New Jersey’s first Living Donor Institute
to promote living donation as the best transplant option for patients
with chronic kidney disease. Through the Institute, our experienced
team is able to forge new opportunities for people who want to
donate a healthy kidney to someone in need of a kidney transplant.
Programs offered include living- and emotionally-related kidney
transplantation, living donor kidney exchange program, altruistic
living donation and program for incompatible transplantation. For
further information, visit www.barnabashealth.org.
The New Jersey Renal Coalition provides a multifaceted approach
to improve patient education and professional clinical practice
patterns for the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and prevalent dialysis
patients. The Coalition goal(s) is to enhance the quality of care
provided to patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and ESRD
through the provision of professional and community education programs
and increased awareness.
Date: August 19, 2009
Saint Barnabas Contact: Samantha Anton,
973-322-5425
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