WASHINGTON - June 13, 2016 - PRLog -- Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI) was selected to participate in an Organ Summit hosted by the White House on Monday, June 13. The Administration calls the event "another essential step toward increasing access to organ transplants and reducing the organ waiting list."
Doug Johnson, MD, vice chair of the board at DCI, outlined DCI's commitment to reduce the kidney transplant wait list by launching initiatives to increase awareness and access to transplants for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD).
"At the summit, the Administration and private entities announced a new set of actions that will build on the Administration's previous accomplishments to improve outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants and improve support for living donors," according to the White House announcement.
DCI reported the expansion of their REACH Kidney Care Program to 27 communities in 17 states. REACH will provide patient education and assistance to 2,500 patients with less than 30 percent of kidney function over the next year with the goal of increasing access to pre-emptive transplants before a patient needs dialysis.
"DCI is committed to educating our patients about all treatment options well before kidney failure occurs. If patients desire a transplant, we will equip them with the resources they need to discuss organ donation with potential living donors," said Johnson.
Currently, only 2.6% of patients nationwide receive a pre-emptive kidney transplant. DCI's goal is to quadruple that rate for patients.
"Patients with kidney failure face a variety of challenges, however, a lengthy wait time for a transplant shouldn't be one of them," said Johnson. "We will work closely to delay kidney failure as long as medically possible through education and counseling of individuals in the chronic kidney disease stages. If kidney failure is unavoidable, our team will coordinate with transplant centers to ensure that patients are fully prepared for a transplant."
To learn more about pre-emptive transplants, please visit our website.
###
Founded in 1971, Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI) is the nation's largest non-profit dialysis provider with more than 230 outpatient dialysis clinics in 28 states. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, DCI employs approximately 5,000 people serving approximately 18,600 patients with kidney disease. Of those, 3,600 patients have chronic kidney disease and 15,000 patients are currently on dialysis.
Dialysis Clinic, Inc. founded DCI Donor Services and operates three organ procurement organizations across Tennessee, New Mexico, and California. DCI Donor Services efforts led to 546 people receiving a kidney transplant in 2015.
Contact
Jessica Emler
***@dciinc.org
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)
Read Full Story - Dialysis Clinic, Inc., Announced Commitment to Increase Organ Donation at White House Summit | More news from this source
Press release distribution by PRLog
