Promoting Education to Explore Transplant

Northwest Renal Network hosted an "Explore Transplant" seminar in Portland on June 26, 2011. The goal of the event was to teach dialysis professionals how to speak to patients about transplantation and living donation.

PORTLAND, OR-Northwest Renal Network, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to promoting optimal dialysis and transplant care for kidney patients in the Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, hosted an "Explore Transplant" seminar in Portland on June 26, 2011. The goal of the event was to teach dialysis professionals how to speak to patients about transplantation and living donation.

Kidney transplants are one option for individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), also known as kidney failure. Without dialysis or a transplant, ESRD patients' health will decline and they will eventually die. Nationwide over 340,000 dialysis patients and over 17,000 individuals received a kidney transplant in. In Oregon, there were over 3,244dialysis patients and 191 kidney transplants in 2010. Unfortunately many patients in Oregon, and throughout the nation, are not aware or properly informed about kidney transplantation. Explore Transplant hopes to change this.

Explore Transplant is a research based patient education program designed by Amy Waterman, PhD from Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine to help dialysis providers assess patients' readiness and comfort with kidney transplantation. At Portland's Explore Transplant Seminar, dialysis professionals learned how to explain transplantation from the patient's perspective and how to speak with patients about the transplantation waiting list, the transplantation process and options for living donation. In addition, each attendee received a comprehensive education toolkit and DVD of transplant patient testimonials to assist them when they returned to their dialysis facility.

"While the rate of kidney failure has increased over the years, the rate of transplantation has not kept up," stated Lynda Ball, the Network's Quality Improvement Director. "We were pleased to have over 30 individuals from 24 dialysis facilities in Oregon and southern Washington attend Explore Transplant in Portland to learn more about kidney transplantation and donation. We are hopeful this seminar provided the education to better allow each eligible patient to make their decision about transplantation."

Northwest Renal Network will host additional Explore Transplant seminars in Spokane, WA on August 21st, Missoula, MT on September 16th and Seattle, WA on November 6th. If you are interested in attending or learning more about Explore Transplant visit www.nwrenalnetwork.org/staff.htm#ed

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Tags: Dialysis, ESRD, kidney, Renal Transplantation, transplant


About Northwest Renal Network

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Chad Lennox
Press Contact, Northwest Renal Network
Northwest Renal Network
4702 42nd Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98116
United States