dialysis

16 Stories

Cops: Man Confesses to Killing Wife Over Medical Bills

It was Ronnie Wiggs' third attempt at murder, police say

(Newser) - A man charged with murder in Missouri has allegedly confessed to killing his wife on his third attempt, saying he could no longer afford to pay her medical bills. The unidentified 72-year-old woman was found without a pulse Friday in her hospital bed at Centerpoint Medical Center in the Kansas...

This Group of Virus Patients Adds New Wrench to Treatment

COVID-19 patients with kidney failure need dialysis, and supplies may be running short

(Newser) - A new wrinkle in treating COVID-19 patients in New York City points to the complexities of dealing with those sickened by the coronavirus. Politico reports that about one-fifth of virus patients in the ICU in the city's hospitals require dialysis for kidney failure, often for weeks. But dialysis supplies—...

Mother of 5 Nears Death Every Week—on Purpose

Lucia, an undocumented immigrant, has end-stage renal disease

(Newser) - Lucia nearly dies every Monday, and she does it on purpose. An undocumented immigrant, the 51-year-old isn't allowed to receive normal Medicare or Medicaid for her end-stage renal disease and waits until she's almost dead to admit herself into emergency care at Denver Health Medical Center, KDVR reports....

People in Venezuela Are Losing Kidneys
Lose Your Kidney in Venezuela,
'Go Straight to the Cemetery'
in case you missed it

Lose Your Kidney in Venezuela, 'Go Straight to the Cemetery'

Medicine shortage causing those with transplants to experience rejection

(Newser) - There's a literal casualty of Venezuela's ongoing economic woes: those with kidney problems. Reuters dives into the dire situation that both kidney transplant recipients and those hoping to join their ranks face in the midst of the country's inability to buy enough drugs from abroad or make...

Toddler Gets Gift of a Lifetime From Grandma

The 2-year-old is dialysis-free for the first time since she was 2 months old

(Newser) - It's not every day that a grandmother is called on to save her grandchild's life, but when the day came for Carol Graydon, who is 62, to do just that, she didn't hesitate. Her granddaughter, Wryn Graydon, was diagnosed at two months of age with congenital nephrotic...

Inmate Dies 2 Weeks Shy of Parole After Dialysis Error

Utah prisoner Ramon C. Estrada would have been paroled April 21

(Newser) - An inmate from Utah just weeks away from parole died after a dialysis technician failed to show up—for two days in a row. The Utah Department of Corrections says 62-year-old Ramon C. Estrada died on Sunday of "apparent cardiac arrest due to renal failure," the Salt Lake ...

Behind Man's Kidney Failure: Excess of Iced Tea

16 glasses a day is probably not a good idea

(Newser) - A man's kidney failure has been linked to his excessive iced tea habit—but don't worry, you're probably not approaching the danger zone. The 56-year-old Arkansas man was drinking 16 glasses of the stuff daily, amounting to a gallon every day, the AP reports. Black tea contains...

Scientists 'Grow' Kidney in Lab
 Scientists 'Grow' Kidney in Lab 

Scientists 'Grow' Kidney in Lab

Engineered rat kidneys a step toward helping humans

(Newser) - In a breakthrough with the potential to save many thousands of lives, scientists have "grown" a kidney that produced urine both in the lab and after being transplanted into a rat. The new kidneys were created by stripping old kidneys of their cells and pumping the remaining "scaffold"...

Americans Make Life Easier With At-Home Dialysis

Kidney disease patients can avoid trips to medical centers

(Newser) - Dialysis treatment need not involve unpleasant trips to a medical center three or so times a week. Some Americans with kidney disease are now doing it themselves by hooking up to dialysis at home, the New York Times' The New Old Age blog reports. Barbara Boyle of Hayward, Calif., decided...

US Dialysis System a Costly Horror
US Dialysis System a
Costly Horror
investigation

US Dialysis System a Costly Horror

America spends more than anyone, yet sees more patients die

(Newser) - America’s Medicare dialysis program, once seen as a triumph for the masses, has become a “hulking monster,” writes Robin Fields in an exhaustive ProPublica investigation. Since 1972, treatment has been provided, through Medicare, for virtually anyone with kidney failure, regardless of age or income. Today, the US...

30 Rock 's Grizz Needs New Kidney
 30 Rock's Grizz 
 Needs New Kidney
New Trainer: 'DOT COM'

30 Rock's Grizz Needs New Kidney

Dr. Oz, Kevin Brown will help Grizzwald Chapman with hypertension

(Newser) - Grizzwald Chapman, better known as Grizz on 30 Rock, needs a kidney transplant. The 378-pound actor discussed his health on The Dr. Oz Show, Popeater reports, telling the celebrity doc that his hypertension requires him to be on dialysis—and that he must lose at least 75 pounds before being...

Natalie Cole: 'I Need a Kidney'

Singer gets dozens of offers after Larry King interview

(Newser) - Natalie Cole told CNN's Larry King last night that she needed a kidney—and had dozens of offers flood in before the show was through. "There are some great human beings out there. That's all I can say," said the singer, who has been on dialysis three days...

Live Kidney Donors Should Be Encouraged, Not Doubted

Activist seeking organ gets help from friends

(Newser) - When Frances Kissling learned she needed a kidney transplant, she took a step most people in her situation never do: She asked dozens of friends and colleagues if they would be willing to donate. "I was bowled over by how people responded," the Catholic feminist activist writes for...

Horse Whisperer Writer Poisoned by Mushrooms

Author and family recovering after eating varieties they'd picked

(Newser) - The author of the best-selling novel The Horse Whisperer is recovering in a hospital after eating poisonous mushrooms he and his family picked during a holiday in Scotland, his agent said yesterday. Nicholas Evans, his wife, her sister and the sister's husband received dialysis treatment because the mushrooms included the...

Racial 'Transplant Gap' Persists

Blacks more prone to kidney disease, get just 19% of transplants; many factors at play

(Newser) - Financial struggles and difficulty finding donors—as well as an unclear “transplant gap”—make African Americans less likely to get kidney transplants than whites, the Chicago Tribune reports. Many remain on dialysis, making daily life harder and increasing the risk of death. “You can explain most of...

Ailing bin Laden Mere Months From Death?

Terror mastermind succumbing to kidney disease, CIA claims

(Newser) - Terror leader Osama bin Laden is dying from kidney disease, according to a CIA analysis of the medications he has been taking, reports Time.The world's most wanted terrorist likely has no more than 12 months to live, and may already be teetering on the brink of death, according to...

16 Stories