I remember teaching my kids how to wash their hands. No, not the ritual washing that we Jews do before meals- but they had to learn that process, too. (Pour water from a pitcher- first on your left hand, then the right, the left, the right, and then say the blessing.) Because that method certainly doesn’t remove the grime and dirt- or microbes- from our hands. And, if you have young kids, you know that sometimes that grime is not just on the surface of the skin, but seems to have been imbued down to the stem cell layers of their skin.
Category Archives: Dialysis
40 of them
Not quite the culmination- but the week of “Spring Ahead” is a major one for those who’ve been working since “Fall Back”.
Predicitions- way better than what Carnac offered!
Do you know what it feels like to have a tremendous solution, one that can save lives, one that can make a difference to so many- and have to wait for the world to recognize the value of what you have?
Continue reading Predicitions- way better than what Carnac offered!
New Use for Old Word?
Dialysis is a compound word of dia and lysis– which means ‘through’ ‘splitting or loosening’. In chemistry, the term defines the process of separating particles within a liquid, based upon their ability to pass through a membrane. In medicine, we use the term when we remove impurities in the blood based upon their ability to pass through a membrance. Until now.
Stem Cells to the Rescue?
Yes, Japan allows stem cell research- the research that can’t be effected by most Americans. The US government has forbidden one scintilla of such research to be performed, if the institution receives even one penny of US funding. Which means that American scientists cannot use their ingenuity to produce the artificial organs that would result if they could. But, the research about which I am reporting today is actually legal under US law.
Implantable Dialyzer
We’ve discussed the new wearable kidney and the new home dialysis device. Today, we’ll discuss an implantable device- one that replaces the dialysis device, but not the kidneys. Which will have to do until there is a stem-cell kidney replacement.
24 hours or bust?
As I’ve said, November is a big month for learning about new ideas in kidney transplant, replacement, and dialysis therapy. Today, we’ll discuss one of the newer innovations- a wearable artificial kidney, with its current design of 10 pounds and power supplied by 9 volt batteries.
You get what you pay for!
I published my thoughts on home dialysis and why the practice is not prevalent yesterday. And, while I wrote that post more than a month ago, it was percolating in the queue all along. So, I can’t really say that the government attempted to refute my findings- since their reach (approved 16 October, but published on 16 November) never had the opportunity to review my thoughts. But, I will discuss theirs, today.
Home? Nope.
Yesterday, we discussed the fact that dialysis costs have been pretty static at around $ 30K a year for decades. Mostly because of the improvements to technology and therapy that folks like me developed over the years. And, because the US government pays for it- and sets the price. A system that often arouses grumbling among those providing the care.
Dialysis revisited
It’s November- which means the big research about dialysis is discussed.
The ASN (American Society of Nephrology) meeting was one of the highlights of the year (about the same time as the annual meetings of the AIChE and ACS [American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Chemical Society])- plus the May meeting for ASAIO (American Society for Artificial Internal Organs) that provided lots of great opportunities to learn and network for me. (As I got older and could more easily travel overseas, the EDTA [European Dialysis and Transplant Association] garnered my attention, too.)