Kidney exchange in Mexico

Here's the story of one of the first kidney exchange transplants in Mexico, as part of a global kidney exchange chain in the U.S.
Donación renal pareada, ¿qué es y a quién beneficia? (Paired renal donation, what is it and who benefits?)

Continuing with Google translate:

"Three months later [after the tests on the patient and donor] the call arrived. Within a few days, the donor / recipient verification protocol was initiated in order to reiterate compatibility. While the process lasted for 15 days, it ensured that the process went smoothly. They were operated by Dr. Michael Rees and his team, who explained the steps that would be followed for the transplant of Rafael and the donation of Beatriz.

It was an operation of almost 11 hours. The recovery was quick, after two days Rafael was already walking and on the fourth day he was discharged. Beatriz's donation was a week later, with which she had saved two lives: Rafael's and her receiver's.

In Pro-Renal we want to continue forming life chains. If you have a relative or know someone who has kidney failure and is waiting for a kidney transplant, we share the following requirements.

How to access the Paired Renal Donation Program in Mexico?

1. To have a family member who, although incompatible with the patient, wishes and accepts to donate a kidney.

2. Once the couple enrolls in the program, different genetic tests and histocompatibility studies will be performed in order to record the information in the system.

3. The "Compatibility Algorithm" will be applied, which will determine the affinity with other recipient / donor couples.

4. When a potential match is found in the system, more advanced medical tests will be conducted to confirm the match.

5. Once the compatibility is identified, the patient can have a real live donor option, so that his medical institution can proceed with the transplant protocol.

It is important to note that all couples who are candidates for transplantation must comply with the requirements required by the Ministry of Health and the General Health Law to determine the voluntary action of the donation."

More on kidney transplantation and kidney exchange in Mexico

In La Prensa: Donación de órganos, insuficiente en México

From Google translate:
"Arturo Dib Kuri, director general of Pro-Renal and pioneer of the transplant program in Mexico, reported that the cadaveric donation in Mexico, despite the efforts that have been made to promote it, does not reach more than 400 donations a year, which is totally insufficient for the 13 thousand patients on the waiting list.
...
"He indicated that, according to INEGI, 120,000 Mexicans suffer from renal insufficiency, which places it as the fifth cause of death in Mexico.

"Érick Vélez, for his part, explained that chronic renal failure is a progressive disease, caused mainly by diabetes and hypertension. He reported that in Mexico there are about 60 thousand people in dialysis treatment, which translates into an economic cost of 250 thousand dollars annually, in a comparison between public, social and private hospitals.

"Meanwhile, Dr. Dib Kuri noted that only 24% of patients manage to access an organ annually through two channels: 1) cadaveric donation and 2) donation among compatible living people.

"Dib Kuri said that 1 in 3 Mexicans who require a kidney transplant, has a family member or close friend willing to donate a kidney voluntarily.

"However, the procedure can not be completed because recipient and donor are genetically incompatible, which generates a great feeling of frustration.

"He said that finding genetically identical or similar beings is extremely difficult, but currently in Pro-Renal uses an algorithm, which can identify highly compatible donors, "almost as if it were a twin brother."

"This is a third way to carry out the renal transplantation called Donation Renal [kidney exchange], a novel alternative that, through technology, allows pairs of patients and their incompatible donors, can identify and find other couples in the same situation , with which they are compatible, said the specialist.

"Such a procedure works thanks to a sophisticated Compatibility Algorithm, which allows the analysis of hundreds of genetic variables to accurately determine the genetic match between individuals, even among unknown, unrelated individuals located in different geographic locations.
...
"He mentioned that Pro-Renal AC works hand in hand with the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation, the pioneering organization in the field that has more than 3,500 registered couples and experience of more than 350 transplants performed."

Pro-Renal: a new kidney exchange network in Mexico

There's a new kidney exchange network in Mexico, Pro-Renal, affiliated with the Alliance for Paired Donation:

Programa de donacion renal pareada, del Centro Mexicano, Pro-Renal.
(Paired kidney donaton program of Central Mexico, Pro-Renal)

Here's an announcement: Annuncian hoy el programa para la donacion de riñón

Here are some others (also in Spanish);

http://www.milenio.com/salud/agilizar-trasplantes_renales-mexicanos-arturo_dib-donacion-rinon-pro-renal-milenio_0_992900707.html

Nace el Centro Mexicano pro donación renal A.C.

Intercambio, nueva opción para pacientes que esperan trasplante renal 

Global Kidney Exchange at Mexico's Museo Interactive de Economia

Ivan Carillo's reporting on global kidney exchange will be featured today at Mexico's Museo Interactivo de Economía*

The Thirst Journal. How Can Economy Save Lives?

Cinema Because of MIDE’s Anniversary

July 14 2017Interactive Museum of Economy (MIDE)

• INFORMATION: (55) 5130 4600
 
• VISIT WEB SITE

Produced by the journalist Iván Carrillo, it tells the story of Marisol Robles, publisher and poet from Veracruz, who was diagnosed with kidney failure on June 28th, 2011 and who, after a failed first attempt of kidney transplant, recorded the vicissitudes of her illness in her blog: The Thirst Journal.

The documentary talks about how the encounter and collaboration with Mike Rees, MD, from Toledo University Medical Center (Ohio) and the professor in economy of Stanford University Alvin Roth, will result in a series of innovations in the field of medicine through economy, revolutionizing the form kidneys are exchanged in the world. This innovation will become an important part of the merits mentioned on 2012 for Alvin Roth to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

OPPENING HOURS AND ADMISSION:

July 14 2017
Friday , 10:00 - 12:00 hrs.
Free admission

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Here's another announcement: the film will celebrate the Museum's 11th anniversary

Festejará el MIDE onceavo aniversario con proyección de documental

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*From their website:

El Museo Interactivo de Economía (MIDE) surgió como una iniciativa del Banco de México para ser un espacio de divulgación de la economía y las finanzas.

Es el primer museo del mundo dedicado a explicar temas de economía, finanzas y desarrollo sustentable con las más avanzadas tecnologías, que ofrece a sus visitantes experiencias divertidas y relevantes, en un ambiente que estimula las emociones y el aprendizaje.

Google Translate:

The Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE) emerged as an initiative of the Bank of Mexico to be a space for the dissemination of economics and finance.

It is the first museum in the world dedicated to explaining economics, finance and sustainable development with the most advanced technologies, offering visitors fun and relevant experiences in an environment that stimulates emotions and learning.

Film on Global Kidney Exchange

Here's a video documentary by Ivan Carillo on the Global Kidney exchange in which the Mexican poet Marisol Robles received a kidney transplant.

The Journal of Thirst. Documentary by Ivan Carrillo.
"The story of Marisol Robles, a poet from Veracruz (Mexico) and how she got a kidney transplant under very hard circumstances thanks to the program Global Kidney Exchange designed by Mike Rees and, Nobel prize winner, Dr. Alvin Roth."

The Journal of Thirst. Documentary by Ivan Carrillo. from David Corcoran on Vimeo.

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Here's a story about the film in Spanish (and I gather that the film will soon be available in Spanish): http://www.milenio.com/salud/cadena-mundial-donacion-rinones-mike_rees_0_986301368.html 

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Here are my earlier posts on that exchange:

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

A bridge of life: Global kidney exchange between Mexico and the U.S.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

La maga de riñones: The kidney conjurer (a poem about kidney exchange by Marisol Robles)

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Update: The story continues to receive favorable coverage in Mexico, here's a link (in Spanish) that appears to be to an August TV show:
Trasplantes en cadena para pacientes con falla renal atraviesan fronteras
POR: NOTICIEROS TELEVISA
Google Translate: Chain transplants for patients with renal failure cross borders

A bridge of life: Global kidney exchange between Mexico and the U.S.

Here's the story, by Iván Carrillo:
Un puente de vida a través de la tecnología (and here in English)
Al mismo tiempo que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, busca construir un muro de miles de kilómetros en la frontera con México, un incansable cirujano y un reconocido economista suman esfuerzos para intercambiar órganos entre ciudadanos de ambos países

 Update: here's an English translation on the web :  http://nwnoticias.com/#!/noticias/a-bridge-of-life
"A bridge of life through technology
At the same time that US President Donald Trump is seeking to build a wall of thousands of miles on the border with Mexico, a tireless surgeon and a renowned economist join forces to exchange organs between citizens of both countries"

Further Update: Here's a corrected English translation provided by  Newsweek en Español, to be used only for nonprofit and educational  purposes.


Here's an earlier post about Marisol Robles, the Mexican patient in the global kidney exchange chain in the article:

La maga de riñones: The kidney conjurer (a poem about kidney exchange by Marisol Robles)

Same sex marriages, south of the border

The revolution in reversing an ancient repugnance is quieter there:
With Little Fanfare, Mexican Supreme Court Effectively Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

"In ruling after ruling, the court has said that state laws restricting marriage to heterosexuals are discriminatory. Though the decisions have been made to little public fanfare, they have had the effect of legalizing gay marriage in Mexico without enshrining it in law.

“When I heard the judge pronounce us legally married, I burst into tears,” said Mr. Gonzalez, 41, who, like nearly all gays marrying in Mexico, needed a court order enabling him to exchange vows.

As the United States awaits a landmark decision on gay marriage by the Supreme Court, the Mexican court’s rulings have added the country to a slowly growing list of Latin American nations permitting same-sex unions.

Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil already allow same-sex marriage. Chile plans to recognize same-sex civil unions this year; Ecuador approved civil unions in April; and Colombia grants same-sex couples many of the same rights extended to heterosexual married couples.

“It’s a huge change from where things were 10 years ago,” said Jason Pierceson, a professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield who studies gay marriage trends in Latin America.

The shift in Mexico, the second largest country in Latin America after Brazil, is the product of a legal strategy that advocates used to bypass state legislatures, which have shown little inclination, and often hostility, to legalizing gay marriage.

In 2009, Mexico City, a large liberal island in this socially conservative country, legalized gay marriage — a first in Latin America. There have been 5,297 same-sex weddings there since then, some of them couples coming to the city from other states."

Organ donation in Mexico: new campaign by the Carlos Slim Foundation

The Carlos Slim Foundation backs organ donation

"MEXICO CITY – Mexico isn’t living up to its potential when it comes to life-saving organ transplants that thousands of Mexicans need in order to continue living, said the Carlos Slim Foundation.

The foundation launched the 2015 “Héroes por la Vida” (Heroes for Life) campaign last month in a bid to encourage more Mexicans to talk with their families about donating their organs in the unfortunate event of their death.

“Today in Mexico, 19,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant,” Vanessa Slim de Hajj said at the campaign launch. “This number is growing every day, and the number of donors in our country is only 3.6 people for every 1,000.”

...
To put things into perspective, consider that in Spain, an international leader in transplants from cadavers, 36 of every 1,000 people are organ do- nors, 10 times the rate in Mexico. The national rate of postmortem trans- plants is less than many other Latin American countries as well.

“This campaign calls on Mexicans to be everyday heroes,” Slim said. “Today we can make a simple decision to save lives.”

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On the campaign website (www.heroesporlavida.org), volunteers can find information about how to register as a donor and order a donor card. However, the volunteer card isn’t a legally binding document and the ultimate decision falls to family as to whether their loved-one’s organs will be used to save lives.
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and here: Campaña de donación: Héroes por la vida

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Here's some background: the Slim family has personal experience with kidney transplantation: Slims’ Transplant Inspires Push for Organ Donations