This talk was actually really enlightening for me. I really had no idea to what degree there were restrictions on transplants and other similar procedures. However, it does make sense that since there is a limited supply of organs for transplantation that there would be regulations in place to promote the highest level of viability.
The research that Dr. Gardiner brought up about the amount of discrepancy there is concerning the threshold of obesity for kidney transplant was really astounding. It seems that there should be more consistency across transplant centers and wait lists especially for a matter that can be life and death for a lot of people. Even more surprising was how reluctant the transplant centers were to give out their policy to Dr. Gardiner when this information is supposed to be available to the public in the first place.
Concerning the topic of obesity in relation to kidney transplants, it was surprising how conflicting some of the data was from previous studies that Dr. Gardiner presented on. I think it’s really great that she has taken such an interest in the subject, especially considering that the level of obesity in the United States is on the rise and will continue to rise rather quickly. Therefore, a significantly larger amount of people in the future will be potentially affected by the restrictions on kidney transplants in the future.
I would definitely be excited to see what her research produces in the future and if it will have any significant impact on the policies of kidney transplants in. Please keep us posted!
I agree with you that there should be more consistency across transplant centers and wait lists especially for a matter that can be life and death for a lot of people. It’s shocking that the different providers had different views on the restriction of kidney transplant. I feel like with these restrictions people who are obese who need transplants feel marginalized because some providers will allow the transplants to happen while others won’t. I also agree that there will be a larger amount of people in the future affected by the restrictions on kidney transplants. It would be interesting to see if there are innovative ways to perform transplants on people who are considered to be obese.