Pt3 Organ Donation

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A riveting special two hourbroadcast of Conversations With

Al McFarlane was presented as part of the Sixth NationalConference on Quality HealthCare for Culturally DiversePopulations, Tues., September 23,2008, at the Minneapolis Marriott

Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis.This is the third in a series ofreports from that broadcast.

AL MCFARLANE: We areshifting the conversation from thegeneral to the personal and fromthe global to the specific. Why? Wewant to encourage our people totalk. Talk about health, choices andoptions. We think there are manywonderful, great stories, greatsuccesses and great healing. Webelieve if we begin to infuse ourday-today dinnertimeconversation mother todaughter, father to daughter, fatherto son, brother to brother withan earnest inquiry about howyoure doing, talking more deeplythan the cursory courtesies ofspeech, we will be on the path topersonal and public health.

Dr. Mikel Prieto practicesmedicine at Mayo Clinic inRochester, MN. He is a surgeonwho specializes at the transplantcenter at Mayo and actually did thetransplant for my brother WainMcFarlane. Henry Sullivan is also

a recent kidney transplantrecipient. His sister, who is thekidney donor who gave him a newlease on life, is also here.

The question is: Why dont wetalk about it? As Ive done theseshows in the past, people have said,Al, a lot of brothers and sistershere have had transplants and

nobody knows whats going on.They should talk about it because ifthey talk about it more of us willunderstand it and become lessfearful, more knowledgeable, morewilling to donate.

Wain is the beneficiary of akidney by our niece, our sisterPatricias daughter Yai. She wasone of the many family memberswho tested and Wain is foreverindebted to Dr. Mikael Prieto, hisdoctor, who doesnt want to talkabout Wains specific medicalaffairs, but will help us discuss theprincipal issues.

Wain why dont you talk aboutyour personal story and talk aboutwhy its important that you and I

have this conversation in a waythats very public so that thousandsof listeners and readers can benefit.

WAIN MCFARLANE:

Breaking the chains, thats what.You gotta break the chains.

MIKAEL PRIETO: Well I feeltotally privileged to have theopportunity to have the job I have,which is basically doing kidneytransplants on a lot of people.Today most people dont realizekidney transplantation is a verycommon procedure. At Mayo, wedo between four and six a week

and almost always, the vastmajority, about 85% of thetransplants we do are living donortransplants, which means thatsomebody has to go throughsurgery for no real benefit tothemselves to help somebody else.Thats really a unique situation thatwe have in medicine where

somebody sacrifices and goesthrough major surgery to helpsomebody else. There are a lot ofbeautiful stories from obviouslythe close relatives, the father givingthe kidney to his son or the brotherto a sister to sometimes even totalstrangers offering to give a kidneyto somebody that theyve maynever meet. Those are a lot ofheartwarming stories. It reallyteaches you how wonderful thehuman race is and how wonderful,how much good you can do with

just the technology that we havetoday.

AM: Are there public policyissues though Doctor? Is there a

problem with everybody havingaccess, or as many people whoneed it having access to thewonderful gift of life that surgeonslike you can provide?MP: Yes, there are. I dontconsider myself an expert. Immore in the trenches, doing thetransplants, but clearly theres a lotthat can be done so that what Wainwent through can be applied to alot of people.

The dialysis units in thiscountry, especially inunderdeveloped areas, are full of

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Omar Benson Miller

The Express &

Miracle at St. Anna

Interview

October20 - October26,2008 MNMetroVol.33No.40 TheJournalForCommunityNews,Business&TheArtswww.insightnews.com

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Casinos

can help support

communities and

local businesses

AM: AlFranken is theM i n n e s o t aD e m o c r a t i cParty (DFL)candidate forUS Senate and

hes in studiotoday to talkabout his

candidacy, about himself, abouthis values, about his vision, andissues facing the our communityIve asked two friends to join mein this broadcast conversation.Terry Collins is a former reporterat the Star Tribune. He coveredMinneapolis City Hall, schools,

and the triumphs and tragedies incommunities of color. He was areporter in the 2005 Red LakeHigh School school incident andhe also was part of the awardwinning team for the 2004 projectcalled Borrowing Trouble, whichfocused on the rise of sub-primeand predatory lending inMinnesota. In a few days Terrywill be joining the AssociatedPress in San Francisco.

Nick Mohamed is a fieldorganizer in St. Paul for theObama presidential campaign.Hes doing hip hop outreach.

The interview in the KFAIstudios included St. Paul CityCouncil Member, Melvin Carter, aFranken supporter.

AM: Al Franken, state your case.Why should people vote for

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TD Jakes

calls off Africa trip

fearing disease

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5FRANKEN TURN TO

Al Franken:Coming of age in the Civil Rights Era

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Trail of Terror

tickets can be yours

if you find the

hidden skull

StudioTobechi.com

Michelle Obama made two campaign stops in Minnesota last week Mon., Oct. 13. In St. Paul she spoke to a crowd of nearly 4,000 supporters at Macalester College.Obama spoke to the rapt crowd about the campaigns focus on the economy, the Iraq war, education reform and energy policy. Barack gets it, she told supporters. Asof last week, national polls show Sen. Obama leading Republican Sen. John McCain by double digits. According to npr.org, in Minnesota, the Obama-Biden campaignhas a nine-point lead over McCain-Palin.

By Al McFarlaneand B.P. Ford

The [email protected]

Conversations with Al McFarlane

Exploring organ donation

Al Franken

4HEALTH TURN TO

The Rev. Jerry McAfee, pastor,New Salem Baptist Church, SpikeMoss, US Rep. Keith Ellison andUS Rep. Danny K. Davis.Members of the CongressionalBlack Caucus were inMinneapolis last week Monday aspart of Panic on Wall Street -Crisis on our Street: How theFinancial Crisis is HurtingWorking Families town hallmeeting. The event was presented

by the Congressional BlackCaucus Institute. Town hallparticipants heard from: US Reps.Diane Watson (CA-33), Danny K.Davis (IL-7), Gwendolyn Moore(WI), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5)and CBCI chair, BennieThompson (MS-2). The town hallwas hosted by Minneapolis Rep.Keith Ellison (MN-5). Full storyin next weeks Insight News.

From Left: Al McFarlane, Dr. Mikel Prieto, and Wain McFarlane.

Senate candidate says there are fundamental, philosophical differences

StudioTobechi

Suluki Fardan

Focus on meltdown at Black

Caucus Town Hall meeting

REGISTERANDVOTEONNOV.4TH

Shania Castillo

gets ready to run the

TC 5K

By Al McFarlaneand B.P. Ford

The [email protected] three in a series


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Page 4 October 20 - October 26 Insight News http://insightnews.com

HEALTH

people that could be transplanted ifthey had access to the best care. Iwould say minorities are overrepresented in that group of people people who are languishing ondialysis machines with very poorquality of life. If they really hadaccess to world-class medicinethey could be transplanted. Theyall have relatives, friends andpeople that would help them bydonating. And they could gettransplanted. But unfortunately,what we know today in medicine isnot necessarily spread out so thateverybody can benefit from it. Itdepends where youre born and itdepends on where you live and onyour financial situation whetheryou can get access to the best carethere is or not.

AM: Henry, talk about yourexperience and how you came tohave the transplant and what led in

your life to your situation thatrequired the transplant? What didyou experience in dialysis?

HENRY SULLIVAN: Well firstof all I just have I have to introducemy sister, Edith Sullivan. Shes theperson who gave me a transplant. Ihad kidneys functioning at about7% of normal. At the point that Ifound out I needed a transplant Iwas a little crazy, saying I dontcare, I just want to die. Ive had agood life and all that. I didnt wantto go on dialysis. They talked meinto going onto it for a short time.I went for about four months and afamily member, Edith, steppedforward and volunteered to giveme a kidney. I was really shocked,you know, because I was one ofthese people who was kind ofscared to go and ask, Hey can yougive me a kidney? She offered togive me a kidney. I was reallysurprised. I was kind of hesitantbut I accepted. They assured methat it didnt affect the person whois giving you the organ. You canoperate perfectly well with one

kidney.And another thing I just have

to mention this point sometransplants are from living donors,some are from cadaver donors. Iwas in the hospital with my friendand her sister was dying from amassive brain problem. They weregoing to disconnect everything.The transplant people came up andtalked to the family and asked themif they could harvest organs. Thatwas something I never wanted: tobe the person to ask that to a personwhose family member is dying, butthey had a team that went aroundand they did that and the daughtersaid, No, I think my mother mayneed her organs wherever shesgoing.

Most people dont realize thatif youre buried under a normalfuneral, normal burial, you donttake those organs with you theycome out anyway before youreburied.

AM: Edith, let me join the

Richard Allen Williams recentlyauthored the book Eliminating

Health Disparities in America

published in 2007. He is the

current president of Minority

Health Institute and the founder

of the Association of Black

Cardiologists.

In medicine - one size doesnot fit all; the patients health,not the insurance companysfinancial bottom line, isprimary. The best judge of apatients drug needs is thedoctor. Those have long beenbasic principles in medicine. Nolonger. Today, cost-driven drugswitching is endangering those

basic principles. And itsendangering and our health.Health insurers are

pressuring doctors to takepatients off a medicine thatworks well for them and toswitch them to a substitutemedicine, often with different

active ingredients, not out ofconcern for the patients wellbeing, but to save money.

Cost-based drug switching is anethically dubious andpotentially dangerous trend thatis fast becoming a commonpractice across the nation.

In Massachusetts, newsreports recently revealed thathealth insurers are givingdoctors incentives, sometimesin cash, to switch patients froma brand-name cholesterol-lowering medication to genericbrands. These payments arelegal, but they raise ethicalquestions if patients are not toldthe reasons behind the switch.

Last year in Michigan, BlueCare Network paid 2,400

doctors $2 million to switchtheir patients at a rate of$100 per patient from thename brand cholesterol drug toa generic simvastatin.

And just a few months ago,Blue Shield of California mailedthousands of letters to member

doctors and coupons to patientsurging them to switch fromLipitor to Zocor. The reason: tolower costs for the insurance

company.Whats the harm? The

practice is hurting patientsafety. Those who insist thatdrug switching is safe shouldpick up a copy of the BritishJournal of Cardiology study thatis sounding the emergencyalarm.

In the study, patients whoswitched from Lipitor to ageneric version were morelikely to suffer strokes, heartattacks, and death, according tothe study. Researchers reporteda 30% increase in risk for majorcardiac events or deaths from allcauses among patients who

switched from Lipitor to thegeneric simvastatin.Medicines intended to treat

the same condition havedifferent active ingredients andwork in different ways.Physicians should always be theones to consider the many

factors when they prescribemedicine for a patient, factorsthat insurance companies do notconsider or even know about

when they encourage switching.But pressure by health care

providers to switch to lesscostly drugs is stubbornlyinterfering in the physician-patient relationship. Patientsafety and health iscompromised when insurancecompanies meddle withtreatment decisions madebetween physicians andpatients.

Cost-driven switchingaffects not just individualpatients but the entire healthcare system. The short-termsavings that may result fromswitching to a less expensive

substitute drug will inevitablybe offset by higher costs inconsultations with physicians,increase in prescriptions,increases in emergency roomvisits, as well as longer-termhealth consequences.

Considering that more than

34 million Americans sufferfrom high cholesterol, andnearly 65 million suffer fromhigh blood pressure, pervasive

insurance company-drivenswitching will have a majorimpact on the health ofAmericans.

Many minority medicalpractitioners also stronglybelieve that the growingsubstitution of generic drugsrepresents the rise of second-class form of medicine,especially for racial and ethnicgroups, the elderly and others.

Minorities are beingsubjected to a form of socialinequality that places them onthe systemic bottom shelveswhich are stocked with cheaper,less effective, or questionably

effective medications. Thepractice is insidious because itcomes under the benevolentguise of cost-savings for low-income people.

But, cost-based drugswitching carries even more riskto the poor, elderly and minority

populations, groups that arealready underserved. Thesepatients should not be forcedinto substandard health care bythe system simply because of

their financial situation.Physicians with

stethoscopes, working closelywith their patients, are the oneswho should be making treatmentdecisions, and not insurancecompanies with calculators.

Physicians should make treatment decisions, not insurance companies

ByDr. Richard WilliamsGuest Commentary

Photo: NNPA

Dr. Richard Williams

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Send community events to us by:email, [email protected], byax: 612-588-2031, by phone: 612-

588-1313 or by mail: 1815 BryantAve. N. Minneapolis, MN 55411,Attn: Ben Williams. Free or lowcost events preferred. Visitwww.insightnews.com/community.asp for more events.

EVENTS

Jordan New Life Hub hosts apolitical candidate forum Oct.20Mon, Oct. 20, Meal begins 5:30pm, Forum begins 6 pm and endsat 8:30 pm. Jordan New Life Hub ,1922 25th Ave N. (corner of 26thand Newton Ave N.)., Mpls.Invited candidates includecandidates from 5th CongressionalDistrict, District 58B andMinneapolis School Board.

Cold Weather Safety Dos andDonts Oct. 20Mon., Oct. 20, 6 8 pm at 2100

Plymouth Ave. N., Mpls. Acommunity forum with guests:Minneapolis Fire Department,Xcel Energy (Applicationsavailable for energy assistance).Hosted by the Minneapolis UrbanLeague and 1 Family, 1Community.

Customer Service workshop Oct. 21Tues., Oct. 21, 6:00 7:00 p.m. atRondo Community Library, 461Dale Street, St. Paul. Learn how togive your business a boost by usingsuperior customer servicetechniques in this free workshopfrom the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center. Preregister

with Bonita at 651-379-8430

Choosing a Career or Business Oct. 22Weds., Oct. 22, 6:00 7:30 p.m. atRondo Community Library, 461Dale Street, St. Paul. This freeworkshop from the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center provides thetools needed to make wisedecisions on choosing a career orbusiness that is right for you. Pre-register with Bonita at 651-379-8429

Transforming Justice:Community Dialogues onRestorative Practices Oct. 22Weds, Oct. 22. Doors open at 6:30

pm and panel discussion goes from7:00 until 8:30 pm at St. Joan ofArc Church, Hospitality Hall(4537 3rd Ave. S.), Mpls.Registration is FREE but limited.More info or to register:www.amicususa.org or www.rjca-inc.org, 612-348-8570, 612-746-0782.

Seniors have programs to helpthem remain in their homes Oct. 22Weds., Oct. 22, 10 - 11 am,Brookview Community GolfCenter, 200 Brookview Parkway,Golden Valley. $2 fee per personcollected at the door by the GoldenValley Seniors to cover the cost ofrefreshments. To register, go towww.co.hennepin.mn.us/forms/cfasd/DDcontact.htm or call (612)596-6631. Call 763-512-2340 fordirections to the location.

Informed and Engaged: CivilRights, Social Justice and the2008 Elections topic of law

school forum - Oct. 22Weds., Oct. 22., 4 to 6 pm atUniversity of St. Thomas, SchulzeGrand Atrium located at 11thStreet and Harmon Place indowntown Minneapolis.Participants are asked to register(free) atwww.stthomas.edu/law/rsvp . Formore information, call (651) 962-4960.

Styled to Glow Networking andFashion Night Oct. 23Thurs., Oct. 23 at ChateauLaMothe in Burnsville from 6:30 9:00 p.m. Styled to Glow, a newly-formed company dedicated tohelping women create their

personal style, is hosting a night ofNetworking and Fashion tips. $10.Cash bar. Limited seating. Registerat www.StyledtoGlow.com

West 7th NeighborhoodSpaghetti Dinner Oct. 23Thurs., Oct. 23, 4:30 to 7:30 pm inthe West 7th Community Centergym located at 265 Oneida Street,St. Paul. Tickets are available at thedoor for $8 ($4 for children), with$1 advance ticket discountsavailable through October 17th.(651) 298-5493, www.west7th.org.

LEAP Landscape Awards andGoing Native Oct. 23Thurs., Oct. 23, 6:30 8:30 pm at

H.B. Fuller, 1200 Willow LakeBoulevard in Vadnais Heights.Light refreshments will be served.Please RSVP to Shelly at (651)792-7965 [email protected].

Wenso Ashby featuring Zsam Oct. 23Thurs., Oct. 23, 6:30 9:30 pm.The club party Urban JazzAffair, hosted by Babalu, 800Washington Ave North, Mpls. $5.(651) 428-7118.

Management workshop forrental property owners Oct. 23Thurs., Oct. 23, 5 9 pm(Registration at 4:30 pm), at St.Marys Greek Orthodox Church,3450 Irving Ave. S., Mpls. RSVPby Thursday, Oct. 16 ($20registration fee). Registration:www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/safe/workshops.asp, (612) 673-2812.

Sanford Middle School Alumni1924 thru 2008 Class Reunion Oct. 24Fri., Oct. 24, 6-9pm at SanfordMiddle School, 3524 42nd Ave S,Mpls. RSVP: Vicki Jones, (612)668-4914 or

[email protected]

Cubas Contribution to AfricasLiberation: A film and lecture Oct. 25 Sat., Oct. 25, film: 1:30;lecture:7:00; at Blegen Hall 10, Universityof Minnesota. Info: [email protected] or 612-624-1512.

4th Annual Teen RelationshipSummit - Oct. 25Sat., Oct. 25, 9 am to 2 pm at

Camphor Memorial UnitedMethodist Church, 585 FullerAve., St. Paul. Info: Call JulietMitchell at (651) 224-0341;[email protected].

Minneapolis Urban LeagueGuilds Arts and Crafts Fair Oct. 25Event is Sat., October 25 from 10am 5 pm at the MinneapolisUrban League, 2100 PlymouthAvenue N., Mpls. For moreinformation, or to reserve a table:Contact Lucretia, (612) 730-1904,[email protected].

Lex-Ham Music Festival Oct.25

Sat., Oct. 25, 1 to 5:30 pm at theJimmy Lee Rec Center, MarshallAve. and Lexington Parkway, in St.Paul. Free. Info: LexHamArts.org(651) 644-3366.

Photography reflecting Hmongculture on display at theHennepin Gallery Now thruOct. 29Journey through the Lenses: Arepresentation of the past, presentand future will be featured in theMonday through Friday, 7:30 am

to 6 pm, at the Hennepin CountyGovernment Center, A Level, 300S. Sixth St., Mpls.www.hennepin.us.

Ragamala Music and DanceTheater presents: Halloweendinner, Indian-style Oct. 30Thurs., Oct. 30, at Als Breakfast,413 14th Avenue SE, Dinkytown .Come anytime between 5:30 and8:30pm. Minimum donation: $12 aplate. www.ragamala.net

Halloween at Midtown GlobalMarket Oct. 31Fri., Oct. 31, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. atMGM, Lake St. and 10th Ave., S.Mpls. Trick-or-treating, kids

dinner specials, live entertainment.

Celebrate Fall at the Oak ParkCenter Oct. 31Fri., Oct 31, come anytimebetween 5 - 7 pm at 1701 Oak ParkAvenue N. Mpls. All youth must beaccompanied by an adult. Pleasecall Nancy at (612) 377-7000.

Beauty That Speaks Ongoing(Aug. Oct.)A series of exhibitions andpresentations addressing the basic

needs in communities that makefor wholeness and justice for all,from August through October,2008. For more information, visithttp://beautythatspeaks.blogspot.com/

Saturday puppet shows for kidsOctober thru NovemberShow times (donations accepted):10 am and Noon. Make-n-Takeworkshops ($4 per person): 11 am.In the Heart of the Beast Puppet &Mask Theatre, 1500 East Lake St.,Mpls. (612) 721-2535,www.hobt.org.

http://insightnews.com Insight News October 20 - October 26 Page 9

Students from the Minneapolis Urban League High School teamed-up with members of the Election Day Community Coalition todistribute non-partisan voter education materials in North Minneapolis Tues., October 7, 2008 from 10:00 am until 12:00 noon. Thestudents canvassed over six blocks North, East, South and West of the MUL, 2100 Plymouth Avenue. The students worked with the

Election Day Community Coalition registering voters. They set a goal of registering 1,000 new voters before the pre-registrationdeadline of October 14. For more information on the Election Day Community Coalition, contact Cheryl Morgan Spencer at theMinneapolis Urban League (612) 302-3100.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

community and your brother inthanking you for stepping forward.What was in your mind and whydid you make the decision to be adonor to save your brothers life?Its a no brainer question, but Imasking it anyway.

EDITH: Well Al, I thought aboutit for just a minute when I foundout about it. There was no chance

that I could walk around with twokidneys and allow my brother todie for want of one, so I thought Idshare.

AM: And so how do we get ourpeople to think more and to knowmore and to be more positive andproactive? What do you think?Are you talking about this in yourfamily?

E: Yes, Im talking about it in thefamily. My former sister in law,Virginia and I, were talking about itand she said, Thats something Iwould never, ever, do. I could notallow them to cut on me to takeanything out of me. I came with it

and Im going with it. So thatssomething that we believe in theBlack community for a lot of us, alot of people in the Blackcommunity. That needs to be

WM: Re-evaluated.

NORMA: My name is Norma andfirst of all I would like to thankeveryone for their comments today.One of the questions you had ishow do we raise awareness andthere was a comment earlier aboutassets. I am a nine year survivor ofcancer. I had a stem-cell transplantten years ago. The University ofMinnesota is celebrating the 40thanniversary of the first bone

marrow transplant and all of us inthis room are assets. All of uslistening have the power and theability to change the situation.When I was diagnosed, as I wasbeing tested for the final test togive the definitive diagnosis, Iasked my doctor if he was testingme for cancer, and he said no. Andtwo hours later I received mydiagnosis. My reason for sayingthat is that we absolutely have toraise awareness we have todiscuss this, as you mentioned,around the dinner table and we, asassets, have the ability to changethe discussion in this country about

health care and the disparity thatgoes on every single day and theinability of patients to receivetreatment that should be availablefor every single person in theUnited States.

WM: Al, I was saying the samesorts of things when I was ondialysis at Hennepin County. Mydoctor Dr. Kafee and her team tookcare of me and kept me alive to getme to dialysis. I was sick for yearsand I had no idea why I was tiredand getting bigger. I was like,whats going on? So when I had

a hip replacement and the doctorcame and said, Well Wain, youneed a new kidney, I said, Awman!

So that whole process startedand then I went on dialysis forabout a year and four months as wewent through our family. Mybrother Raymond tried. Mybrother Juju tried, different onestried and they had different thingspreventing them from beingdonors, so that we went to the nextlevel. My sister Patricias daughterYai, donated one of her kidneysand what I was trying to say is thatthe Doctor will tell you I came outof the operation the happiestcamper youve ever seen. I played

guitar the whole time I was there. Iwas up in like six hours I think,running around the hallways. Itwas amazing. My niece who gaveme the kidneyit was harder forher.

But now today its like it didnthappen. I am trying to break thechains of the stigma of why wethink youre going to go with yourorgans to the ground or to ashes.

Im a donor on my driverslicense and I always look forpeople, hope that people will dothat as well.

But lets stop it earlier. Howcan I tell my daughter to tell herdaughter to tell her daughter aboutthe right things we should be

eating this much exercise weshould be doing I believe thatsome of this could be caught threegenerations before. We can stopwhat has historically happened.Thats what I would like to do

If we teach ways to rethink, re-diet, re-exercise, we could stop thechain of poor health decisions andunhealthy lifestyles. Im saying, Ithink my dad was a big guy, I atelike my dad. My mom is bigwoman. I ate like my mom. Mydaughter eats like me. Herdaughter eats like her. Herdaughter doesnt have to do that.The point is youve got to break the

chain of historicity. Some thingsare hereditary and some things youlearn. But we could certainly helpprevent and slow the process downwith education and reeducation ofwhat weve always been taughtand have been afraid of. So thatsmy story and Im sticking to it.

AM: Thats a great question. Ivegot a confession to make, youknow I just got my new license acouple of days ago and Iremembered them asking me, Do

you want to be a donor if you die?And I said, No. But Im thinkingdifferently right now.WM: I was in California ondialysis. I went to dialysis onWilshire Boulevard. Its verykickin, right by where all the starsare. But a block behind where allthe famous things are is the dialysisunit. So like you walk over JohnWayne(s star) or somebody andthen you go to dialysis. I went inthere and it was all Asian, allKorean, specifically and threeMexicans and four Black people.So Im saying, Well where are allthe white people in dialysis?Then I went to dialysis down inRed Wing and that was, I was the

only Black person there and threeNative Americans. And I went todialysis in New York once and thatwas kind of still heavy on theBlack side, but it was really weirdto go around the country and go ondialysis! Just I mean the only wayyou know is if you do it.

AM: The dialysis tour.

WM: I can actually speak becauseI was there; its not out of a book. Iwas there. Its interesting. WestCoast, East Coast, Middle Coast.But theres still not balance.AM: Doctor, put this in

perspective.

DR. PRIETO: Yes, well there isundoubtedly there is adisproportionate amount of AfricanAmericans on dialysis. Its about40% which is a lot more than thepopulation of African Americans.And there are multiple factors.One of them is that there is higherincidents of kidney disease inAfrican Americans and thats trueand it has some genetic factors andother things but its true too that a

lot of times when whites or affluentpeople in general, they get theCadillac treatment which is to get akidney transplant from a relativeeven before you ever need dialysis.Thats I would say the idealtreatment and in most cases can bedone. The more you go tounderdeveloped regions or themore you go toward minoritysettings that is less and lesscommon and thats what need to bechanged. It needs to be changed atthe level of the health care facility.

We need to elevate the level ofeducation and the level of expertisein all the hospitals that serve thoseunderdeveloped areas to bringthem up so that everyone can getwhat we all agree today that is theideal treatment for any stage ofrenal disease which is getting atransplant before you ever see adialysis unit.

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Henry Sullivan (Left) with sister Ester Sullivan who donated a kidney to him.

Documents

Pt3 Organ Donation