UAMS Nationally Ranked Kidney Transplant Program
UAMS is home to Arkansas’ only adult kidney transplant center.
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) has consistently ranked the UAMS kidney transplant program among the top in the nation. For the third year in a row, the registry gave the UAMS kidney transplant program five bars – the highest ranking possible – in two categories: 1) the speed of obtaining deceased donor kidneys, and 2) patient survivability one year after transplant. UAMS was one of only five transplant centers across the country to receive the highest ranking in both categories.
Nationwide, there are 256 kidney transplant programs. The registry’s recently released report (6/30/2021) reveals that UAMS placed second in the country when it comes to length of time to obtain a deceased donor transplant and fifth in the category of one year graft survival. Per SRTR, the measure with the largest impact on survival after listing is getting a deceased donor transplant faster.
Glomerular Disease Referral Clinic at UAMS
In September of 2022, UAMS established a Glomerular Disease Referral Clinic for adult patients who suffer from glomerular diseases. The goal of the clinic is to aid in the prompt diagnosis and treatment of glomerular diseases, including rare diseases that often get misdiagnosed. Referred patients will be seen in the clinic to establish the cause of their glomerular disease, and the clinic will then collaborate with the referring physician to form a treatment plan.
The clinic will be led by Drs. John Arthur, Nithin Karakala, J. Hunter Holthoff and Sreelakshmi Ravula.
Acute Care Nephrology and CRRT Program
The UAMS Acute Care Nephrology and CRRT Program improves the management of patient care by applying expert interpretation of recent studies and advances regarding acute kidney injury and CRRT. The advances in the technology for providing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) have led to an increase in its utilization throughout the world. However, circuit life continues to be a major problem. It leads not only to decreased delivery of dialysis but also causes blood loss, waste of disposables, alters dose delivery of medications and nutrition, and increases nurse workload, all of which increases healthcare cost. Our experts are working on methods to enhance CRRT. The Acute Care nephrology and CRRT Program is directed by Drs. Luis Juncos and Nithin Karakala.
Know Your KIDNEY Number
In collaboration with the Arkansas Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Council (CKDAC), UAMS is developing a Know Your Kidney Number Website to promote CKD awareness and provide educational tools for providers, patients and the public. Over 350,000 adult Arkansans have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 315,000 of them do not know they have it!
A person’s Kidney Number is determined by their eGFR rate (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate) which tells how well a person’s kidney is working. A “Know Your Kidney Number” poster (KYKN) campaign is being launched statewide to increase CKD awareness and detection. Educating patients has proven to be effective in delaying CKD progression and establishing optimal renal replacement therapy (RRT) when needed. Through education, patients can empower themselves with the knowledge to make lifestyle changes that help improve or slow CKD.
The Know Your Kidney Number program is directed by Dr. Manisha Singh and Andrea Easom.
Home Dialysis
UAMS features a strong Home Dialysis Program to offer peritoneal and home hemodialysis for patients. The primary goals of the UAMS home dialysis program are to increase the number of patients receiving dialysis at home, to increase patient independence, to improve quality of life and to improve patient health.
The UAMS Home Dialysis Program is directed by Dr. Manisha Singh.