Wayne State, DMC help make more high-risk kidney transplants safer

A Wayne State University researcher has found a way to lower the number of kidney transplant rejections in high-risk patients.

High-risk patients, such as those with HIV, usually reject new kidneys about half the time. Transplants conducted by Dr. Scott Gruber and the DMC Harper University Hospital’s kidney transplant program have been able to lower that number to 13 percent. Those patients also had shorter hospital stays.

This has huge implications for those suffering from HIV. By lowering the rejection rate to that of the general population, HIV patients are living longer and better lives.

DMC Harper University Hospital is among the few medical centers in the country studying the challenges and complexities of performing kidney transplants in the HIV positive population.

Source: Wayne State University
Writer: Jon Zemke