Trump executive order to cut down on kidney transplant wait times

Published: Updated:
FILE: President Donald Trump signs the first veto of his presidency in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, March 15, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/FILE)

Kidney disease kills more Americans than breast cancer and often goes unrecognized until it is too late.

“I was 19: three days before I turned 20,” Wilner Cenatus said.

Cenatus, a local dialysis patient, learned he had kidney disease just like more than one in seven adults in the United States.

“I needed dialysis,” Cenatus said. “The doctor said within four days I would’ve been dead.”

It is a fate millions of other Americans face right now, according to President Donald Trump. Nine out of 10 people with kidney disease do not even know they have it. Trump said that kidney disease was the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S.

New research shows more and more people between the ages of 20 and 54 are getting the disease, which is why the kidney transplant list keeps growing.

______

Signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease develop over time if kidney damage progresses slowly. Signs and symptoms of kidney disease may include:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Sleep problems
  • Changes in how much you urinate
  • Decreased mental sharpness
  • Muscle twitches and cramps
  • Swelling of feet and ankles
  • Persistent itching
  • Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
  • Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
  • High blood pressure (hypertension) that’s difficult to control

To learn more about kidney disease, access the Mayo Clinic website.

______

“Roughly 100,000 Americans are currently awaiting a kidney donation,” Trump said.

The president is taking action by signing an executive order this week. It will help potential donors save a life and cut down on wait times for a transplant. He said that many people are dying while they wait for a transplant.

The executive order also helps patients who are on dialysis and opens the door to at-home treatment.

“The time is so enormous that you spend,” Trump said, “and it’s like a full-time job for people.”

And, hopefully, save our country’s health care system some money, since the total cost to Medicare for kidney care is more than $100 billion each year, according to the New York Times.

It is money that keeps patients, like Cenatus, alive. Though, he is putting his faith in a higher power as he continues his treatment.

“I have faith in God,” Cenatus said. “I take it one day at a time. Whatever happens, happens.”

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.