Minneapolis, MN
Race removed as factor in kidney function test, allowing Minneapolis woman to receive transplant sooner
MINNEAPOLIS — A major change in the medical world is helping make kidney transplants more racially equitable.
Race is no longer being considered an important test to estimate kidney function.
Bernadeia Johnson, a Black woman from Minneapolis, had kidney transplant surgery last month.
“I’m doing so well,” she said.
Living with stage five chronic kidney disease, Johnson had five donors fall through until the sixth turned out to be the charm.
“I had to show some level of strength, but I have to tell you, nobody should have to show this much strength,” she said. “It was very hard.”
There are several factors that go into someone’s placement on the transplant waiting list, including, of course, if there’s a match out there, but one of the factors is how long the wait has been.
Johnson got a big boost there.
“I was on the list for two years, but after they did the recalculation, I was on the list for five years and eight months,” she said.
That adjustment was the result of race being removed as a component in a test that estimates kidney function.
“I could still be waiting,” Johnson said.
Dr. Kirsten Johansen, Hennepin Healthcare’s chief of nephrology, says the test had been systematically causing Black people’s results to come back as higher, which, in some cases, may have affected their eligibility for a transplant.
“They required all transplant centers to go back and reevaluate…and then go through the charts of all Black patients to see whether they could document that they would have, under the newer equation, had a lower estimated kidney function sooner, and then to adjust their time back,” Johansen said.
Johansen says there’s still plenty of work to do to address racial disparities in health outcomes.
“Among people with kidney failure, requiring dialysis or transplant, it’s almost four times higher for Black people than for white people,” she said. “It’s also higher among Hispanics.”
In Johnson’s case, the culprits were diabetes and hypertension — two risk factors that occur at higher rates in Black people.
“There’s no silver bullet to any of this,” she said. “Just trying to take control of my own health and becoming my best advocate.”
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis construction workers call on developers to take stand against ICE
Minneapolis, MN
Fan behind Anthony Edwards’ orange bracelet has beaten cancer
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The story behind Anthony Edwards wearing a bright orange bracelet since last season has received a positive development, after Timberwolves fans learned Luca Wright has beaten leukemia.
Anthony Edwards, Luca Wright connection
What we know:
Last January, the 6-year-old Minnesotan met “Ant” for the first time following a game against the Detroit Pistons, proclaiming him to be his favorite player, and asking him to wear a bracelet that symbolizes leukemia awareness, resilience and support for those affected. During the interaction, the fan had created a sign with a to-do list: “1. Beat Cancer. 2. Be The Next MJ.”
Leukemia is a type of cancer that spreads throughout the bloodstream, infecting bone marrow and a person’s lymphatic system by rapid production of abnormal white blood cells that can’t fight infection.
Since then, the Wolves’ MVP has worn a bracelet that proclaims, “Love Like Luca” on it for every game he has played, vowing to wear it “until he hangs up his sneakers.”
Ant has gone on to explain how the gesture connected with him given that he lost both his mother, Yvette, and grandmother, Shirley, to cancer when he was 14 years old. The No. 5 jersey he wears currently is a tribute to them both.
Luca bracelet latest
Dig deeper:
More than a year later, Wolves fans have received the update they hoped for – now 7-year-old Luca has beaten his cancer.
What’s next:
Ant has since responded to the news with his own social media video, calling it “God’s gift” and saying, “Let’s do this Luca.”
No word yet on whether he intends to keep wearing the bracelet, though he’s previously said he has a stash of replacements near the team bench should one ever be broken.
The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Timberwolves public relations department.
Minneapolis, MN
Family of Minneapolis brothers killed by cousin says their deaths were preventable:
A Minneapolis family is struggling to make sense of a tragedy that has left them heartbroken.
Family tells WCCO 14-year-old Xavier Barnett and 23-year-old Akwame Stewart were killed Monday.
The brothers were very different, but equally loved. Barnett was a good student and athlete. Stewart was a painter, creative and thoughtful. Two brothers, loved and full of promise, gone.
Police say the accused shooter is their cousin, 23-year-old Eddie Duncan.
Court records show Duncan was released on bail Monday on charges of fleeing law enforcement and possession of a gun modified with an “auto sear switch.”
Court records also show Duncan was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, but not until next month, on March 24.
Deasia Freeman, Barnett and Stewart’s sister, says this loss could have been prevented.
“They all failed us. We got two innocent lives gone for no reason. Didn’t do nothing to nobody,” Freeman said.
Family members say the system and Duncan’s family let them down.
Freeman says Duncan’s family saw the warning signs and still bailed him out
“If you knew this man was thinking like this, y’all should have kept him in there and he should not even have bail,” she said.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says they noted Duncan was a public safety risk and asked for a high bail, much higher than a typical request.
“In Minnesota, there is a constitutional right to bail, and the bail amount is set by the Court. Our office noted a public safety risk with Mr. Duncan and asked the judge to set bail at $70,000, or $35,000 with conditions; both of which are higher than we would typically request in this scenario. The judge set bail in that amount. Mr. Duncan posted $35,000 bail with conditions of release, as is allowed under the Minnesota Constitution, and was released from custody. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by yesterday’s violence. This was a terrible tragedy for this family and our community,” a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
For Freeman and her family, the hardest part isn’t just the legal process but living each day without their brothers.
Even in the heartbreak, she says the memories of the good days, the laughter and love they shared will carry them through.
“I wish I could get just one more phone call from them asking me where I’m at,” Freeman said as tears rolled down her face.
Court records confirm Duncan left the scene of the crime and fled to nearby Brooklyn Center. There, a search warrant says Duncan “fired a gun at officers, striking two squads,” when police arrived. That’s when officers returned fire, shooting and killing him.
Three officers have been placed on critical incident leave as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension leads the investigation into Duncan’s fatal shooting.
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