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.
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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.
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Bernadeia Johnson
“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.
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“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.”
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David Schuman
David joined the WCCO team in April 2020, previously working at CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he worked in Las Vegas. While there, David covered several stories in the national spotlight, including the October 1 mass shooting and political visits from President Barack Obama and candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
This week’s Fab Five photo display includes highlights from Minneapolis South’s 88-84 boys basketball victory over Minneapolis North on Wednesday, December 11.
The photos include two South players who led them with 22 points each (DeAmontre Scott and Eugene Brown), the player who scored 22 points to lead North (JMarion Sanders), North’s point guard who scored 14 points (Allen Hill), and a former Marshall University High School and Augsburg University great officiating the game (Ronnie Henderson).
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader comments to mcdeezy05@gmail.com.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minneapolis Police Department is asking for the public’s help as they search for a vulnerable teen reported missing on Thursday.
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Missing teen in Minneapolis
What we know: The Minneapolis Police Department issued an alert on Thursday evening for 16-year-old Ashton Ferraro who went missing in the afternoon hours.
Police say he was last seen in the area of Hennepin Avenue East and Central Avenue Northeast around 1 p.m.
Ashton is described as a thin, 5’8″ tall, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He was wearing a blue puffy Hilfiger jacket with a white stripe, a black hoodie, black pants, and black shoes.
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The backstory: Police say Ashton doesn’t live in Minneapolis but was in the city with his family when he jumped from their vehicle and ran away.
Police say Ferraro is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, ADHD, and is on the autism spectrum.
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How to help: Police ask anyone who sees Ferrara to call 911 immediately. Anyone with potential information on his whereabouts can call non-emergency dispatch at 612-348-2345, email policetips@minneapolismn.gov. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crimestoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.
MINNEAPOLIS — A 38-year-old Minneapolis woman is accused of speeding through multiple red lights before causing a crash at Emerson Avenue North and 26th Avenue North that left two people dead and two injured.
Teniki Steward, 38, faces two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation. If convicted, she faces up 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
The crash killed Esther Jean Fulks and Rose Elaine Reece.
“Our office has been in close communication with the Minneapolis Police Department regarding this case, which was submitted to our office on Thursday and charged Friday,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
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“This was another completely avoidable incident of a car being driven irresponsibly with disastrous consequences. Our thoughts are with the surviving victims and with the families of the two members of our community who were killed.”
On Dec. 16, Minneapolis police responded to a crash at the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and 26th Avenue North.
Prosecutors said Steward was driving a Buick Enclave at a high rate of speed when she ran a red light at Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, nearly causing a collision.
Steward continued driving northbound on Emerson Avenue North at high speed, according to authorities.
As she approached 26th Avenue North, the traffic light for northbound traffic was red. Despite this, Steward entered the intersection at high speed and struck a Ford Explorer traveling eastbound, which was lawfully entering the intersection on a green light, authorities said.
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The collision killed both individuals in the Ford Explorer. The force of the impact caused the Explorer to hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk, resulting in a third victim.
The passenger in the Buick Enclave also suffered injuries in the crash
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