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 (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signed a new ordinance that carries a ban on assault weapons but won’t take effect unless there are major changes to state law.
Minneapolis gun ban ordinance signed
What we know:
The Minneapolis City Council approved the ordinance during its meeting last week.
The firearm regulations ordinance includes a ban on assault weapons, ghost guns, binary triggers, and high-capacity magazines. The ordinance also includes safe storage provisions for firearms.
Big picture view:
Many of the provisions in the law won’t go into effect unless there is a change in state law. Currently, Minnesota law prevents municipalities from enacting gun regulations.
Minnesota law only allows cities to bar the discharge of firearms within city limits and adopt regulations that are identical to state laws. Any regulations that go beyond state law are voided, according to state statute.
Local perspective:
Action on the gun ordinance was spurred by last year’s shooting at Annunciation Church and School. Two students were killed while attending morning mass at the church and more than two dozen students and parishioners were hurt in the barrage of gunfire.
Last week, parents of Annunciation students spoke out in support of the ordinance at a public hearing.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus threatens lawsuit
The other side:
Last year, St. Paul passed a similar law. The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus filed a lawsuit shortly after the ordinance was signed. Arguments were heard last month on the case and a judge has set a trial for next year.
In a statement last week, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus said it was evaluating its legal options in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Chair Bryan Strawser said:
“The City of Minneapolis is attempting to make a political statement with an ordinance it has no legal authority to enact. Minnesota law clearly preempts the entire field of firearms regulation, and local governments cannot simply ignore state statute because they dislike the policy outcome.
“If the City Council moves forward with this unlawful ordinance, we will evaluate every available legal option to challenge it, just as we did in Saint Paul.
“The law is not optional, even for Minneapolis.”
A man was hurt in a shooting in south Minneapolis late Tuesday night, according to police.
A report of shots fired brought officers to the 2600 block of Third Avenue South around 9:50 p.m., the Minneapolis Police Department said. They found evidence of gunfire and began investigating.
Later, a man with survivable gunshot wounds showed up at Hennepin Healthcare.
No one has been arrested.
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