Barry M. Straube, M.D., the former Chief Medical Officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), nephrologist and transplant physician, has joined the National Kidney Registry’s Medical Board.
In joining the National Kidney Registry Board, Dr. Straube said, “I hope we can collectively promulgate a greater sense of urgency to get more focus on the whole renal transplant arena, which is one of my core clinical interests. My goal is to utilize my experience to direct more attention to paired exchange transplantation and its role in improving the quality of patient-centered care, as well as reducing global health care costs.”
Dr. Straube further went on to say that, “Paired exchange transplantation is a perfect example of healthcare innovation that can dramatically improve patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. We simply have to raise awareness and show how important paired donation is to the patients who may have incompatible donors and to the payers who are spending approximately $30 billion annually on dialysis. Equally important is getting health policy makers and legislators, payers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to work together to facilitate the national and international implementation of paired exchange transplantation.”
“The addition of Dr. Straube to our Medical Board will enhance our ability to work with not only government agencies but the entire transplant community in helping the National Kidney Registry to save lives by accelerating the adoption of paired exchanges in the United States and around the world,” said Garet Hil, Founder and CEO of the National Kidney Registry.
Mr. Hil pointed out that according to UNOS figures, in 2010 there were 6,276 living donor transplants performed in the United States. Out of that number, only 422 or 7% of living donor transplants were a result of paired exchanges. “Based upon what we know about the potential of paired exchange, the 7% rate needs to increase to 35% or approximately 3,000 additional transplants annually, as quickly as possible.”
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