Today I was looking through the news and found a heartwarming story we can all appreciate. A policeman in Arizona received a kidney donation from a stranger. Of the over 1700 Arizonans on the transplant list, Mike Newman got lucky. After a year of failing dialysis, Mr. Newman got his very own kidney.
But thousands of patients suffering renal failure, kidney cancer, and kidney disease have not fared so well. In fact, patients were injured during their dialysis treatments, causing heart attacks, strokes, and even death. The reason these patients were injured was because of 2 popular dialysis concentrates, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. These acid concentrates were mixed with bicarbonates in dialysis treatment and given to dialysis patients to lower acid build up in the blood. However, in some patients, this caused an overdose and heart attacks.
In response, injured dialysis patients and families who lost their loved ones are filing suit across the country. These lawsuits against GranuFlo and NaturaLyte manufacturer Fresenius Medical Care allege that patients did not receive the lifesaving health warnings they needed to prevent their dialysis injury.
As this litigation continues to develop, it's likely we'll see more heart wrenching tales of dialysis injury in the news and less of the happy endings that Mike Newman enjoyed.
