Kaiser Permanente To Begin Kidney Patient Transfers

Kaiser Permanente will transfer 141 patients awaiting kidney transplants to transplant programs at University of California-Davis and UC-San Francisco medical centers as early as next week, officials said, the Los Angeles Times reports (Ornstein/Weber, Los Angeles Times, 5/26).

The HMO earlier this month announced that it will close its kidney transplant program following reports of alleged problems that led to transplant delays. About 2,000 patients will be transferred to UC waiting lists from a Kaiser transplant program that opened in 2004 (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/26).

Ninety-four of the patients, who will be among the first to be transferred, have completed all required testing and have seniority on the waiting list should a kidney match be found. Forty-seven of the patients have compatible living donors (Los Angeles Times, 5/26).

Kaiser will continue performing transplants if an organ becomes available before a patient can be transferred (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/26).

The Department of Managed Health Care on Thursday appointed certified nephrology nurse Allison Kregness to oversee the transfers (Vesely, Oakland Tribune, 5/26). Kaiser officials said they were unsure how long the process would take (Los Angeles Times, 5/26).