On World Kidney Day, UAMS’s leading nephrologist spreads awareness following their transplant

Little Rock, Arkansas – World Kidney Day is observed on March 14th, to raise awareness of kidney disease and wellness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 14% of adult Americans have chronic renal disease.

As the Chief of Nephrology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Dr. John Arthur specializes in treating kidneys. However, in October, he became one of those statistics, having to operate on patients.

Following his diagnosis of chronic renal disease, Dr. Arthur was required to have a kidney transplant at UAMS.

Thankfully, his brother was able to donate a kidney to him.

According to a National Kidney Foundation survey, over 101,000 people nationwide need a kidney and 123,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ transplant.

The study also revealed that twelve people pass away each day while waiting for a kidney.
According to Dr. Arthur, he decided to have a kidney transplant at UAMS for several reasons.

According to him, UAMS is the second-best program in the United States out of 250 in terms of how long it takes to receive a kidney while waiting for a transplant.
However, the need for kidney donors is still very high.

“It is actually more likely to die on the kidney transplant list than to get a kidney,” said Dr. Arthur. “That is because people are on those lists for a while. Having end-stage kidney disease is bad. It has a high mortality rate so that is why we really need more kidneys.”

According to Dr. Arthur, medical professionals are making significant advancements in renal disease prevention as a result of increased study and technological advancements.

“As a kidney doctor, for a long time we really did not have hardly anything we could do,” said Dr. Arthur. “Just over the last three or four years, we actually have medicines that can slow the progression of a lot of different types of chronic kidney disease. Things just recently have gotten a lot better. That is all because of the research that has been done.”