African Americans are afflicted with most of the common ailments, but they are particularly targeted by two of them: sickle cell and kidney disease.
An encouraging pulse in the fight against kidney disease occurred in March when Rick Slayman, a 62-year-old Black man, became the first person to receive a kidney, transplanted from a genetically modified pig. But nearly two months after the historic surgery, he died.
Doctors who performed the surgery said they don’t believe his death had anything to do with the transplant. Whatever the cause, Slayman stands as a beacon in the ongoing search for treatments and possible cures for the disease.
“Though much work remains to be done, I think the potential of this to benefit a large number of patients will be realized, and that was a question mark hovering over the field,” Dr. David Klassen, chief medical officer for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), told the New York Times.
According to UNOS, more than 100,000 people in the United States are awaiting an organ transplant. About 17 people die each day for want of a donor organ, and Black patients tend to suffer high rates of end-stage kidney disease.
A positive development for those suffering from sickle cell disease was recently announced when Kendric Cromer, a 12-year-old African American, will be the first patient to undergo a new innovative treatment.
Kendric was selected for the new treatment, known as Lyfgenia, because African Americans comprise the majority of the 100,000 people in the U.S. dealing with the disease. He was among the sickest whose insurance came through. “We always prayed this day would come,” said Kendric’s mother, Deborah Cromer. Her son will have to remain in the hospital for a month afterward to recover from the extraction component of the treatment.
We extend all our good wishes to the Cromer family and others afflicted. The treatment signals an advance, or at least a relief, from the pain endured by a countless number of people suffering from the disease. Future editorials will keep abreast of developments in both diseases.