If readers will remember, we recently posted an article about the kidney project regarding the world’s first bionic kidney. For an explanation as to how the device works you can read about it here: The World’s First Bionic Kidney Is All Set To Replace Dialysis In Just Two Years. There are many people who may be wondering or enquiring about the project which was scheduled for human trials in late 2017. Well that date has been postponed to 2018 because of insufficient funding. The most heartwarming aspect of the entire project is the Trojan efforts of Stephanie Brummet, the project coordinator for the UCSF Kidney project who in response to the problem is taken to hiking.
Stephanie Brummett on the kidney project Facebook page describes in her blog “On March 15th, I will be leaving The Kidney Project team to pursue a lifelong goal of hiking the full length of the Appalachian Trail. The trail spans from Georgia to Maine and covers 2,190 miles. I will be dedicating my thru-hike to The Kidney Project to help the patients who've touched my life!
Stephanie Brummet has been the project coordinator of the ambitious kidney project at the University of California San Francisco. The scientists involved namely doctor Shuvro Roy and nephrologist William H. Fissel had invented a bionic kidney with integrated components that will mimic the actions of a live kidney and powered by the body’s own blood pressure as it flushed blood through the device just like a real kidney.
While one of the components of the two part implantable bionic kidney called a hemofilter will enter clinical trials only in 2018, the bioreactor is still in development phase which will require $25,000 in funds to be completed. This is why Stephanie has now taken to hiking as the only way she knows to help get funds for the project. According to Stephanie “In the last three years. In that time, I've come to know thousands of kidney patients, their friends and families, all of whom have all truly changed my life”.
End stage renal disease or ESRD is a condition that is almost total kidney failure. More than 650,000 people per year are living with ESRD and can only avail of dialysis or wait for a donor for a kidney transplant, both of which are cumbersome and expensive. Moreover it also involves a lifetime of immunosuppressant’s and medication.
The Kidney project which has invented the first bionic kidney provides patients with an alternative bioartficial kidney the size of a coffee cup. It does to require batteries or pumps and flushes out toxins from the blood 24 hours a day. The benefits of the bionic kidney will be:
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While the FDA is working closely with the UCSF kidney project to establish an effective plan and timeline for approval and scheduled production, funds are short which is why Stephanie Brummet is hiking along the Appalachian Trail to generate funds for timely development and success. The passionate young woman is dedicated to seeing the project through and has managed to acquire $3839 as of May 1st 2017.
When Stephanie started out on her hiking project it wasn’t easy. The trail proved difficult after her first major ascent from the Great Smokey National Park. At one point in her blog under the heading “life after the Smokies” Stephanie says “In the last two weeks, I’ve been experiencing some serious homesickness”. She has twisted both ankles, one even twice. She has fallen 6 feet off a rock face but survived with no broken bones and slipped in mud several times. “I’m almost certain this trail is trying to break me But it hasn’t yet.
You’ve got to admire this woman for her true grit and dedication to a program which when finally falls through may end up saving the lives of millions of those suffering from kidney disease. Moreover, patients may even have their survival rates prolonged with a better quality of life.
When we first presented the article on the bionic kidney project to you, we never realized the passionate story behind it. We do now, which is why we bring this news to you about one woman’s determination to improve the world. You can even keep abreast of Stephanie’s latest progress on the Facebook page of the Kidney project. To receive more information, visit the page to get the address of the Kidney project at UCSF.
Read more about the latest updates on Bionic Kidney Project
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