A little known program is giving unlikely organ transplant candidates new hope

A San Luis Obispo man wants to let others in on a little known program that is giving unlikely organ transplant candidates renewed hope. 

Josh Sanders underwent a kidney transplant ten years ago. Two years later, his body attacked and destroyed the implant. He was told he would be on dialysis the rest of his life, but a Google search has given him hope again. You don’t have to know Josh very long to grasp his zest for life. ” You gotta have that attitude, of at least I do, of I’m tougher than you and you’re not going to be able to kill me,” said Josh. 

With his loving wife Johanna, they have two beautiful children; in other words, he has a lot to live for, but because Josh already had one unsuccessful transplant surgery his body has built up antibodies that would reject another one. The risk of becoming Human Leukocyte Antigen, or HLA,-sensitized, as it is called, is greater after pregnancy, previous organ transplants, and blood transfusions. 

One third of patients currently awaiting kidney transplants are categorized as HLA-sensitized. Facing lifelong dialysis, Johanna, got on the Internet. A Google search of ‘high antibody counts’ led her to a patented program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. ” Basically they have a program where they can lower those antibodies and allow you to get transplants,” said Josh. It is called Transplant Immunotherapy treatment. According Cedars-Sinai’s website, it is a five-week, dialysis-like program that works by adding helpful …