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Education Medicine

Now Streaming: How To Do a Kidney Transplant (vice.com) 64

tedlistens writes: In January, hundreds of students enrolled in the University of Leiden Medical School's 'Clinical Kidney Transplantation.' But they weren't there: the class is completely virtual, the world's first massively open online course to offer instruction in the surgical procedure. Taught by 13 doctors through videos and interactive modules...the free course isn't intended to replace real-life education with hospital patients. Nor is it likely to prepare students to conduct a kidney transplant anytime soon. (For a fee, students can receive a certificate of completion.) But it's part of a new digital push among medical schools around the world, including Harvard and Stanford, that are seeking to educate a generation of students raised on smartphones and to expand their audiences to virtually anyone with a computer and an internet connection.
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Now Streaming: How To Do a Kidney Transplant

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  • This is cool, I used to dream of widespread education back in the day. And now people are finding ways to do it, cheaply and en masse. This will be better for everyone eventually.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      Yeah, just what we need, a bunch of amateur surgeon junkies out there in Central Park stealing kidneys for a fix. This is like a course in making bombs.

      • Yeah, just what we need, a bunch of amateur surgeon junkies out there in Central Park stealing kidneys for a fix. This is like a course in making bombs.

        On the contrary.

        As an adult in society, how can I decide whether to agree with a government pronouncement unless I have the relevant information?

        How can I know whether a law is needed, whether the technical claims of a company (looking for investment) are feasible, whether some claim to the safety of our nation is credible, or whether some risk is worth worrying about unless I have the information?

        I don't expect to be making bombs, but knowing the basic premise allows me to judge whether the reasoning behin

        • by Shoten ( 260439 )

          Oh, I'm not so sure. I believe that this will be the scourge of unicorns everywhere...especially ones named "Charlie."

  • The only surgery instruction you need is here [youtube.com].
  • I like the idea that if, in a most insanely dire emergency, where you can't get a real doctor, this might be available.
  • by linuxgurugamer ( 917289 ) on Saturday April 09, 2016 @05:19PM (#51876415) Homepage

    Last June I donated one of my kidneys to someone I didn't know. It saved his life.

    Currently, there are over 93,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. The wait for a deceased donor could be 5 years, and in some states, it is closer to 10 years. Patients are prioritized by how long they’ve been on the waiting list, their blood type, immune system activity and other factors. 80% of the people on the waiting list are on kidney dialysis. The longer a person is on dialysis and has to wait for a transplant, the short and long term success rates are negatively affected. On average, receiving a kidney transplant can double someone’s life expectancy.

      Each day, 18 Americans die waiting for an organ transplant.

    Please consider donating your kidneys after death, it can save lives. Better yet, consider doing a living donation such as what I did. All medical costs are covered by the recipient's insurance company. The results after a living donation are much better than after a post-mortum donation.

    While the risks are not zero, they are about the lowest you can expect for any major surgery you can undergo as a donor

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Anything you could do before you cannot or should not do now?

        Umm... donate a kidney, I'd assume?

      • by linuxgurugamer ( 917289 ) on Saturday April 09, 2016 @07:30PM (#51876841) Homepage

        Fully recovered, no restrictions on anything. I was out of work for 4 weeks, and took a few more weeks to fully recover.

        Interesting sidenote: I went in for a post-donation checkup, and my doctor felt a very small lump in my throat. it was checked out, and turned out to be a very early thyroid cancer. I had surgery on 2/29 to remove my thyroid, and have fully recovered from that. The tumor was extremely small, would not have been found except for the kidney donation. I have to be on thyroid medication for life, but I can live with that.

        So, looking at it, I can say that donating a kidney saved two lives: the recipient and my own.

  • Taught by 13 doctors

    A grumpy old geezer, a shabby-looking chap with a recorder, a dandy, a Bohemian...

    • Taught by 13 doctors

      A grumpy old geezer, a shabby-looking chap with a recorder, a dandy, a Bohemian...

      This Tuesday on a all-new House MD [deviantart.com] - one of my favorite comics.

  • by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Saturday April 09, 2016 @06:25PM (#51876613)

    (a) Which motels are best for this type of surgery?
    (b) How much ice does a typical motel bathtub hold?

    I'm asking for a friend.

    • (a) Any near a highway so you can easily get away... I mean access it.
      (b) Two or three buckets usually do. You do not want to endanger your victi...patient by hypothermia.

      I read a lot, ya know...

There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence. -- Jeremy S. Anderson

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