HEALTH CARE NOTEBOOK: Donated kidneys grant-study focus | Sara Lee division recalls some pies | Group is offering free hand sanitizer

Donated kidneys grant-study focus

A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researcher received a $2.46 million grant for a study related to kidneys that come from an organ donor who died.

Nirmala Parajuli, an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, received the award for a five-year project, according to an announcement last week. Funding came from the National Institutes of Health.

Parajuli's work will look at a drug that could reduce damage to donated kidneys during cold storage.

The hope is to improve long-term results for patients who get the kidneys. While most transplanted kidneys come from deceased donors, the outcomes for those organs generally aren't as good.

"There are about 100,000 patients waiting for kidney transplants, and many of them will die while they are waiting," Parajuli said in a statement.

"My goal is to reduce the kidney injury caused by cold storage and increase the pool of healthy kidneys available to the people who need them."

Arkansas has one of the nation's highest rates of chronic kidney disease, for which a transplant is the best treatment, according to public health experts.

Sara Lee division recalls some pies

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery has voluntarily recalled several pie products because they may contain peanuts, which can cause severe reactions in people with peanut allergies, a news release said.

The pies include several types of pecan pie and pie slices sold under the Sara Lee, Chef Pierre and Devonshire Bake Shop brand names. A complete list of products with lot codes is online at fda.gov.

The recall is happening because of unintentional cross-contamination between raw pecans and residual peanuts during the transport of pecans by a supplier, according to officials.

People with a peanut allergy or sensitivity shouldn't eat any of the recalled products. The pies were produced between March 4 and April 1, and were sold nationwide.

No illnesses or adverse reactions from them have been reported to regulators.

Group is offering free hand sanitizer

Arkansas Minority Health Commission is offering free hand sanitizers to some groups to help protect against disease, an email announcement said.

People can request sanitizers for their families, for church or for nonprofit events, according to the email. More information is online: arminorityhealth.com/media/covid-19.

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