High Costs Prompt Transplant Patients Forgo Essential Immunosuppressive Medications

Added: (Tue Jan 31 2012)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Due to high costs, thousands of transplant patients are foregoing immunosuppressive medications, after organ transplants as Kidney Transplants, putting their lives at dire risk.

Noncompliance with immunosuppressive medications in kidney transplant recipients leads to serious consequences leading to allograft dysfunction, rejection of the allograft, graft loss and patient death. A recent report published in the Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology on a study, to investigate the reasons for noncompliance, by a group led by Dr. Roger W. Evans, has revealed the financial problems as one of the main reasons for non compliance. Immunosuppressive drugs are prescribed to the recipients after a kidney transplant, to prevent the body’s immune system rejecting the newly transplanted kidney also called allograft. For this reason immunosuppressive drugs are known as anti-rejection drugs. A transplanted kidney may be rejected by the body within a few days (acute rejection) or after a longtime chronic rejection), unless the prescribed rejection suppression medicine regimens are adhered to.

Transplant recipients are prescribed a combination of immunosuppressant drugs, one from each group. The mostly prescribed drugs after kidney transplantation are Cyclosporine, Mycopehnolate and Prednisolone. The recipients have to use these drugs for many years, and sometimes they will have to use them for their lifetimes.

A recent price survey for some of the key drugs including immunosuppressants as Cyclosporine indicated that these drugs are as high as $ 160 per 10 mg pack of 60 while Canadian online pharmacy Big Mountain Drugs sells the same at $ 69.

Noncompliance with the drug regimen prescribed by the physician can result in disasters like dysfunction or total rejection of the transplanted kidney. In the event of a total rejection, the patient will have to undergo dialysis, get a new transplant which is beyond many people economic wise, even if the body can sustain a re transplant, which has low possibilities.

The same study by Dr. Evans revealed that a large number of patients are unable to pay for their anti rejection drugs. “More than 70% of kidney transplant programs report that their patients have an extremely or very serious problem paying for their medications. About 47% of the programs indicate that more than 40% of their patients are having difficulty paying for their immunosuppressive medications. In turn, 68% of the programs report deaths and graft losses attributable to cost-related immunosuppressive medication non-adherence.” The study suggests that the Medicare policy changes are necessary to help the kidney transplant patients to get the anti-rejection drugs.

The patients, who have to pay for their medicines out of pocket, have to pay a large sum for the immunosuppressive drugs. Therefore they will have to look for the cheapest sources of medicines. Many transplant patients buy their requirements for Canadian online pharmacies like Big Mountain Drugs (BMD). A spokesperson for BMD stated that they have a wide range of immunosuppressive drugs at largely reduced prices. “We offer a wide range of immunosuppressive drugs at very reasonable prices. With our 5% reward program and the discount coupons obtainable from www.onlinepharmacycoupons.com customers can save more”

Advising about the rogue pharmacies she said “Mushrooming illegal pharmacies have become a serious hazard. These rogue pharmacies are not registered or do not have any license to operate. Big Mountain Drugs is registered and licensed by College of Pharmacists of British Columbia. Our website BigMountainDrugs.com, serves to a customers all over the world. It is a verified member of Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA). Pharmacychecker.com, an independent company that verifies international pharmacies has verified Big Mountain Drugs.”

Author

Big Mountain Drugs, a top end Canadian pharmacy provides a wide portfolio of branded and generic prescription as well as OTC Drugs at affordable prices via its licensed online pharmacy. Customers can now buy Florinef and other Canada prescription drugs from BMD and have it delivered worldwide to their doorstep. Big Mountain Drugs is a CIPA approved pharmacy operating from British Colombia, Canada.

For more information on Big Mountain Drugs.Com:
Name : Ms. Estella Wong
Tel : 1.778.218.2670
Web : http://www.bigmountaindrugs.com/
BigMountainDrugs.com
8322 130th Street, Surrey,
British Columbia, Canada, V3W 8J9