Drs. Amit and Labh Mehta Spearhead New CT Scanner - Niagara Health

News|Videos|October 22, 2026 Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD, discusses new JAMA data on preeclampsia risk after living kidney donation in a 3-part video interview. A 3-part video interview covers new Canadian data on hypertensive disorders, small for gestational age births, and donor counseling. Whether donating a kidney will affect future pregnancies is one of the questions living donor candidates of childbearing age raise most often, and counseling practices still vary across transplant centers.¹A matched cohort study presented at American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2026 and published simultaneously in JAMA offers new data. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, occurred in 11.9% of donor pregnancies vs 8.3% of matched nondonor pregnancies across 3 Canadian provinces, though more than 88% of donor pregnancies were unaffected.¹,² Small for gestational age (SGA) births were also more common among donors.¹Amit X.

Future pregnancy plans don’t preclude living kidney donation, but candidates should be counseled on gestational hypertension risk. Future pregnancy plans need not rule out living kidney donation, but candidates should be counseled on hypertensive risk. New data on pregnancy after living kidney donation give transplant teams clearer numbers to share with donor candidates who may want children in the future.¹In a matched cohort study from 3 Canadian provinces, presented at American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2026 by Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD, and published simultaneously in JAMA, most donor pregnancies were uncomplicated, with a modest increase in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.¹ Will Donating a Kidney Affect Future Pregnancies? In 2024, more than 40,000 living kidney donations were reported across 88 countries.¹ For donors who may become pregnant later, Garg said the central question is whether donation will affect those pregnancies.

News|Videos|October 22, 2026 Chance, biology, and shared genetics may explain more small for gestational age births after living kidney donation. Small for gestational age births and shared donor-recipient genetics complicate the picture of pregnancy after living kidney donation. Investigators behind a new Canadian study of pregnancy after living kidney donation are weighing why donors had more small for gestational age (SGA) births than matched nondonors, and whether shared genetics with recipients could play a role.¹The matched cohort study, presented at American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2026 by Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD, and published simultaneously in JAMA, spanned 3 provinces and also found a modest increase in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy among donors.¹ How Did the Study Compare Donors and Nondonors? Using linked administrative health databases from Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, investigators compared 385 pregnancies in 252 living kidney donors with 1,540 matched pregnancies in 1,535 nondonors.¹ To reflect donors’ healthier baseline profile, nondonors with any of 35 conditions that would preclude donation were excluded.

Polar bears live on sea ice, but are increasingly forced to move onto land as the ice melts. There, they face a risk of influenza transmission from birds. The photograph was taken by researchers near Ittoqqortoormiit in eastern Greenland. For the first time, antibodies against avian influenza have been detected in polar bears in Greenland. Researchers still know little about how lethal the virus is, but believe increased surveillance could provide early warnings of its spread.

48 minutes agoBecca WarnerBBC/Serenity Strull(Credit: BBC/Serenity Strull)Birdwatching can help slow brain ageing and is increasingly being used as therapy for dementia patients. Every week, a group of elderly birders spend hours hunkering down inside a wooden hide in the English countryside, peering through binoculars as they excitedly share what they spot. An oystercatcher's long, bright beak probing the pebbled ground; two great crested grebes bobbing in the water, their plumed heads poised. Most of these birdwatchers have difficulty recalling what happened earlier that day, and might struggle to follow a conversation. But they become animated when swapping notes on the birds that fill the sky around Forge Mill Lake in the UK's West Midlands. Among them is 78-year-old Harold*. He loved the outdoors when he was younger, but more recently dementia has made him withdrawn and anxious. His daughter Lucy* brought him here, hoping that the change of scenery and peaceful lake might be good for him. After an apprehensive start, Harold began smiling when someone pointed out a robin and enjoyed watching the ducks splashing in the water.