NKF Campaigns Zone:
Transplantation & Live Donors

NKF submission to the NICE Appraisal on ‘Immunosuppressive therapy for renal transplantation’ (May 2002)

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has announced an appraisal of "Immunosuppressive therapy for renal transplantation".

The National Kidney Federation has submitted two names of NKF Executive members to serve on this appraisal. The first stage of any NICE appraisal is to plan the scope of the enquiry. To assist with this, the National Kidney Federation has submitted the following document for consideration. The progress of this appraisal can be followed on the following website: www.nice.org.uk

To:-
Technology Appraisal Project Manager
NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence)
MidCity Place
71 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6NA

Main telephone: +44 (0)20 7067 5800
Main fax: +44 (0)20 7067 5801
Press office telephone: +44 (0)20 7067 5900
Website: www.nice.org.uk

15 May 2002

IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE THERAPY FOR RENAL TRANSPLANTATION

Submission in respect of the draft Scope and draft Matrix documents

By the
National Kidney Federation
6 Stanley Street
Worksop,
Notts,  S81 7HX

Telephone 01909 487795

The importance of Transplantation as one form of therapy for renal patients cannot be over-stated.  Transplantation can return a relatively normal quality of life to those on dialysis, and even prevent in some cases a patient ever having to go onto dialysis, however, transplantation is not a cure, and transplanted patients remain on medication for the rest of their lives, or until the transplant fails and a return to dialysis is called for.  Transplanted patients suffer from the side effects of the existing range of Immunosuppressive drugs. Whilst these effects can be minor in nature, they can also be major and the results life threatening.

Immunosuppressive drugs have still some way to go in development and discovery before all dialysis patients will feel comfortable trading the existing certainty of a life on dialysis with the uncertainty of a life on immunosuppressive drugs.

It is for these very real reasons, that the NKF regards the continuation of research and development into new and better immunosuppressive drugs as absolutely vital to our patients well-being. We would be extremely concerned if the result of the NICE appraisal were in any way to restrict the use of existing drugs or hamper the development and trial of new drugs.

The NKF understands that with the very latest drugs there does not yet exist sufficient data for a reasonable appraisal of their effectiveness, however it is these latest drugs which appear to hold out the best promise of a life on immunosuppressant’s  with a reduced risk to the patient of significant side effects.  We regard the continued availability of these new drugs as absolutely essential to the welfare of our renal patients.

The National Kidney Federation urges NICE not to restrict in any way at all, the availability of all the current drug therapies or those under development. It is the very fact that a range of drug therapy possibilities exist that enables experimentation between the drugs either singly or in combinations.  Many patients have been able to keep their new kidneys by virtue of the existing freedom doctors have to switch drugs as and when required by the medical condition developing.

Yours sincerely,

Timothy F Statham OBE

Chief Executive
National Kidney Federation