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Francine Barchett

SA needs more liver donors to save lives‚ say researchers

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06 November 2018

By Francine Barchett

First appeared in TimesLIVE

South Africa has two world-class liver transplant centres‚ a new study finds. But they are under-utilised because not enough donor livers can be sourced and those who need their services often can’t reach them.

The two centres serve the whole of the African continent. Researchers also flagged the low numbers of patients being referred to the centres from the public sector‚ although this number has been growing. In 2004‚ when the centre opened‚ only 6% of patients were from the public sector‚ while in 2016 this had grown to 11%. The biggest challenge‚ said the researchers‚ is the absence of liver donors. There simply aren’t enough.

A shortage of facilities and the increasing demand for life-saving kidney treatment in the public sector has led to a rise in kidney-related deaths. Image: 123RF/Chanawit Sitthisombat

“This highlights one of the greatest barriers to increasing solid-organ transplant volumes in SA and can only be addressed if a multifaceted approach is fully endorsed by national government‚” they wrote.

To improve the country’s liver transplant services‚ the team advised raising awareness about organ donation‚ starting organ collection programmes at all hospitals and increasing the number of living organ donors.

A shortage of facilities and the increasing demand for life-saving kidney treatment in the public sector has led to a rise in kidney-related deaths. From 1999 to 2006‚ deaths from chronic kidney disease in the public sector increased by 67%‚ reported Professor Brian Rayner‚ head of nephrology and hypertension at Groote Schuur‚ in 2017.

Nearly 10 times more people were getting renal replacement therapy in the private sector than in the public sector: 716.3 people per million of the population in private care compared to 72.6 in public care.

Investing in the kidney transplant programme at public hospitals would therefore free up dialysis slots for new patients needing life-saving kidney treatment‚ nephrologists noted.

 

Making the world a kinder place — one gesture at a time

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13 November 2018
By Francine Barchett, Natalie Elliott, and Corey D Smith
First Appeared on TimesLIVE
Knowledge Mudzamiri is planning to give food to someone on the street to mark World Kindness Day today.
Knowledge Mudzamiri is planning to give food to someone on the street to mark World Kindness Day today.  Image: Natalie Elliott

If someone smiles at you in the street today, or offers to carry your shopping bag, they may be trying to make the world a better place because it’s World Kindness Day.

It’s a day that anyone can participate in — and everyone who does is likely to feel better for it.

Started in 1998 as an effort to make the world a better place, the idea of random acts of kindness to strangers has spread around the world, and World Kindness Day is now celebrated in 28 countries.

No act of kindness is too big or too small — all acts are part of the bigger picture of connecting humankind.

Some people told TimesLIVE in Cape Town how they planned to mark the day.

Saleem Upto from Bloemfontein says he will take on some volunteer work.
Saleem Upto from Bloemfontein says he will take on some volunteer work.  Image: Natalie Elliott

“I like to give compliments to random people because I think it could make someone’s day,” said Tiffany Japtha from Blue Downs. For Nonzukiso Mpapama from Strand, the day will be better if “you just give everyone a smile”.

Mpriza Zitha from Khayelitsha says equality is important and Taurik Hendricks from Mitchells Plain says that people are too selfish.
Mpriza Zitha from Khayelitsha says equality is important and Taurik Hendricks from Mitchells Plain says that people are too selfish.  Image: Natalie Elliott

“If everyone was equal, it would make the world a better place,” said Mpriza Zitha from Khayelitsha.

“Stop being selfish. It’s as easy as that,” said Taurik Hendricks from Mitchells Plain.

“I’m going to be more accepting of people regardless of what or who they are,” said Sisonke Ndabambi from Dunoon.

Sisonke Ndabambi from Dunoon plans to be more accepting.
Sisonke Ndabambi from Dunoon plans to be more accepting.  Image: Natalie Elliott

And for Angie Kelly from Pinelands, kindness is simple: “The basis of being kind is that you’re seeing people. Acknowledging the person who’s serving you at the table. Or when you’re walking past somebody else and just acknowledging the fact that they’re walking in the opposite direction.”

For Angie Kelly from Pinelands kindness is about acknowledging people.
For Angie Kelly from Pinelands kindness is about acknowledging people.  Image: Natalie Elliott

Deadly dog virus hits crisis levels in Cape Town just before busiest season

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14 November 2018

By Francine Barchett

First appeared on TimesLIVE

As animal welfare organisations prepare for their busiest time of year, clinics and veterinary services are facing the added burden of an outbreak of the potentially deadly parvovirus among dogs in Cape Town.

The workload ahead of the Christmas season includes normal vaccinations and check-ups. In addition, over the festive season many pets are abandoned and need rescuing.

This year an unusually high incidence of the canine virus, reported across the city, will exacerbate the workload and costs.

“We’ve learned first hand that parvo is extra bad this season,” said Lesley Jones, director of Pet Farewells, an organisation that collects and disposes of 1,500-2,000 pet and animal carcasses each month. She said staff at the animal clinics she deals with expressed concern.

Parvo is a highly contagious and often deadly disease that spreads through dogs’ faeces. Symptoms include vomiting, distinctively scented diarrhoea, loss of energy and loss of appetite.

Karen de Klerk, who heads the Cape Animal Welfare Forum, representing animal rescue shelters in the Western Cape, confirmed that infection reports were up across the region.

Canines with parvovirus suffer from loss of appetite, lethargy, and diarrhoea

The Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha has been overwhelmed with the “worst influx of parvo patients in the 22 years of its existence”, said manager Susan Wishart.

While the clinic usually sees around 14 parvo patients a month, last month it had seen 45, the organisation confirmed. “Our vets think that the recent heat wave could have triggered the outbreak,” said Wishart.

Parvo is preventable if pet owners take their dogs for a three-part vaccination, starting when dogs are six weeks old, and return for a booster shot each year, the clinic advises.

But at R300 for the full vaccination, it is not something that all dog owners can afford. “It’s not an option for some people. We support animals but we also support people,” said Wishart.

Treatment of infected dogs is even more costly. At the Mdzananda clinic, it runs to almost R6,400 per animal.

The nonprofit organisation is appealing to the public to donate money to help deal with the crisis that will strain already-stretched resources, as it approaches the “busy season” for abandoned pets.

“We see a lot of undernourished dogs coming in during the holidays because people haven’t talked about who’s going to take care of them while they’re away,” said Wishart.

Abortion pesticides kill foetuses — and young women

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The problem seems to be with medical practitioners who handle abortions poorly

05 November 2018
By Francine Barchett
First appeared in Times Select
Pesticide bottle.
A BOTTLE OF DESPERATION Pesticide bottle.  Image: Gyula Gyukli/123RF

A pregnant teenager repeatedly visited her local clinic begging for an abortion, but she was turned away.

Three months later she drank pesticide in an attempt to end her pregnancy, and it killed her.

This is one of the case studies related by gynaecologists calling for a shakeup in the way unwanted pregnancies are handled by medical practitioners.

Writing in the South African Medical Journal, Dr Sylvia Cebekhulu and Professor Robert Pattinson of the University of Pretoria (UP) said cases of organophosphate poisoning among girls and young women trying to induce abortions were common.

According to Wikipedia, “organophosphates are the most widely used insecticides today. They are used in agriculture, the home, gardens and veterinary practice”.

The healthcare system often failed pregnant young women, said Cebekhulu and Pattinson, describing several cases from the national maternal deaths register:

  • The teenager who was denied an abortion was acutely ill when she arrived at a hospital. She died within an hour from multi-organ failure caused by poisoning.
  • A pregnant teenager was admitted to hospital six hours after consuming a pesticide. She died three days later and “mainly received nursing care and occasional telephonic advice from a doctor”.
  • A pregnant woman in her 20s was found dead at home after drinking insecticide.
  • A 20-year-old pregnant woman was unconscious when she arrived at a hospital and soon died from suspected pesticide poisoning. The doctors said she should have been diagnosed more quickly.

Organophosphates in pesticides cause more than 200,000 deaths a year in the developing world, particularly in rural areas, said Cebekhulu and Pattinson.

Within a few days, the poisons compromise the central nervous system, and survivors may need long-term therapy or rehabilitation.

The doctors, from the obstetrics and gynaecology department at UP, outlined the protocols that should be followed when patients arrive with suspected pesticide poisoning.

And they said requests for abortions should be taken seriously. “Unplanned and unwanted pregnancies in young women are a reality,” they said.

“Young women with organophosphate poisoning have usually not attended antenatal care and/or have a history of a previous request for an [abortion].

“Organophosphates are easily accessible and a high index of suspicion should be maintained in young women [with] signs of mental alteration, pinpoint pupils … [and] shortness of breath.”

The doctors also called for greater use of long-acting, reversible contraception to prevent young women turning to pesticides to deal with unwanted pregnancies.

My mission: To get the deaf to raise their voices

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Tracy Duncan is determined to build confidence among the deaf, and to make signing SA’s 12th official language

05 November 2018
By Francine Barchett
First appeared on Times Select
Mrs Deaf SA Tracy Duncan is not shy about her skills and passions, and wants the deaf community to have the same confidence.
STAR JUMP Mrs Deaf SA Tracy Duncan is not shy about her skills and passions, and wants the deaf community to have the same confidence.  Image: Anesh Magan / Anesh Magan Photography

Tracy Duncan’s world might not be loud, but it’s definitely proud.

“Wear your hearing aid. Be proud of your deaf accent. And teach [the hearing] sign language and deaf culture,” the new Mrs Deaf South Africa tells children when she visits schools for the deaf.

Deaf children often ask Duncan if she ever was teased for her disability.

“Kids did make fun of the way I spoke and my hearing aid,” said the 33-year-old, from Goodwood in Cape Town.

Duncan won the overall title at last month’s Pretoria pageant as well as the Mrs Deaf Charity and Mrs Deaf Personality titles. Her drumstick workout won her second placed in the talent portion of the competition. Duncan loves a good workout.

She is also an avid hiker, obstacle course runner and climber. She’s been married for four years to her best friend, Warren. And she’s a digital designer at online retailer HomeChoice.

At three months old, Duncan was diagnosed as deaf. It came as a shock to her parents, as neither they nor her two older siblings were deaf.

Her doctor told her mother to choose how her daughter would learn language: would she learn to sign or speak? Her mother chose speaking.

Duncan began lipreading when she was two and speaking a year later.

“My mom would put me in front of the mirror every day for one hour to learn to lip read,” she recalled. “I wanted to play but mom would try to explain to me that I need to learn language.”

While Duncan grew up speaking, she has always identified with the deaf community. She went to schools for the deaf, so she had many friends who were deaf.

Tracy Duncan with her husband, Warren.
CRAZY IN LOVE Tracy Duncan with her husband, Warren.  Image: Samantha Hanlon / Sunkissedstudio Photography

However, it was only a few months ago that she picked up sign language. Now she hopes to help make it SA’s 12th official language. And as Mrs Deaf South Africa, Duncan might just be able to pull it off.

“I want to speak to all 46 of the deaf schools in SA,” she said, explaining plans for her “Deaf Confidence” campaign.

“My platform’s about how you present yourself, whether you speak or sign, not to be afraid to go for what you want, and to ask for what you want. A lot of the deaf have so many great ideas but they don’t believe that they can make them happen. I want to change that.”

A way Duncan hopes to empower deaf children is through physical fitness, which she credits for boosting her confidence and self-esteem.

She visited her former schools – Mary Kihn in Observatory and Dominican Grimley in Hout Bay – a couple of weeks ago to teach pupils a simple kettlebell workout as they prepared for exams. At each school, she picked two pupils to join her at Runstacle, an obstacle course near the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch.

Duncan is also determined to bring her platform to deaf married women like herself, who are usually busy with work and family.

“I want them to take care of themselves, because if you take care of yourself you can take care of others,” she said.

She hopes the simple healthy cooking e-book she is preparing will come in handy.

Mrs Deaf SA Tracy Duncan, an avid hiker, says keeping fit is vital for self-confidence.
CLIMBING HIGH Mrs Deaf SA Tracy Duncan, an avid hiker, says keeping fit is vital for self-confidence.  Image: via Facebook

Duncan is not alone as she prepares for a busy title year. She is working with a four-person team and seeking more sponsors, especially for deaf schools.

“Hearing aid batteries are very expensive,” she said.

The batteries cost about R60 and last five days. Cochlear implant batteries last only two days. Duncan knows this because she had a hearing aid before getting a cochlear implant three years ago. Without her batteries, she can’t hear anything.

“We want the deaf pageant to be on the same level as Miss South Africa and Mrs South Africa because at the moment no one knows about [us],” Duncan said.

“This is our moment to educate people about the deaf – that we can do anything but hear.”

Photo of the Day: October 10, 2018

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Found near the zebras and giraffes grazing at Amatikulu Nature Reserve stood this lonesome crinum flower. Crinum are found throughout the African continent as well as America, south Asia, and Australia. However, Africa boasts the most species. Photo: Francine Barchett

Managing Waste in New York and Globally

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“Do you really need one more seashell?” During Nell Pearson’s senior year of high school, her classmate posed this question to her.  They were visiting Assateague, a island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia known for its wild ponies and beaches, but her classmate worried about the retreat’s environmental impact. She used a seashell to symbolize tourists who took shells and other articles that didn’t belong to them, which hampered with the park’s natural decomposition processes.

This past summer Pearson designed and constructed a prototype three-bin system for composting at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. The system is currently being utilized to help the museum become a zero-waste facility. Photo: Plimoth Plantation Staff

The illustration stuck with Pearson, not that she was a novice to conservation or waste management. Since a junior in high school, the New York City native has worked with several organizations that promote recycling, composting, and environmental protection. It all began with her internship at the Brooklyn Historical Society, where she learned about Brooklyn’s sewers. The project led to her joining The Billion Oysters Project the following summer. As a partner organization to Earth Matters, The Billion Oysters Project replants oysters into New York’s rivers. “Actually New York was a huge spot for oysters originally,” Pearson explains. “Oysters can naturally filter the waste generated by New York City.”

Besides her oyster-centered work, Pearson spent the same summer composting, practicing urban agriculture, and teaching New Yorkers to improve their personal waste management strategies. Peterson reflects, “It was really cool seeing and understanding waste on a larger scale. In New York you’re not really thinking about it and just put your trash on the sidewalk for someone else to pick up. ” She laughs. “I’m now the waste enforcer of my house!”

At Plimoth Plantation, Pearson collected a variety of waste to be composted, including these food scraps from the museum’s kitchen. Photo: Plimoth Plantation Staff

This past summer Pearson applied the skills she learned to an original project. At Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Pearson initiated a composting prototype for its horticultural department. After contacting the museum’s gardens, kitchen, and offices, she collected scraps for composting. “Looking towards the future, I think the museum can become a leader among neighboring institutions to live more sustainably,” Pearson states.

As Pearson completes her semester in Durban, South Africa, she looks forward to pursuing waste management research in a new context. After observing plenty of waste along the roadside and few collection bins, she knows the area has potential. “I think it’s really important to not only be aware of the problems in my community but also what’s going on at a global scale.”

Cato Manor from the Outside-In

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Some of its houses are meager in size, tin-roofed dwellings that seem claustrophobic to the outside eye. Other homes look more sophisticated  – orange, yellow, and tan mud structures, accentuated by tall gates with barbed wire and sharp glass on top. Here you might at one moment catch the infectious scent of meat grilling, but soon after sniff a strange mixture of smoke and decomposing refuse. This is Cato Manor.

Cato Manor is located 7 kilometers from Durban’s city centre. Although Indian gardeners originally settled there, it has since been dominated the black working class. Photo: Aaliyah Wells-Samci

The homes of this Durban suburb may not be imposing, but its people present a striking contrast. In the early hours of morning, black African women bustle on the sidewalks on their way to work, their dresses well-ironed, their hair impeccably arranged, and thick handbags giving off a final stylish touch. “Sawubona!” they greet each other as they go their separate ways. Now and then uniform-clad children run to the sidewalk, their small backpacks hanging around their shoulders, as some carry a couple of rands for the mini-bus taxi. Men rise early too, some beginning their daily Taxify and Uber rounds, while others descend the streets to the city on foot, their meager clothing in sharp contrast to their female counterparts.   

Outsiders are wary of Cato Manor, with its reputation as a dangerous place, but with the sunrise, danger is not yet on the horizon. Come evening the suburb becomes a different place. The distant city lights, combined with glow from street and home lamps, prevent total darkness from engulfing the area, illuminating men and women who walk alone or isolated groups of young men venturing into the unknown. At the nightlife heart of Cato Manor, Mojo’s Car Wash hosts a DJ and serves cheap shisanyama, pap, and drinks through the wee hours of night. Young people sit, chat, and occasionally get up to dance to old-school western beats.

Although Cato Manor’s informal settlements have scared many upperclass South Africans from the area, the settlements’ residents go to the city everyday for work. Photo: Kate Irwin

Come Sunday morning, Cato Manor transforms again. Neighbours are to be found greeting each other, this time as they make their way to church. The work outfits of the week are replaced by lavish, colorful dresses and heels, ironed suits and polished dress shoes. Those from the poorest of homes mingle freely with those from the most sophisticated homes as they all praise the same God together. This is Cato Manor.

 

Photo of the Day: October 2, 2018

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After winning the chilli eating contest at the Atrium Mall in Durban, Francine Barchett (at centre) was excited to receive her own chilli hamper! To secure her win, the undergraduate had to down three jalapeño peppers and an array of chicken, prawns, and corn fritters doused in hot sauce quicker than her three other competitors. Photo: Roshan Singh
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