UCSF First in the Nation to Join with Walgreens in Blood Pressure Testing Program for Living Kidney Donors, Potential Donors

UCSF News report on a joint collaboration between UCSF and Walgreen that provides blood pressure testing at no charge to living kidney donors.

While recipients of living donor kidney transplants receive steady follow-up care, the living donors themselves also need to be monitored. To make follow-up care more accessible, UC San Francisco and Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) are collaborating to launch the first program in the country that provides blood pressure testing at no charge to living kidney donors.

UCSF will provide vouchers for blood pressure tests redeemable at more than 4,500 Walgreens pharmacies and Healthcare Clinic at select Walgreens locations nationwide. Vouchers also are available to potential kidney donors, as blood pressure testing is a part of the initial screening process.

Tests are available daily during pharmacy and clinic hours with no appointment necessary and administered by health care professionals at Walgreens pharmacies and Healthcare Clinic at select Walgreens.

“The use of living donors has revolutionized kidney transplants, and this new program provides the opportunity to monitor their long-term health in a convenient, efficient way,” said John P. Roberts, MD, professor of surgery and chief of UCSF Transplant Service and former president of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). “UCSF performs the most kidney transplant procedures in the United States, and we are pleased to be first to join with Walgreens in this effort that we hope encourages people to donate as there is a critical need.