Donating A Kidney To A Family Member Can Dredge Up Some Knotty Emotional Issues
Families are complicated, and they get even more so when you go through the kidney donation process.
The transplant center understands this, which is why early in the process, they tell you that if you decide against giving, the recipient would never know that was your decision. Instead, they would just be informed that you did not qualify as a match.
The role of the spouse is also incredibly hard. Meghan has a good relationship with my parents, but our family and our kids are her priority. My mom, sister, and brother were all of the same mindset: Dad is sick. How do we help him? Meghan was thinking something else: What is best for our young family, and are we putting all that at risk? I was in the middle weighing both.
And it was harder for her than for me. She had a veto: If she was strongly opposed, the panel would not have approved the surgery and my parents would never know. But what would that have done to our marriage, especially as my father got sicker? The spouse has a choice but they dont really. Meghan had her reservations, but to her credit, she never once in the entire process said no.
I had to accept that I was doing this because it was the right thing to do, and that it would not magically turn my parents into people they were not. I made this observation to the social worker, who said this was quite common. We like to say we specialize in kidney transplants, not personality transplants, she said.
Who Will Care For Your Child Whilst You Are In Hospital
You will need to plan for the care of your child whilst you are in hospital well in advance and your transplant team can help you to do this. In some families the non-donating parent stays with the child but a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or close family friend may be nominated instead. Whoever it is, it needs to be someone both you and your child feel comfortable with and who understands what is involved in being with your child in hospital.
You can speak to your childs doctor or nurse about this and they will be able to give you more information to help you decide. It is important to make childcare arrangements for any other children you may have and for some help at home immediately after you leave hospital.;
What Are The Different Types Of Kidney Transplants
There are two kinds of kidney transplants depending on who donates the new kidney.
A living-donor transplant is when someone gets a kidney from a person who is still alive and well. It’s usually from a relative or close friend, but sometimes strangers donate.
A is when people donate their kidneys for transplant after they die. This requires people who need kidneys to put their names on a waiting list until a donor is found.
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Would You Donate A Kidney To An Eighty Year Old Parent
<p>I don’t even know if kidneys can be donated to 80 year olds…if they can, would you?</p>
<p>My parents wouldn’t have let me. If my parent was asking, I don’t know what I’d do.</p>
<p>I don’t think so. I’d have a hard time donating my body parts in general, and I don’t think a parent who is well into their golden years would make a lot of sense. I think that dialysis would make a lot more sense for that person, and would likely keep them alive for as long as a kidney transplant would.</p>
<p>As cnp said, no child would want to be put in that kind of spot.</p>
<p>I don’t think so. Now if I were 80 donating to my child, yes. I can’t imagine anyone would do an organ transplant on an 80 yo.</p>
<p>Any question involving the health of a loved one is a hard one. One thought is to consider placing yourself on the other side. If you are an 80 year old parent, would you want your 50-60 year old child to donate to you. Right now, my instinct is to say no. Of course the question then becomes, what about 70, or 60, or 50 … </p>
<p>I can see myself doing anything for the kids without much thought, donating to W, S, or cousins who I am truly close to, but am not sure for anyone beyond. Of course something like bone marrow needs less thought – would be happy to do it even for a stranger.</p>
<p>Also, my own mother turned 80 this year, she texts, facebooks, does her own taxes and gets up any hill on foot faster than I can. So, I guess it depends on the person.</p>
I Understand That Lpchs Kidney Transplant Program Prefers Living Donor Transplants Why
This; transplants more kidneys from living donors than the average for other centers in the United States. The data show that deceased-donor recipients suffer twice as many episodes of acute organ rejection as do living-donor recipients in the first three years following transplantation. This finding leads to the expectation that deceased-donor recipients will be more at risk of transplant rejection over the long term than will living-donor recipients. As a result, the Kidney Transplantation Program prefers living-donor transplants.
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Donating A Kidney To A Child
If youre an adult, you can donate a kidney to your child, even if he or she is very young. This donation will give your child the best odds of living a normal life for years to come.
Most of the time, the donor is one of the parents, but aunts, uncles and other family members can also donate one of their kidneys, and the patients brothers and sisters can donate as long as theyre adults. A child can also receive a kidney from a family friend or through a donation chain. In the latter case, the person who donates a kidney to the child has to be in the same age range as the childs parents.
If the young patient suffers from a genetic disease, the donor must not have the same disease, a possibility that needs to be ruled out by a number of tests.
Before the transplant takes place, the child needs to have reached a certain height and weight, typically 1011 kg, as the childs abdomen needs to be large enough to accommodate an adult kidney. This assessment will be made by the young patients medical team. Using intensive nutritional therapies and growth hormone, the target weight can be reached quickly. In the meantime, the pre-transplant medical assessment can be carried out before the patient reaches the target weight.
The Risks And Benefits
Studies have concluded that the risk of experiencing serious problems from donating a kidney is very low. There is sometimes a slight rise in blood pressure or increased loss of protein in the urine for the donor, but this does not usually impact on the donors health in the long-term.
The renal unit, at Beaumont Hospital, plans to follow-up all living donors, on an annual basis, for life so that any health issues can be detected at an early stage. These issues will be discussed in more detail throughout this guide.
It is worth remembering, however, that the operation to remove a healthy persons kidney carries the same risk as any major surgical procedure. Although all possible precautions are taken, there are always risks when undergoing surgery.
There are also practical issues that need to be considered, such as the time taken off from work for the investigations and after the operation. It is also important to consider domestic responsibilities and practical arrangements, such as looking after children. In addition, a number of investigations are performed that may uncover a previously unknown medical condition.
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Can A Daughter Give Kidney To Father
A young daughter donating kidney to her father is rare, accounting less than 2% of the total donations, says Lals transplant surgeon Dr Himanshu Shah who performed the transplant with Dr Sharad Dodiya and other team members. Worrying that donating organ may mar a girls marital prospects deters most families.
How To Donate Your Kidney
This article was medically reviewed by . Dr. Ziats is an Internal Medicine Physician, Researcher, and Entrepreneur in biotechnology. He received his PhD in Genetics from the University of Cambridge in 2014, and completed his MD shortly thereafter, at Baylor College of Medicine in 2015.There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 36,808 times.
Whether you want to donate a kidney to someone you love or you just want to be a good samaritan, theres a lot you need to know. Donating a kidney can save someone elses life, but it is not without its risks. First, you need to do thorough research to make sure you really want to donate your kidney. Then you must endure a series of medical tests to find out if you are an eligible donor. If you pass all the tests, youre ready to start talking to your doctor about surgery.
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The Alternatives To Kidney Donation Can Be Grim Not Just For Your Loved One But For Everyone Around Them
Heres what would have happened to my father if I did not go through with the surgery. He would go on a waitlist for a cadaver kidney. Given my fathers age, the chances that he would get one were low. Moreover, cadaver kidneys do not have the same longevity and do not function as well as live kidney donations.
And the years of waiting for one would be tremendously stressful. He would be on dialysis, spending 12 hours a week on a machine that cleans his blood, and much of the rest of his time feeling tired. Dialysis is not a permanent solution. Its a stopgap, and life expectancy on it is five to 10 years.
This reality was drilled into me when a colleague told me about how her father had had kidney disease when she was young. Her mother and some of his siblings offered to donate, but he refused. He did not want to burden his loved ones. Instead, he spent years on dialysis. He had to go on disability, and his family watched him deteriorate. He finally received a cadaver kidney but had numerous medical complications and died young. His decision had put a greater toll on her family than just having a loved one give him a kidney.
Not donating a kidney to a loved one in need can come with its own costs to you and your family. And refusing to accept a kidney from a loved one who can help is not necessarily a brave act of self-sacrifice. It may do more harm than good.
Psychosocial Socioeconomic And Emotional Risks
Considering living donation can be scary and challenging for the potential donor.
On one hand, the potential donor may be worried about their potential recipient or may feel guilty about the health problems that person is experiencing. On the other hand, the potential donor will likely feel stress and concern related to the possibility of donating their organ, which requires them to undergo surgery themselves.;
The good news is that most potential donors have similar questions and concerns. Dedicated donor teams ;including transplant coordinators, physicians, social workers, and psychiatrists are well-versed in helping potential donors answer these questions for themselves and cope with any issues that arise.
Some concerns expressed by many potential donors include:
- Who will take care of me/my children after I donate?
- Am I responsible for uncovered expenses such as travel expenses, childcare, elder care, etc.?
- What do I do if I feel coerced into donating?
- Will my employer allow me to take the needed time off and/or will my job be stable while I am gone?
- How will I feel if my recipient does not do as well as expected after the transplant or if they do not comply with their post-transplant regimen?
- How will I feel if my recipient is not “grateful enough” for what I went through to donate my kidney?
- How will I feel if the transplanted organ fails?;
Living kidney donors may be at risk for experiencing the following:
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Types Of Kidney Transplants For Children
There are two ways your child can get a donated kidney:
Your child can get a kidney from a healthy person who just died. To get a deceased donor transplant, the child must be added to the national waiting list. The wait for a kidney could take many months or years. Learn more about deceased donor transplants here.Living donor: A healthy, living person can donate one of their kidneys to your child. After donating their kidney, the donor can continue to live a normal, healthy life with the one kidney. Almost one half of kidney transplants for children are from living donors.
Donors for children are often their parents, siblings, or other family members. Parents of a child with kidney disease are usually the best donors because they often have the same blood type and are a tissue match. Learn more about living donor transplants here.
Transplant Surgery For Children
- A child older than 2 years of age can get an adult kidney, as long as the kidney fits in their body.
- The new kidney is usually placed in the childs lower right side of the stomach area.
- In smaller children, the new kidney is placed in the middle of the childs stomach area.
- The childs own kidneys are usually not removed.
- The surgeon will use the donors ureter and attach it to the childs bladder.
- This surgery can take about four hours.
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How Old Is Too Old
At many institutions, donors over the age of 60, 65, or even 70 are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Between 1990 and 2010, 219 people over the age of 70 donated kidneys, and researchers say the number of donors in this age group is on the rise.
Surgeons will make their decisions for this older group based on a potential donor’s health and how well their kidneys work. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or are overweight, you probably won’t qualify to be a donor. Even if you don’t have health complications, the surgeon who would operate on you would make the final decision on whether to allow you to donate a kidney.
Who Can Donate A Kidney
A wide range of people can consider becoming a living donor for a loved one. These includes a close relative, spouse, partner, or close friend who has demonstrated a longstanding emotional relationship with the recipient.
Donors are usually brothers, sisters, partners or parents of the recipient, and, less often, they are relatives such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, sons or daughters.
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But Yes Kidney Donation Is A Deeply Rewarding Experience
Of course, the experience was deeply rewarding. When I see my father playing with my kids, it makes me so happy to know that he can do that because of what I chose to do. And when I talk to my parents about the next trip they are planning in retirement, it is wonderful to know that I played a role in making it happen. Best of all, when my kids get older and truly understand what I chose to do, they will view it as a normal and expected thing that you do for others.
I am proud of the decision I made. I feel great about it. The feeling of fulfillment that I have about the experience was not at all the reason I did it. But it is a lovely side benefit.
Ilan Goldenberg is the director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. In July 2018, he became a live kidney donor. If you are considering kidney donation, find out more from the Saint Barnabas Medical Center Living Donor Institute, the American Kidney Fund, or the National Kidney Foundation.
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What Are The Advantages Of Living Donation Over Deceased Donation
Kidney transplants performed from living donors may have several advantages compared to transplants performed from deceased donors:
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If I Am Selected As A Kidney Donor How Long Will The Recovery Period Be
LPCH has been a leader in the use of what is known as minimal-incision nephrectomy . The incision is only 3 inches long, about one-third the length of the standard open-incision nephrectomy. This approach also eliminates the additional smaller incisions used in nephrectomy via laparoscope. Not only does the donor recover faster with the minimal-incision nephrectomy. Donor kidneys transplanted with this technique function more quickly in the recipient than do kidneys removed with the laparoscopic approach.