Does Living Donation Affect Life Expectancy
Living donation does not change life expectancy, and does not appear to increase the risk of kidney failure. In general, most people with a single normal kidney have few or no problems however, you should always talk to your transplant team about the risks involved in donation. Some studies report that living donors may have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure. It is recommended that potential donors consult with their doctor about the risks of living donation.
Project To Increase Living Kidney Donation Among Ethnic Minority Communities Inspires 16 Potential Donors In Its First Year
A father who donated a kidney to his two-year-old son is one of the first people to become a living donor through a project to increase living kidney donation among black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.
A father who donated a kidney to his two-year-old son is one of the first people to become a living donor through a project to increase living kidney donation among black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.
Lawrence Donaldson was supported through the process thanks to the Living Transplant Initiative, a pilot managed by the National BAME Transplant Alliance and funded by NHS Blood and Transplant.
The project funds community and faith-based organisations to promote living kidney donation. In its first year it has supported Lawrence and two others to become living donors and 13 others to begin the assessment process. A further 150 people have expressed an interest in living donation.
The outcomes are significant given there were only 143 living kidney donors from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK in 2016/17.
Lawrences son Mason was born with posterior urethral valves , a condition which affects the urethra. It damaged his kidneys so badly that he was forced to rely on dialysis from the age of just six months.
Lawrence, 26, was supported through the living donation process by the Afro-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust , one of four organisations piloting the Living Transplant Initiative. Mason is now three and doing well after his transplant.
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What Happens Before A Kidney Transplant
If your doctor thinks you can have a kidney transplant, your first step is to visit a transplant center. A health care team there will check to make sure you’re healthy enough to have surgery and take the medicines you’ll need to use after the transplant. This will include blood tests, X-rays, and other tests, and can take a few weeks or months.
If the transplant team decides you’re a good candidate, the next step is to find a kidney. In most living related transplant cases, a kidney comes from a close relative or friend who has a compatible blood type.
If a living donor can’t be found, your name will go on a waiting list until a kidney from a deceased donor is matched to you. The need for new kidneys is far greater than the number donated, so this can take a long time.
If your name is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, you’ll need to stay in close touch with your doctors and the rest of your health care team. Make sure they know how to reach you at all times.
While you wait for a transplant, do your best to stay as healthy as possible. That way, you’ll be ready for transplant surgery when the time comes. Be sure to:
- eat healthy foods and follow any special diet recommendations from the doctor, nurse, or dietitian
- take all medicines as directed
- keep all medical appointments
Tell your doctor and the transplant center right away if there is any change in your health.
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What Happens During A Kidney Transplant
You will probably give doctors a blood sample so they can do an antibody cross-match test. This finds out if your immune system will accept the new kidney. If the test comes back negative, the kidney is acceptable. You’ll also have other blood tests, a chest X-ray, and an EKG.
In the operating room, you’ll get general anesthesia so you’ll sleep through the operation. The surgeon will make a small cut in the lower belly, just above your hips. The new kidney is placed, then surgeon attaches its blood vessels to blood vessels in your lower body. Then the new kidney’s ureter is connected to your bladder.
In most cases, your own kidneys stay in place. They won’t be removed unless they cause problems like high blood pressure, loss of protein, or an infection. Kidney transplant surgery usually takes about 3 to 4 hours. If you need more than one organ , the surgery time will be longer.
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What Tests Are Done Before You Become A Donor
After you decide to be a kidney donor, you will get a blood test called a cross-match. This test shows whether the recipient’s body will immediately reject your donor organ.
Next you will be evaluated by a doctor, usually a nephrologist. The doctor will do a physical exam and ask about your past health. You will have a series of lab tests to screen for kidney function. These include a chemistry screen , urinalysis, and urine tests for protein. You may also have a CT scan of the kidneys to evaluate your kidneys, urinary tract, and other structures in your pelvis.
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Johns Hopkins Study: You’re Not Too Old To Donate A Kidney
Kidney transplants performed using organs from live donors over the age of 70 are safe for the donors and lifesaving for the recipients, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. The study shines new light on a long-ignored potential source of additional organs that could address a profound national shortage.
Although the study found that kidneys from older donors were more likely to fail within ten years of transplant when compared with kidneys from donors ages 50 to 59 , patients who received older donated kidneys were no more likely to die within a decade of transplantation than those whose kidney donors were between 50 and 59.
A lot of people come up to me and say, I wish I could donate a kidney, but Im too old, says Dorry Segev, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. What our study says is that if youre in good health and youre over 70, youre not too old to donate a kidney to your child, your spouse, your friend, anybody.
Segev acknowledges that its better if you have a younger donor. But not everyone has a younger donor. And an older live donor is better than no live donor at all.
Segev attributes their longevity to the probability that people who donated kidneys are very healthy to begin with or else surgeons wouldnt allow them to give up an organ. Also, after donation, they may be more likely than the typical person their age to regularly visit a physician and work hard to stay healthy.
What If I Donate And Need A Kidney Later
This is something potential donors should discuss with the transplant team. Your transplant team will talk to you about any pre-existing condition or other factors that may put you at a higher risk of developing kidney disease, and consider this carefully before making a decision about donation.There have been some cases in which living donors needed a kidney later – not necessarily due to the donation itself. It is considered a potential risk of donation.However, UNOS policy gives priority for a deceased donor kidney for living donors if needed. If you donate at a transplant center that partners with the National Kidney Registry and for any reason, need a kidney after donation, you will be given priority for a living donor kidney.
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Live Donor To Deceased Donor Waiting List Exchange
This program allows living donors to help their friend or loved one receive a kidney, even though they’re incompatible.
Here’s how it works: The donor gives a kidney to another patient who has a compatible blood type and is at or near the top of the waiting list to receive a deceased donor kidney. In exchange, the donor’s relative or friend takes the recipient’s place on the deceased donor waiting list.
For example, if the donor’s kidney went to the patient in the fourth spot on the deceased donor waiting list, the donor’s friend or relative would move to the fourth spot on the list for his or her blood group, and would receive kidney offers once at the top of the list.
How Can I Help My Child
Having a chronic condition can be hard for kids. Dialysis, surgery, and immunosuppressant therapy can add to the stress. Talk to your child about these changes and how you will work them into your routine. Make sure to find time to do fun things together with family and friends.
For teens, immunosuppressant therapy can be a challenge. These medicines can cause:
- getting acne or having acne that gets worse
- problems with increased blood sugars , sometimes requiring insulin
- high blood pressure
- increased risk of infection
These side effects are a major reason why teens are at risk for not taking their medicines after a transplant. This can be dangerous and even lead to rejection of the new kidney. Do not change or stop any medicines without talking to your doctor or nurse. In some cases, medicines can be changed to ease the side effects and still be effective and safe. Talk to about the importance of taking all medicines as directed, and help your child to do so.
To help:
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Who Can I Give My Kidney To
You can donate a kidney to a family member or friend who needs one. You can also give it to someone you don’t know. Doctors call this a ânondirectedâ donation, in which case you might decide to meet the person you donate to, or choose to stay anonymous. Either way, doctors will give your kidney to the person who needs it most and is the best match.
Kidney Donation After Death
You can register your decision to donate your organs after death through the Australian Organ Donor Register. Kidney transplants have a high success rate and by donating after death, you will be giving someone the potential to have a longer and more active life than they would have had on dialysis treatment.A transplant from a deceased donor can be used for medically suitable people who have been stabilised on dialysis.You must be declared dead before your organs and body tissues can be used. The two legal definitions of death in Australia are:
- brain death when a person’s brain permanently stops functioning
- circulatory death when a person’s heart permanently stops functioning in their body.
The type of death and the health of the organs and tissues of the potential donor dictate how the organ and tissue donation process will occur, and which organs and tissues can be donated.
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What Are The Risks Of Being A Living Kidney Donor
Like any surgery, kidney donation carries the risk of surgical complications like blood clots and others, but these risks are low. You will lose a certain percentage of your kidney function after donation. This sounds scary, but after the surgery your remaining kidney will get bigger and you wont notice any difference.
Donating a kidney doesnt increase your future risk of kidney failure. However, if kidney failure occurs for whatever reason, UNOS has a priority system that ensures living organ donors are at the top of the waitlist and get it quickly. This happens very rarely.
Other risks of kidney donation include:
Risks For The Living Kidney Donor
A donated kidney from a living person is likely to remain healthy for longer than one from a deceased donor. However, there is some risk to the donor. The surgery lasts for about three hours and will be followed by a hospital stay of four or five days. The surgery can have complications, but people can usually resume their everyday lives after six to eight weeks.Donating a kidney is not likely to cause any long-term health problems, unless the remaining kidney becomes injured or diseased.
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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.
Am I Healthy Enough To Donate A Kidney
Your doctor will do some tests to find out for sure. Theyâll check your blood and urine, and may also do an ultrasound or take X-rays of your kidneys. You may not be able to donate if you have medical issues like diabetes or high blood pressure.
If your doctor gives you the green light, theyâll schedule you for surgery. You can expect to take 4 to 6 weeks to recover. Be sure to line up someone to help you during that time.
You don’t usually have to change your routine or even your diet to get ready for surgery.
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Will I Be Able To Obtain Insurance Coverage After Donation
Your health insurance should not be affected by donation. The Affordable Care Act has made it illegal for health insurance companies to refuse to cover you or charge you more because you have a pre-existing condition.Some states in the U.S have passed the Living Donor Protection Act, which protects donors from being denied life, disability or long-term care insurance after donating. If youre in a state that hasnt yet passed this law, your transplant center is able to, if necessary, to provide a letter to your insurance.
Special Programs For Living Donor Kidney Transplantation
Many patients have family members or friends who wish to donate a kidney but are not able to because their blood type or tissue type doesn’t match the recipient. In such cases, the donor and recipient are said to be “incompatible.” UCSF offers several programs to help these patients receive a kidney.
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Who Can Have A Kidney Transplant
Most people who need a kidney transplant are able to have one, regardless of their age, as long as:
- they’re well enough to withstand the effects of surgery
- the transplant has a relatively good chance of success
- the person is able to comply with the recommended treatments required after the transplant such as taking immunosuppressant medicine and attending regular follow-up appointments
Reasons why it may not be safe or effective to perform a transplant include having an ongoing infection , severe heart disease, cancer that has spread to several places in your body, or AIDS.
You may also need to have an assessment with a psychologist or psychiatrist to make sure that a transplant is right for you.
What Can I Expect Emotionally After Donating A Kidney
After donation, living donors often report a wide range of mixed emotions, from joy and relief to anxiety to depression. The process of getting through the evaluation and surgery can be so time-consuming that donors do not always have time to process everything they are feeling. It is normal for these emotions to come to the forefront after the donation and transplant take place.
Living donors generally rate their experience as positive. Different studies indicate that between 80-97% of donors say that in retrospect, they would have still have made the decision to donate.
However, concerns about the recipient’s outcome can contribute to feelings of anxiety, and may donors report a feeling of “let down” afterwards. Feelings of depression among living donors are not uncommon, even when both donor and recipient are doing well.
While extensive data on these issues is lacking, some studies have reported the following psychological outcomes:
- Less than 1% regretted the decision
- 3 to 10% reported depression
- 10% reported “family conflicts”
- 16% concerned about negative financial consequences of donation
- 3 to 15% concerned about a negative impact on their health
Living donors who are struggling with these issues are encouraged to:
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Most Us Adults Cannot Donate A Kidney Due To Preventable Health Problems Potential Loss Of Income
- Date:
- American Society of Nephrology
- Summary:
- The majority of individuals in the United States are not eligible to donate a kidney, even if they wanted to, a study shows.
The majority of individuals in the United States are not eligible to donate a kidney, even if they wanted to, according to a study that will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2014 November 11-16 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.
There is a shortage of living kidney donors in the United States, but no one has previously examined the general population to see who would be eligible to be donors. To assess the potential US donor pool, researchers led by Anthony Bleyer, MD looked at a representative sample of the population and determined the proportion of people who could not be donors because of underlying health conditions. They also determined the number of individuals who fell below the poverty line and therefore might not be able to donate because of financial difficulties related to being away from work during recovery.
The investigators found that 55% of the population would not meet criteria to donate, mostly because of preventable health conditions . Sixty percent of individuals with an adjusted income of $35,000 per year could not donate due to medical conditions vs. 49% of individuals making > $100,000 per year. If one includes non-US citizenship as criteria for not being able to donate, 68.5% of the US population would not be able to donate.
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