GETTING TESTED
There are no cures for kidney disease, only treatment options.
Patients with end-stage kidney disease have three options for treatment: dialysis, a kidney transplant from a deceased donor, or a kidney transplant from a living donor.
Dialysis treatment schedules are time-consuming and taxing on the body. In fact, ten percent of patients on dialysis die each year while awaiting a kidney transplant. For some groups, such as elderly patients and patients with diabetes, there is an even greater risk.
Recipients are evaluated for transplant candidacy and if approved, they are placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list for a deceased donor transplant, unfortunately wait times are increasing nationally and there is no way to know when an organ is going to be available. There are more than 100,000 people on the national transplant waiting list with the vast majority over 92,000, waiting for a kidney.
The best option for a patient waiting for a kidney is to receive one from a living donor
Wait times for patients with living kidney donors are reduced from years to months, potentially avoiding dialysis. Most importantly, the length of time the average kidney from a living donor lasts is 20-40 years, while that number drops to 10-15 years from a deceased donor.*
"To spare an individual patient a long and uncertain wait, relatives, loved ones, friends, and even individuals who wish to remain anonymous may serve as living donors.
Transplant recipients have better outcomes with kidneys from living donors.
The decision to become a living donor should be voluntary and free from any pressure. The donor may change his or her mind at any time during the process. The donor's decision and reasons are kept confidential.
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https://www.thechristhospital.com/services/surgery/areas-of-expertise/transplant/kidney-transplant
*National Kidney Registry
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If you would like to know more about Living Kidney Donations contact Jackie Haney at The Christ Hospital.