LIVING KIDNEY DONATION

When Kidneys Stop Working

When the kidneys stop working, the patient requires treatment to remove the waste products from the blood. One option is a kidney transplant. The donor kidney can come from a healthy living person (living donor) or from someone who has recently died (deceased donor). Dialysis is another option. Dialysis uses a machine to remove waste products from the blood. For those who are eligible, transplant from a living donor provides the best outcome. 

(source: Canadian Blood Services - blood.ca)

Why Living Donation?

A preemptive living kidney transplant (a transplant from a living donor BEFORE dialysis is needed) is considered the gold standard for several reasons.

1

HIGHER
SUCCESS RATE

A kidney transplant from a living donor generally has a higher success rate because the kidney may be a better genetic match and, therefore, not as likely to be rejected.

2

TIMELY

The time between the donor and recipient surgeries is usually minimal, which can improve long-term transplant survival.

3

AVOID
DIALYSIS

The quality of life is lower on dialysis than with a living kidney transplant. Additionally dialysis is hard on the mind and body. The less time spent on dialysis, the better people do in the long run.

4

SHORTER
WAIT TIME

With over 1000 Canadians on the wait list for a kidney from a deceased donor the average wait time to receive a deceased donor transplant is between 2-6 years. With a matched living donor, the wait time can be shortened to under a year.

5

LEAVE ROOM FOR OTHERS

A transplant from a living donor keeps me off the already too long list of those waiting for a deceased organ donation.

6

BETTER
OUTCOME

Patients who receive living kidney donation enjoy better health for longer. Kidneys from deceased donors last on average 10 to 12 years, but kidneys from living donors often last 15 to 18 years or even longer.

This short 3 minute video from UHN does a good job of explaining the advantages of a living kidney donor transplant.

How Does Living Kidney Donation Work?

A person who donates a kidney to someone in need is called a “living donor,” and a person who needs a kidney is called a “transplant candidate.”

Any adult who is in good health can be assessed to become a living donor. Every potential donor must have a complete medical checkup to make sure they are healthy enough to donate a kidney to a person in need.

The kidney donation process involves an operation to remove one kidney from the donor and another surgery to place the kidney into the transplant candidate. After the donation, a donor’s remaining kidney starts to work harder, to make up for the removed kidney. The donor should have a checkup with a doctor every year to make sure their remaining kidney is still working correctly.

(source: Canadian Blood Services - blood.ca)

MORE INFORMATION FROM MY TRANSPLANT CENTRE:

The Living Kidney Donation Program at London Health Science Centre where I am a patient has created an information handbook.
If you’re curious about or considering living kidney donation, this is a good place to start.

Deep Dive: More About Living Donor Kidney Transplantation

If you’d like to get more information about living donor kidney transplantation I invite you to watch the information video below from the PKD Foundation of Canada. With a run time of just under one hour, this video provides a comprehensive picture of the process and why it is my best option for healthy future.

DETAILS:

During this lecture, attendees had the opportunity to learn about pre-transplant and post-transplant procedures, as they relate to living kidney transplantation. We also learned tips on how to find a living donor in Canada. Hear from Dr. Paula Neves, Lead at the Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN, on how the living kidney donation program and paired exchange program operate within their institute. Attendees had the opportunity to have their questions answered during a live Q&A. Speaker: Paula Neves, PhD, Lead, Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN

How Can You Help?

Just the fact that you are here, becoming informed and offering hope through understanding, is greatly appreciated. If you’d like to do more, here’s a few ways you can help:

Together we can make it happen!