Kidney Donation - It's like an after-school special

I received a video in the mail today from my kidney transplant coordinator. It’s called “Living Kidney Donation: What You Need to Know” and it’s absolutely hysterical. I’m sure the American Society of Transplant Surgeons were not intending to make a funny 31 minute/35 second long program, but I couldn’t stop laughing at the “After School Special” feeling the video gave me. You know what I’m talking about – running home from school, getting in a quick hit of DoOL (Days of Our Lives) at 3:00 before the incredibly melodramatic 4:00 showing of Rob Lowe or Kirk Cameron in an encounter with a drunk/bully/pregnant teen – take your pick - they were life lessons folks for the teen scene.

Anyhow, this kidney video had that same quality of poor acting but good moral lesson at the end. I found it amusing how the video spent a majority of the time telling me how I need to weigh all the possible complications, painful recovery and knowledge that my kidney might not “take” in the donor – but at the end there was a sappy, feel good message about how kidney donation is a truly beautiful and beneficial deed for mankind.

Even though the video itself was kind in need of a Clinton and Stacey makeover (What Not to Wear) – there were some really great statistics and facts included that I thought I’d drop here for everyone to see, because some of this was news to me as well.

On average, 115 people are added to the nation's organ transplant waiting list each day--one every 13 minutes. In addition, approximately 17 patients die every day while waiting for an organ--one person every 85 minutes.

There are currently over 96,000 men, women, young adults and children on the list for transplants. The largest group waiting is from 18 - 49 years of age. Last year more than 8,000 people died due to the lack of organs.

Waiting List Candidates: 92,925 as of 9/17/06 2:50 pm
Transplants Done: From January - June 2006 14,697
Donors: From January - June 2006 7,461

The procedure of removing a single kidney is called a nephrectomy. Your kidneys are located under the ribcage near the middle of your back. Each kidney is about the size of your fist and weighs around 150 grams (5.29 ounces for the mathematically challenged like me).

The kidneys are a pair of reddish-brown organs located on either side of the spine just below the diaphragm, behind the liver and stomach. They are bean-shaped and about 4 and 1/2 inches long, 2 and 1/2 inches wide and one inch thick. The primary function of the kidneys is to remove waste from the body through the production of urine. They also help to regulate blood pressure, blood volume and the chemical (electrolyte) composition of the blood. If you only have one kidney, it works harder and provides up to 75% of normal kidney function rather than the expected 50%.

After the surgery – I won’t be able to participate in kickboxing, football or karate (what a shame!) My single kidney is more at risk for injury because it will be larger and heavier than a normal kidney.

Risks that I need to be aware of during the surgery include everything from punctured & infected lungs, nerve damage, blood clots and potential bowel perforations. Yipee, sounds like a fun challenge!

Living donor transplants result in higher success rates:

• 98% of living donor transplants are functioning after one year compared to 94% from deceased donor transplants.

  90% of living donor transplants are functioning after five years compared to 80% functioning from a deceased donor transplant.

Even with all this data and information the after-school special message still resides in my heart. I don’t care to focus on the risks or possible complications. Instead, I care about the health of my best friend and I care about setting a good example for my daughter. I care for my second set of parents, Bob and Diane, to see their only daughter live a more complete life, and I care about my needs – to have a friend for the duration of my life. Anna has been there for me every time I needed her. She was there when I had to bear the humiliation of wearing glasses in the 4th grade (and that was a horror for me), she was there when I cried over getting a darn “C” in college Spanish; she was there when my husband proposed marriage and she was there when my daughter was born. I admit it. I’m selfish – I need her in my life and if I have to remove my kidney to keep her healthy, well that is a tiny sacrifice I am willing to make.