In general, kidney donation has minimal long-term risks, especially when compared to the health risks of the general population. However, kidney donation may slightly increase the risk of developing kidney failure, especially if you are a middle-aged black man. Unfortunately, people often have to wait several years on the transplant list to receive a kidney. Each year, 4,500 people die on the kidney transplant waiting list, according to data from the Living Kidney Donor Network.
A severe infection while a patient is on dialysis can result in an illness from which they will not recover. Surgery to donate a kidney has the same risks and side effects that are common with any major surgery. Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Many people feel some numbness around the incision.
Most complications don't happen very often, and most are treatable. Kidney donation is a low-risk procedure, but this doesn't mean it's risk-free. Although complications occur less than 5 percent of the time, as with any surgical procedure, there is a small chance of infection, complications from anesthesia, bleeding, blood clots, hernias, or postoperative pneumonia. These complications are usually short-term and can be managed by our transplant experts.
Our team teaches you how to detect symptoms of complications during your recovery. I hadn't met anyone in my life with kidney problems, or who needed an organ transplant, but I knew that only one kidney is needed to live. The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive and oldest organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease. To date, she's been eight months post-op and has returned to her normal routine while serving as a wonderful advocate for live kidney donation.
In addition to these annual checks, the same policies and procedures apply to you that would apply to any other NHS patient; you will not receive any preferential treatment as a result of donating a kidney. All transplant centers in the UK perform kidney transplants from living donors, and one in three kidney transplants is from a living donor; around 1000 such operations are performed in the UK each year. However, transplants from living donors are more successful compared to kidneys from deceased donors because these kidneys come from living donors. Reese said that living kidney donors can do much to minimize their short- and long-term health risks after donation.
If you're healthy, donating a kidney won't increase your chances of getting sick or having major health problems. Reviewing previous studies that included more than 100,000 living kidney donors, scientists found that donors appear to be at greater risk of worsening blood pressure and kidney function than non-donors. This may be because only healthy people are approved to be donors, or perhaps donors take extra health precautions after donating a kidney. Living kidney donation cannot happen without a team of diverse specialists who are as passionate about the program as they are about patient care.
Let's review some of the frequently asked questions, as well as the risk factors and benefits of living kidney donation. If there is a high risk that a potential donor will develop kidney problems later in life, giving up a kidney today is not a healthy option.
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