From Chronic Kidney Disease To The Gift Of A New Life

Authors: Julika Wocial (JW) and Michael Moore (MM) MM The need for a donor After being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease I was able to lead a full and productive life for 25 years, although more recently my energy sagged. Looming options were dialysis, the 5-7 year wait for a deceased donor or a living donor. Dr Google said ihatedialysis.com. A living donor was the best option. But how? It must be different for each patient - a direct ask seemed weird, but silence was not an option. Happily I had made no secret of my lousy kidneys thus, 'How you doing?' lead on to the need. JW What it means to consider living donation I met Michael 18 years ago: my mentor and colleague. One day he told me his kidneys were failing; he needed a kidney transplant. After initial shock of the news and trying to figure out what it meant for him I started spending every free minute researching kidney diseases. A kidney transplant from a living donor was the best option - allowing Michael to live many more years. I asked myself - is there anything stopping me from being his donor? The surgery risks were minimal and I was willing to take them, the short and long-term consequences - four weeks out of work, four small scars, and lifting limitations for 3 months... All the literature out there, article after article, was proving that living donors live long and perfectly normal lives even 30 years after donation. The answer was simply NO... And shortly after, I told Michael I would like to be cons...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news