Under the Skin: Kidney and Living Organ Donation

Under the Skin

By Michael Hollinger

On Stage January 15 - March 15, 2015

Kidney and Living Organ Donation

HOW

Blood flows into the kidneys through the renal arteries, carrying waste from throughout the body.

DO KIDNEYS

The kidneys have more than a million complex filters, called nephrons, that remove fluid and wastes from the blood.

Kidney Donation

Q : What causes kidney failure?

A : Kidney failure is caused by high blood pressure, diabetes, or other inherited diseases that damage the nephrons and other fragile structures in the kidney.

Nearly 3,000 patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month (36,000 a year), and 4,453 patients died waiting for kidney transplants in 2013. The high ratio of organ recipients to donors is a large problem for those suffering from kidney disease and require a transplant.

The filtered blood returns to the circulatory system through the renal veins.

WORK? The waste leaves the kidney through the ureters to the bladder and eventually leaves the body as urine.

in the

U.S.

There are about 123,000 Americans currently waiting for organ transplants. 82% of these patients require kidney transplants.

Last year, only about 17,000 kidney transplants took place. 34% of these came from living organ donors, leaving nearly 101,000 patients waiting for a lifesaving organ donation.

Q : Don’t I need two kidneys?

A : No, most humans are naturally born with two kidneys, however they only need one functioning kidney to survive.

Donor/Recipient Relationships in 2013 Cultural Breakdown of Parent to child: 477 Child to parent: 863 Identical twin: 10 Full sibling: 1,056 Half sibling: 58

Other relative: 422 Spouse or life partner: 690 Unrelated paired: 462 Unrelated anonymous:177

The first successful living donation transplant took place in 1954 between identical twins, Ronald and Richard Herrick in Boston, Massachusetts. Richard lived eight years with his brother’s kidney, and Ronald lived to be 79 with only one functioning kidney.

Types

Kidney Donors in 2013

Ethnicity

White/Caucasian: 69.5% Black: 11.1% Hispanic: 13.9% Asian: 3.9% Native American: 0.4% Pacific Islander: 0.3% Multiracial: 0.9%

Gender Raina (Julianna Zinkel), Jarrell (Biko Eisen-Martin), Lou (Craig Spidle), and Dr. Badu (Alice M. Gatling) resemble the diverse spectrum of relationships that exist within the realm of living organ donation.

Photo by Mark Garvin

Male: 38.6% Female: 61.4%

Age

Ages 18-34: 29.8% Ages 35-49: 40.9% Ages 50-64: 27.2% Age 65+: 2.1%

of Living Donors

RELATED DIRECTED Healthy blood relatives of the recipient, including brother/sisters, parents, children, or other relatives.

NON-DIRECTED/ALTRUISTIC

Healthy individuals not known or related to the recipient.

PAIRED EXCHANGE NON-RELATED DIRECTED Two donor/recipient pairs Healthy, emotionally-close with incompatible blood individuals of the recipient, types who switch donors in order to receive a including spouses, relatives through marriage, kidney with the same blood type as their own. or other close friends.

Non-Directed Kidney Donors who participate in Paired Exchanges often create a chain of transplants, allowing multiple patients to benefit from a single donation.

QUESTIONS for Discussion 1) How likely are you to donate to each of the following individuals: family member, close friend, acquaintance, or stranger?

2) If you required a new organ and had multiple relatives willing to give you theirs and were matches, how would you choose whose would be transplanted?

3) Would you donate to someone who has done you wrong in the past?

4) Have you ever expressed your wish to donate with your loved ones? How willing are you to talk to your loved ones about your desire to donate?

Likelihood of Living Donation to...

Becoming a Donor

The National Survey of Organ Donation in 2012 showed that somone’s willingness to donate is indeed dependent on the donor’s relationship to the potential recipient. The survey also suggests that the number of individuals likely to participate in a Living Donation has increased since 2005.

- Join your state’s online registry of donors, if available.

- Declare your desire to donate on your Driver’s Liscense.

- Sign a donor card available through the Kidney Foundation.

- Make your family aware of your desires to become a donor.

Sources

Willingness to Discuss a Desire to Donate

Gift of Life http://www.donors1.org/ The Kidney Foundation https://www.kidney.org/ The 2012 National Survey of Organ Donation http://organdonor.gov/index.html The National Survey of Organ Donation in 2012 also showed that people who were willing to donate their organs were also more likely to have discussed their desires to donate with their families. Most of the individuals who have not discussed their desires to donate were at least willing to hold such a discussion.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/ Transplant_candidates_often_ struggle_to_accept_kidneys.html