- 1/3 of folks on the kidney transplant wait list are 'inactive', meaning they couldn't have a transplant if a kidney became available.
- A transplant is a TREATMENT for end-stage renal disease, it is not a cure. Dialysis also a treatment for ESRD.
- Minority candidates have less access to transplants because A. they often lack access to healthcare, B. they are listed much later in their disease than their white counterparts, C. they more often lack insurance, D. a higher percentage have a rarer blood type (which has nothing to do with sensitivity), and E. they experience geographic disparities due to the uneven nature of the transplant system.
- According to a handout from the 2012 ASHI meeting, 30% of ALL transplant candidates are HLA sensitized. 15% of the wait list has had a prior transplant, the most common source of sensitization. Meanwhile, Women compose 40% of wait list candidates (OPTN data), and 80% of women aged 40-44 have children (US Census). This hardly translates into the article's inference that women who have children will be sensitized to their blood relatives' kidneys.
- ALL living organ donors are altruistic, not just the small portion that participates in a swap/pair or chain.
- No one receives a kidney through UNOS. OPTN is the membership organization under Dept of Health and Human Services which manages the transplant wait list. UNOS is simply the contractor.
And the biggie - a living donor kidney is 'better' than a deceased donor kidney.
Better for whom?
4.4 living kidney donors die in the US every year within 12 months of surgery.
20% experience complications: hernia, pancreatitis, chylous ascities, nerve damage, testicular swelling and sensitivity, etc.
20-30% suffer from depression, anxiety and/or PTSD. Not a single transplant center offers aftercare or support services.
We have NO NATIONAL STANDARDS of living donor care in the US. Every transplant center can make up it's own rules and is accountable to no one.
We have NO COMPREHENSIVE DATA on living donors' health and well-being. More than a decade after a federal mandate, we still have no idea if 35% of living donors are live or dead ONE YEAR after donation. After that, what happens to living donor is anyone's guess because no one bothers to track them.
Meanwhile, the Swiss LD registry reported 49% of their kidney donors with cardiovascular disease, 47% with hypertension and 45% with Stage 3/4 chronic kidney disease at only 10 years post-donation.
As the sister of a kidney transplant recipient, I understand the challenges of kidney disease. However, as a living kidney donor, I find the constant neglect of living donation's risks to the donor (not to mention poorly written articles such as this) to be unethical and dangerous. The public should never be viewed as medical supply. Living donors are people too.
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This article is rife with falsehoods:
- 1/3 of folks on the kidney transplant wait list are 'inactive', meaning they couldn't have a transplant if a kidney became available.
- A transplant is a TREATMENT for end-stage renal disease, it is not a cure. Dialysis also a treatment for ESRD.
- Minority candidates have less access to transplants because A. they often lack access to healthcare, B. they are listed much later in their disease than their white counterparts, C. they more often lack insurance, D. a higher percentage have a rarer blood type (which has nothing to do with sensitivity), and E. they experience geographic disparities due to the uneven nature of the transplant system.
- According to a handout from the 2012 ASHI meeting, 30% of ALL transplant candidates are HLA sensitized. 15% of the wait list has had a prior transplant, the most common source of sensitization. Meanwhile, Women compose 40% of wait list candidates (OPTN data), and 80% of women aged 40-44 have children (US Census). This hardly translates into the article's inference that women who have children will be sensitized to their blood relatives' kidneys.
- ALL living organ donors are altruistic, not just the small portion that participates in a swap/pair or chain.
- No one receives a kidney through UNOS. OPTN is the membership organization under Dept of Health and Human Services which manages the transplant wait list. UNOS is simply the contractor.
And the biggie - a living donor kidney is 'better' than a deceased donor kidney.
Better for whom?
4.4 living kidney donors die in the US every year within 12 months of surgery.
20% experience complications: hernia, pancreatitis, chylous ascities, nerve damage, testicular swelling and sensitivity, etc.
20-30% suffer from depression, anxiety and/or PTSD. Not a single transplant center offers aftercare or support services.
We have NO NATIONAL STANDARDS of living donor care in the US. Every transplant center can make up it's own rules and is accountable to no one.
We have NO COMPREHENSIVE DATA on living donors' health and well-being. More than a decade after a federal mandate, we still have no idea if 35% of living donors are live or dead ONE YEAR after donation. After that, what happens to living donor is anyone's guess because no one bothers to track them.
Meanwhile, the Swiss LD registry reported 49% of their kidney donors with cardiovascular disease, 47% with hypertension and 45% with Stage 3/4 chronic kidney disease at only 10 years post-donation.
As the sister of a kidney transplant recipient, I understand the challenges of kidney disease. However, as a living kidney donor, I find the constant neglect of living donation's risks to the donor (not to mention poorly written articles such as this) to be unethical and dangerous. The public should never be viewed as medical supply. Living donors are people too.
www.livingdonor101.com
October 31, 2012 - 2:38pmThis Comment
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