Kidney Donation Information

While Keith Jones of Kimball awaits a kidney donor as reported in last week’s paper, the Observer has decided to publish the following kidney donation information from the UC Health healthcare system in Colorado.

The body has two kidneys but is capable of functioning normally with only one. After donation of one kidney, the remaining kidney will grow and function for both.

Donors are required to:

• Be over 18 years of age.

• Be in excellent medical and psychological health.

• Be willing to donate without coercion, feeling forced, or offered a financial incentive to donate.

• Not have any medical problems that could compromise the donor’s condition before donation, during donation or after donation.

Receiving a kidney from a living donor has many benefits:

• It eliminates the waiting period and the negative impact of waiting on the recipient’s health.

• Surgeries can be scheduled at a convenient time for both the donor and recipient.

• If the living donor is a blood relative with a genetic match, the risk of rejection is decreased.

• A kidney from a live donor typically works sooner than a kidney from a deceased person.

• A kidney from a live donor may last longer than a kidney from a deceased person.

A “paired donation,” also known as a “swap” or “exchange,” provides more options for donors and recipients.

Many living donors step forward to donate, but are not able to donate to their chosen recipient.

Paired donation creates options for donor and recipient pairs, as they can participate in swaps resulting in more patients getting transplanted through a national exchange.

Although there are risks associated with donating a kidney, most donors are able to live a normal life without any restrictions after kidney donation.

For more details, call 720-848-0855.