5 Facts About Being a Kidney Donor

The AHA! Team — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:42:57 +0000

Duke Health – More than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney donation, according to government statistics. Being a living kidney donor is truly a gift of a lifetime, but many people don’t realize they can give this gift safely. Duke performs about 200 kidney transplants annually, with one third being from living donors. Gayle Vranic, MD, a kidney transplant specialist at Duke University Hospital, dispels five common misconceptions that potential kidney donors may have. Myth: I have to be related to someone to donate a kidney to them. Fact: New anti-rejection medications make it possible to donate to distant relatives and even friends. Duke’s transplant team takes prospective donors through a careful physical and psychological screening process — much of which can be done remotely for donors who live far away — to make sure the donor can undergo the surgery with no ill effects, physical or otherwise. Myth: The surgery is difficult and expensive, and I’ll need to take a lot of time off. Fact: Today’s kidney donation surgery usually takes only a few hours and requires only a few small incisions. Most people — 95% — are discharged the next day. “It usually takes two to three weeks to get back to almost all of your normal activities, including work, and about six to eight weeks to feel completely normal,” Dr. Vranic said. All hospital expenses are paid for by the recipient’s medical coverage — only costs of travel, time off work, and a few post-surgery medications aren’t covered. There are several organizations that may help cover those costs for donors who cannot. Myth: After the surgery, my life will be different, and it might limit what I can do. Fact: Careful screening of donors means that only people who are in very good health will be selected — and for those people, the risk of future complications is very low. Women of childbearing age can still have healthy pregnancies after donating, and the risk for future kidney disease is not affected by the donation of a single kidney. “Your health care needs after the surgery are essentially the same as before the surgery,” said Dr. Vranic. Kidney donors will need regular blood and urine tests to monitor kidney function, and they need to watch their blood pressure and body weight; so, they must visit their primary care doctor every year but, as Dr. Vranic pointed out, that’s something everyone should do anyway. Myth: If my intended recipient and I aren’t a match, the process ends there. Fact: A variety of options makes it possible for you and your recipient to match or to find another compatible pair elsewhere. One option is for the recipient and the donor to receive medical treatments before and after transplant that allow the recipient to receive a kidney from someone with a different blood type. Another option may be for you and your recipient to enter Duke’s paired exchange program. Your recipient receives a kidney from someone else’s donor, and another recipient receives your kidney. Finally, if for some reason you and your donor cannot be a pair, we can help empower your donor to be an advocate and help you in your search for another living donor. Myth: Duke doesn’t accept “Good Samaritan” kidney donations. Fact: Duke accepts altruistic (non-directed) donors — those who are willing to donate a kidney to a recipient in need, even if that person is a stranger. More than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney donation, according to government statistics. To learn more about organ donation, visit unos.org or the National Kidney Foundation. Or learn more about the process by filling out this questionnaire. To read the original article click here.

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Renowned Robotic Surgeon First to Use New 3D Kidney Model

AHA Publisher — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 07:00:38 +0000

University of Miami Health System, Miller School of Medicine via Newswise – Renowned robotic urologic oncology surgeon Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., was the first in the nation to test a new preoperative surgical rehearsal technology recently approved by the Food & Drug Administration for all genitourinary conditions. The kidney models, made by Lazarus 3D, provide an additional preparation tool for some surgical procedures. “The company reached out to me, and the device sounded intriguing,” said Dr. Parekh, a member of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, founding director of the Desai Sethi Urology Institute and director of robotic surgery at UHealth – the University of Miami Health System. “I thought that this may be a technology that would be worth trying to see if it can add value.” While surgeons routinely study MRI and CT scans to understand each patient’s unique anatomy, 3D models offer an added level of detail, as well as giving surgeons the ability to hold, rotate, examine and conduct actual practice surgeries. Replicating Human Tissue The Lazarus 3D kidney surgical rehearsal models are created using imaging data and are made from pliable materials designed to replicate the look and feel of actual human tissue. The model organ is created with a novel 3D printing technology, and replicates the texture and pliability surgeons encounter in the human body. “We use a range of proprietary silicone materials that are designed to simulate human tissue,” said Jacques Zaneveld, Ph.D., Lazarus 3D founder and CEO. “We can create materials that feel like skin, fat and organs. These materials are so lifelike, you can operate on them using the same tools and techniques used on real patients.” Dr. Parekh used these models to prepare for two separate tumor surgeries, one of which required navigating some complex anatomy. “The test run showed me what to expect when I conducted the actual surgery,” he said. Teaching Tools for Patients Lazarus 3D leadership said these models can be especially helpful for residents and other early-career surgeons. They can also be used as teaching tools for patients, giving surgeons a visual aid to describe an organ’s anatomy and how they expect a surgery to proceed. “For patients, it is an amazing communication tool and may help improve care,” Dr. Zaneveld said. “For physicians, it allows an opportunity to try different approaches and to better anticipate what the real surgery will be like.” Testing is underway to expand the use of the modeling technology to other organ models, such as bladder and prostate. Prostate surgery can be particularly challenging, as doctors must avoid the bladder, musculature and important nerves, and and deal with other potential complexities. “This may be a good simulation tool for patients who have a complex anatomy, such as an enlarged prostate or a median lobe, and require surgery,” Dr. Parekh said. To read the original article click here.

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5 Facts About Being a Kidney Donor

Renowned Robotic Surgeon First to Use New 3D Kidney Model