Dr Rahul Gupta
Though there are many ways to treat kidneys but best treatment for the kidney failure still remains -Kidney transplant.
But today’s reality is that many people who need transplant of organs and tissues cannot get them because of a shortage of donations. Organ and tissue donation helps others by giving them a second chance at life.
As per the data provided by National kidney foundation, kidney diseases rank 3rd amongst life threatening diseases . 100/million population succumb to kidney diseases. 4.9-9 million kidney transplants per year are required in India. 10,000 kidney transplants per year are required in Maharashtra. Only 22.5% of patients requiring dialysis receive hemodialysis and only 2.5% of kidney failure patients receive transplants.
Kidney donation can be either
* Live kidney donation
* Deceased kidney donation
Why is living kidney donation a consideration?
First, dialysis is only a temporary solution. While someone can remain on dialysis for many years, it is not a cure and it is time consuming with treatments as frequent as three times a week for four hours each time. Transplantation from a deceased donor is a preferred alternative, but the number of donated organs is not keeping up with demand.
United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization responsible for allocating donated organs for transplant, reports there are more than 80,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant, and that number increases daily. Yet, in 2009 there were only 10,442 kidneys donated from deceased donors. Consequently, living donation is seen as a way to address the gap.
There are several reasons why living kidney donation is an important consideration:
* Transplantation has been shown to be less costly than dialysis over the long run.
* The waiting time for a transplant recipient can be significantly reduced.
* The procedure can be scheduled at a time convenient for both the donor and recipient.
* The quality of the donated organ tends to be superior to organs from deceased donors.
All of these factors have yielded positive results for recipients. There is less rejection and lower doses of anti-rejection drugs in living donor recipient compared to deceased donor. The transplanted kidney, or “graft,” has better odds of surviving if from a living donor, as show in the UNOS data for kidney transplants in the U.S.
Only 25% of donors are fit for kidney donation due to medical and other problems.
Deceased kidney donation:
World Kidney Day is also about organ donation and kidney transplant
Kidney donation is a decision that if left until the last moment can be difficult and painful for families. But individuals can easily make their wishes known and even in India one can identify these voluntary donors by filling the donor form. Kidney donation can bring the joy of life back to someone who is suffering from kidney disease. Anyone can donate a kidney barring very old patients and those with positive viral markers or transmittable infectious diseases.
Accidents attribute to more than 400 deaths every day in India. These deceased people can live even after they are no more if they donate their organs to the ones who need them. One deceased person can transform two lives as two kidneys can be transplanted in two recipients. This can bring down the wait list dramatically .
Recent data has suggested that number of people requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) is estimated at 4.9-9 million, and about 2.3 million die prematurely because of lack of access to RRT. As per ISOT(Indian society of organ transplant) about 150000 people in India are waiting for kidney transplant. Sadly only 1out of 30 people who need kidney transplant receives one. Sadly 90% die waiting. The rate of deceased kidney donation in India in 2013 was 0.26/million population, and this has gone up to 0.36/ million population in 2014. Still the gap is phenomenal.
So the solution to reduce problems and morbidity from kidney disease is:
Awareness of kidney disease (early diagnosis and early treatment)
Life style changes (aim to achieve overall good health)
Better health facilities and availability of dedicated renal replacement therapy center (dialysis and transplant center) especially in capital city like Jammu were comprehensive treatment for kidney diseases are available to the poor and needy.
(The author is Assistant Professor Department of Urology Superspeciality Hospital, Jammu)
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