1 kidney donation rate

Life Expectancy Donating a kidney is major surgery but has not been shown to reduce the donor’s life expectancy. Interestingly, people who have donated a kidney outlive the average person. (Reference: Fehrman-Ekholm, Ingela 2,3; Transplantation, 64(7): 976-978, October 15, 1997.) This fact has fueled an ongoing debate over why kidney donors live longer than expected. Some experts believe that it is simply a selection bias since only healthy people can be selected to be living donors. Others argue that the altruistic act of giving the gift of life and the happiness and satisfaction that follows has a positive impact and leads to a healthier and longer life. Surgical Complications Donors face the possibility of post-operative complications such as bleeding, wound infection, fever, etc. Most of the post-operative complications are generally short-term and can be addressed with quality medical care. Recovery Time The two types of kidney removal procedures, laparoscopic and non-laparoscopic, have very different recovery times. • Laparoscopic kidney removal is less invasive and allows the donor to be discharged one to two days after surgery, allowing the donor to return to work in one to four weeks depending on the donor’s occupation. • Non-laparoscopic surgery has a longer recovery time. NKR Member Centers generally utilize the laparoscopic procedure. Mortality Rate Kidney donor surgery has a .007% mortality rate, which means that on average, for every 100,000 living donor surg...

Overview A donor nephrectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a healthy kidney from a living donor for transplant into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly. Living-donor kidney transplant is an alternative to deceased-donor kidney transplant. A living donor can donate one of his or her two kidneys, and the remaining kidney is able to perform the necessary functions. The first successful organ transplant in the U.S. was made possible by a living kidney donor in 1954 and used open surgery for the kidney donation surgery. Currently, the vast majority of kidney donation surgeries are performed using minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques and may include the use of robot-assisted technology. Living kidney donation via donor nephrectomy is the most common type of living-donor procedure. About 5,000 living kidney donations are performed each year in the U.S. Why it's done The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on each side of the spine just below the rib cage. Each one is about the size of a fist. The kidneys' main function is to filter and remove excess waste, minerals and fluid from the blood by producing urine. People with end-stage kidney disease, also called end-stage renal disease, need to have waste removed from their bloodstream through a machine (hemodialysis) or with a procedure to filter the blood (peritoneal dialysis), or by having a kidney transplant. A kidney transplant is usually the treatment of choice for kidney failure, compared with a...

• There are currently 121,678 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the U.S. Of these, 100,791 await kidney transplants. (as of 1/11/16) 1 • The median wait time for an individual’s first kidney transplant is 3.6 years and can vary depending on health, compatibility and availability of organs. 2 • In 2014, 17,107 kidney transplants took place in the US. Of these, 11,570 came from deceased donors and 5,537 came from living donors. 1 On average: • Over 3,000new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month. 1 • 13people die each day while waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant. 1 • Every 14minutes someone is added to the kidney transplant list. 1 • In 2014, 4,761patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant. Another, 3,668people became too sick to receive a kidney transplant. 1 A free, self-paced online program with tools to help you find a living kidney donor. Sign Up Today 2014 Donor Profile 1 Living Deceased Age All living donors in the United States must be at least 18 years old to consent to donation. There were 5,538 living donors in 2014. <1: 0 1-5: 0 6-10: 0 11-17: 0 18-34: 1,627 35-49: 2,258 50-64: 1,492 65+: 161 The total number of deceased donors (7,761) does not add up to the total number of deceased donor transplants because many deceased donors are able to give both of their kidneys. <1: 100 1-5: 212 6-10: 103 11-17: 387 18-34: 2,328 35-49: 2,099 50-64: 2,110 65+: 422 Gender Male: 2,052 Female: 3,486 Male: 4,647 Female: 3,114 ...

Although most people have two If you have only one kidney, it’s important to protect it and keep it functioning well because you don’t have a second one to take over if it fails. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by eating a nutritious diet, exercising regularly, and getting regular checkups with your doctor helps keep your kidney healthy. Keep reading to learn more about living with one kidney. Your kidneys filter out waste and extra fluid from your blood so it can be excreted from your body in your urine. One kidney can filter enough blood to keep your body functioning normally. This is why you can survive and be healthy with only one kidney. The recommendations for healthy living if you have only one kidney are basically the same for people with two kidneys. They include: • eating a • • maintaining a • staying • maintaining a normal blood pressure and blood sugar (managing high blood pressure or diabetes if they develop) • seeing your doctor regularly for checkups In addition, if you have a solitary kidney, you should be extra careful about keeping it functioning well. This includes: • protecting it from injury • avoiding medications that can be harmful, such as There are a number of reasons you may have just one kidney. These include the following: • You were born with only one kidney. • One of your • You’ve had a kidney transplant. • You donated a kidney to someone who needed a transplant. You can also have two kidneys but only one that functions, which is the same as h...