Anyone can be a kidney donor to their loved one in need. Even if you are not related by blood but are attached to the patient emotionally then you may consider donating as well. But there are some important things that need evaluation before donating a kidney. On the other hand, the general requirement is a completely healthy person. An individual with high blood pressure, kidney problems, AIDS, diabetes, a drug addict or an alcoholic is not qualified to donate. Consider having a blood test. It’s not necessary to have the same blood type as the recipient but they have to be compatible. The patient’s tissue type should match the donor’s. Donor must go through series of physical tests including urine tests, tissue typing, EKG, antibody screening as well as psychological evaluation.
Donating a live kidney has a huge effect on the patient. A patient that receives a live kidney donation gets more benefits than those patients who get kidneys removed from a dead body. The quality of the live kidney is much better than the latter. The patient doesn’t have to undergo a long wait for an available kidney as well. In addition there is higher success rate of a live kidney transplant than a kidney from a cadaver which has spent a longer time in the storage.
Kidney donors have to undergo a complicated surgical procedure. On the donor’s stomach, in either side depending on which kidney to be donated, may it be left or right, a cut with the length of ten inches is made. This procedure is done with anaesthesia, as three layers of tissue are cut through by the surgeon. After the kidney is taken out then the cut made is stitched up. It will take about four hours for the operation. After the operation the donor will be given adequate nourishment and pain killers.
The donor has to be expected to stay in the hospital for three days to one week. Also don’t expect to be fully recovered for about four to six weeks after the operation. Another procedure to remove the kidney would be through a laparascopic removal. This procedure has a smaller cut and less invasive. Also you only get to stay in the hospital at a short period of time.
Complications for donors such as feeling of pain may occur. A donor must take extra care to avoid infections. Catching pneumonia is also a complication for donors. The kidney is near the lung and there is a possibility that the pleura, the space around the lung, might be accidentally cut. This will, in turn, cause the lung to collapse. A tube will then be inserted to expand the lung.
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