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Living Donors Define Selflessness
(NC)—It's not always easy being selfless,
particularly when you have agreed to undergo major
surgery to save someone else's life. But that's
exactly what 1084 living donors did in Canada
between 1995 and 2008. Individuals in good health,
who would otherwise have not needed surgery, defined
selflessness by donating an organ (or part of an
organ) to either a related or unrelated recipient.
As
public awareness of living donation grows, more
individuals are beginning to consider being a live
donor. In the majority of the cases individuals know
the recipient. It's usually someone who they are
emotionally attached to such as a parent, child,
sibling, spouse or even a good friend. And in some
cases, living donors agree to donate an organ to a
complete stranger.
In
fact, the Living Donor Paired Exchange Registry
launched by Canadian Blood services in February 2009
is designed to optimize the use of organs from
living donors.
The
mechanism creates the opportunity where an
individual who is willing to donate an organ,
primarily a kidney, but is incompatible with the
intended recipient may nonetheless be a possible
match for someone already in the registry, along
with a family member or friend who also wants to be
a donor. By agreeing to be included in the registry
and be part of a paired exchange, living donors can
then be matched with other compatible recipients. A
form of “swapping” occurs that maximizes the chances
of finding a donor – recipient match.
Living donation also has additional advantages. The
actual logistics of the transplantation process are
simpler. In many cases, the convenience of a living
donation enables the transplant to take place at an
acceptable time for both donor and recipient and
when they are both in optimal health, while waiting
time for a transplant tends to be reduced to a
matter of months rather than years for deceased
donation. The organ donated by a living donor also
tends to be healthier at the time of the operation
and works right away, leading to a
better-functioning organ after transplantation, and
longer graft survival. Potential donors can also be
tested ahead of time. This not only allows for the
most compatible recipient to be found, but it also
lessons the risk of rejection because living donor
transplants are usually done between family members,
ensuring a better chance of a genetic match between
donor and recipient.
No
one knows or understands how important the benefits
of living donation are more than Toronto, Ontario
resident Pamela Mitchell.
“In
my mind, only a sibling or a close relative could be
a viable candidate to donate a kidney, and it had
never crossed my mind to ask any of my other loved
ones. I began to mention it in passing to relatives
and friends. Much to my great surprise the responses
were overwhelmingly positive. Even co-workers sent
emails offering me their kidney. I was amazed at
everyone's generosity!”
Ms.
Mitchell's cousin's daughter, Debra, became her
donor in September 2001. The transplant was
performed and worked perfectly. Since then she's
continued to travel to places like Nepal, Thailand,
France and Cuba. She runs optimizing health groups
in patient self-management for people with chronic
conditions, and does volunteer work by offering peer
support for people with kidney disease. “I am
definitely not bored,” she states.
Ms.
Mitchell is also a frequent contributor to the
Transplant Companions and
Transplant Adherence Programs. These two
national programs, funded by Astellas Pharma Canada
are designed to educate pre and post-transplant
kidney patients. The Transplant Companions program
is aimed at pre-transplant kidney patients and
follows an interactive workshop model. The program
is now offered at 14 Canadian transplant and care
centres, seven of which have made attendance at the
program's workshops compulsory for their
pre-transplant patients.
Its
sister program, the Transplant Adherence Program
focuses on life after transplantation, and provides
transplant recipients with information and
resources, including newsletters, a DVD and an
interactive web-site, which encourage and support
adherence to their treatment regimens.
More
information is available at
www.transplantcompanions.ca and
www.transplantadherence.ca.
www.newscanada.com
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In my mind, only a sibling or a
close relative could be a viable candidate to
donate a kidney, and it had never crossed my
mind to ask any of my other loved ones. I began
to mention it in passing to relatives and
friends. Much to my great surprise the responses
were overwhelmingly positive." |
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