More than 100,000 people need an organ in the United States. Of those patients, almost 90,000 are waiting to receive a kidney. World Kidney Day, celebrated annually on March 9, is a global awareness day for kidney health and opportunity to discuss the importance of kidney donations.
We can all check that box on our license to donate an organ if something happens to us, but did you know you could save a life now?
"Living donors can lead healthy, long lives and save others," said Michael F. Daily, MD, MS, FACS, solid organ transplant section chief at Dartmouth Health's Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). "Kidneys from living donors are superior in almost every way. There are fewer complications, the kidney begins to work sooner, and it allows flexibility in planning surgeries."
Daily debunks common myths about being a living kidney donor:
What if I'm not a match for the recipient?
If you aren't a match for one recipient, you can still help. At DHMC, we are part of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation and the National Kidney Registry. When you donate a kidney to any eligible recipient who can't find a match, you can start a donation chain that extends the chance for unmatched donors to help unmatched recipients. One kidney can create a chain of donations well into the double digits.
Am I too old to donate?
That's often not the case. Kidney transplants from living donors in their late 50s last as long as some of the best kidneys from deceased-donor kidneys do.
Am I paid for kidney donations?
No. You cannot receive payment for donating a kidney. There are programs available to assist with the financial needs of donors, such as reimbursement for travel or lost wages.
Will having only one kidney affect my daily life?
Donors actually tend to live longer than the general population. That's not because they have one kidney—it's because they have to be quite healthy to donate. The remaining kidney actually gets stronger and more efficient—for the donor and the recipient.
"The ideal candidate is motivated and healthy. The evaluation process is strict because we need to ensure that the donor has two normal kidneys with great function and that they aren't at risk for developing a disease or condition that could affect kidney function. The power you have to help someone with your donation is extraordinary," said Daily.
Visit our Transplantation Surgery website for more information.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.