Better matches of kidney donors, recipients studied

THE TOLEDO BLADE | By DULAT BEKBOLSYNOV | SPECIAL TO THE BLADE

Dulat Bekbolsynov, a kidney transplant recipient, is a PhD candidate at the University of Toledo College of Medicine studying how to better match donors with organ recipients. ADAEZE IZUOGU

Imagine having to sit still for four hours, three times a week, week in and week out, year after year. And you know each time you start another dialysis session, your chance of going back to normal gets chipped away a little more.

These dialysis treatments are the mildest downside of living with failed kidneys.

Personally, I feel tremendously thankful for having received my kidney transplant after only a few months and without having to endure these therapy sessions. I returned to normal, but 100,000 Americans on the kidney transplant waiting list are not as fortunate.

During the last 30 years, the transplant waiting list has grown relentlessly while the number of transplants has changed very little. People wait for years, and many never get one. On average, 20 patients die every day because a donor was not found for them.

Kidneys are organs that let us eat a banana without suffering a heart attack from potassium spike. The incredibly complex network of tiny blood vessels inside kidney tissue filters many different toxins from our blood. But when these vessels fail to do their job, they can never be fixed, only replaced. Kidney transplantation is the best treatment option for kidney failure. Continue reading

from Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog℠ http://ift.tt/2iRTbD6