As the awareness and availability of organ donation post death are still in a very nascent stage, Kidney from deceased donors are not readily available. Patients suffering from end stage renal disease or chronic kidney disease requiring a kidney transplant depend on donation from alive family members for a living donor kidney transplant surgery in India.
A healthy blood related family member usually a son or daughter/parents, grandparents and grandchildren and brothers and sisters are considered blood relations for a living donor Kidney transplant surgery in India . The donor needs to be a major in the age group of 18-55 years preferably and healthy enough to donate one of his kidneys, without any risk to his quality of life post donation.
Prelim tests for fitness and compatibility of donor are done for screening and choosing the correct donor for a successful kidney transplant.
Any other relative is considered unrelated donor and certain documents are needed to prove to Government of India appointed organ transplant committee that donor is related to patient requiring kidney transplant. And donor is willing to donate one of his kidneys to patient out of love and family bonding and not under any pressure or monetary obligations.
What happens to a live donor post kidney donation ?
A healthy and fit donor lives a perfectly normal life post the donation of one of his kidneys.Anything which is not good for health of a person with both kidney functioning normally is also considered bad for the live donor. Regular and periodic check ups are suggested for a live donor. As high blood pressure and diabetes are considered two major causes of kidney function going bad, the donor is advised to follow a healthy life style for remaining disease free.
Does a live donor have a health risk or compromised life post kidney donation ?
A healthy donor lives a perfectly normal life, post donation. Donation of a kidney does not have an adverse effect on overall life or quality of life for the donor. Selecting the right donor is important as it cut down the cost of dialysis and the need of frequent admission of patient till the time we get approval from the government of India appointed transplant committee for living donor kidney transplant surgery in India. Once the approval is given by the Committee, patient is given a date and time for surgery. The following test for donor are required to lessen the chances of flying in a wrong donor and saving time and money for guests till we fly in the right donor. 1. Urine ( SPOT) ,Protein creatinine ratio, LFT (Liver function test),Urea, Creatinine, Sodium(Na), Potassium (K),Blood sugar( Fasting and Post prandial),HBA1C, Calcium (Ca),Phosphate (Po4),Uric Acid, PTH, Lipid profile, Vitamin D level,T3.T4,TSH and LDH. 2.Complete Hemogram, BT, CT, PT, PTTK and urine routine. 3.Urine culture, CMV-IGG,EBV(CAPSId)_IGG, for MALE patient PSA (if above 50 years of age). for Female patient CA-125 and pap smear. 4.Blood group, HBSAG, Anti HCV antibody,HIV1 & 2, HCV RNA qualitative, Anti HBS antibody. 5. ECG, Echo/stress echo, Cardiac clearance. 6.Chest X-ray, Ultrasound-whole abdomen, CT (Angio) for renal vessels, DTPA scan etc.
Dr. Prof. Anant Kumar is one of the leading kidney transplant doctors in India and chairman and HOD of urology , Kidney transplantation and robotic surgery at Max healthcare , New Delhi , India.