How to support someone who has had a kidney transplant

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According to , more than 1 in 7 adults in the United States have chronic kidney disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This means that 37 million people, most of them over the age of 50, are living with varying degrees of chronic kidney disease.

Kidney transplantation is a life-saving procedure when your kidneys are failing or severely weakened. 2021 was a record year for kidney transplants. According to , 24,669 people received a kidney from a donor. Unified network for organ sharing. Dr. Amy WatermanLife after a kidney transplant is full of possibilities, said the professor and director of patient engagement at Houston Methodist Hospital.

“If you imagine someone having dialysis treatments every other day and being exhausted and eating a kidney diet, the world opens up again when they get a kidney transplant,” Dr. Waterman says.

The first year after transplantation is said to be busy. Dr. Bernard Victor Fischbach, a nephrologist and director of kidney transplantation at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Immunosuppressants, among other medications such as blood pressure and diabetes medications, can help patients accept their new kidney. After the first hospitalization, the transplant recipient comes in twice a week, then less frequently, and eventually he comes in once a month. These visits are to administer immunosuppressants and to monitor how the kidneys are being incorporated into the new body. Dr. Fischbach says this is the time when the risk of acute rejection is highest.

“Often when people hear ‘rejection,’ they think it’s the worst-case scenario,” Fischbach says. “We make the diagnosis by biopsy, but in most cases we can reverse it.” Attend all follow-up appointments so your medical team can catch and treat complications early. It’s important to go.

How friends and family can help

Waterman says post-transplant support includes both helping with logistics and helping your loved one find a new normal.

“When you get a kidney transplant, all of your family and friends are there to help you get through the surgery and recover quickly. Everyone celebrates the success of the transplant,” Waterman said. To tell.

So step one is to celebrate with them. A new kidney will change your life and remove many of the limitations your loved one has endured. If your loved one was on dialysis before the transplant, there was a limit to how much water they could drink. Imagine going from being thirsty and not being able to drink water to finally being able to drink as much as you want. Waterman says even urinating may become more enjoyable after the transplant.

Here are some other ways to be with your loved ones during this adjustment.

Stock your fridge with healthy foods and missed foods

Patients with kidney disease often follow a kidney-friendly diet, or “kidney-friendly” diet, to keep fluid, mineral, and electrolyte levels balanced. A kidney-friendly diet limits potassium, salt, and phosphorous. That means eating fewer tomatoes, bananas, beans, vegetables, cereals, and nuts.

However, after a kidney transplant, you do not need to continue on a kidney diet (unless directed by your doctor). Mr. Waterman asks his loved ones what food they missed and tells them to stock the refrigerator.

“Pizza is common!” she says.

Help set up systems to meet new medical needs

Keeping track of new medications and doctor appointments after a transplant can be scary. The first few weeks are an intensive period that requires multiple daily follow-up visits and medication. Waterman suggests helping your loved one set up a reminder app for appointments and medication times. Driving your child to appointments or errands can be a great help, as they won’t be allowed to drive right away.

While taking immunosuppressants after transplantation, it is important to take extreme care to avoid infection and illness, especially as the effects of COVID-19 continue. Kidney transplants require strict matching to ensure compatibility, and recipients require lifelong immunosuppressive medications after transplantation.

Dr. Fischbach says that by using immunosuppressants, “we are trying to tell the body, ‘This organ may not be yours, but you have to accept it.’ ”. Immunosuppressants suppress the normal, positive activity of the immune system, so it’s important to get your loved one screened for diseases such as skin cancer that may make them more susceptible for some time.

Connect with resources

Your loved one may need to connect with people who understand firsthand what they are going through. No matter how interested you are, in some ways you will never fully understand what they went through. But you can connect them with resources and people.

of Lifestyle donation reading project We collect stories from kidney donors and kidney transplant recipients. Your loved one may want to read about the experiences of others who have had transplants. Reading these personal accounts may help you understand a little more.

There is also that Transplant Recipient International Organization (TRIO)provides education and support to all types of transplant recipients, including kidney recipients.

Consider becoming a donor yourself

There are two methods of kidney transplantation: living donor transplantation and deceased donor transplantation. Living donors can sign up to donate a kidney if they are eligible. National Kidney Foundation. Fischbach said most deceased donor kidneys are brain-dead and come from people who had previously pledged to donate their organs. Most kidney transplants are performed from deceased donors.

According to NKF, 13 people die every day waiting for a new kidney. Becoming a donor means helping to meet that urgent need.

“A living donor kidney can start working right away in the operating room,” Fischbach says. He also points out that people who receive a kidney from a living donor tend to live longer, even though both types of donations greatly improve quality of life.a A retrospective cohort study was published in 2014. Kidney Urology Monthly Examining data from 218 kidney transplant patients, they found that while both living donor kidney transplants and deceased donor transplants are successful, especially in the short term, living donor kidney transplants have higher long-term survival rates.

According to NKF, kidneys from genetically similar family members are less likely to be rejected by the body. Even if you can’t donate to your loved one yourself, you can help honor someone in a similar situation.

“Anyone who knows someone with kidney disease or kidney failure knows how stressful and limiting living on dialysis can be for others,” says Waterman. . “Some people feel called to help humanity as a whole by donating a kidney to a stranger if it is not a good fit and is healthy.”

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