Here’s a picture of what a kidney looks like.
Most people are born with a pair, located on each side of the abdominal cavity. Some people are born with only one and as long as nothing goes wrong with that one, it’s not a problem. Then, there are those like me, who have three. Ok, so the original two that God gave me are probably dried up like raisins and the third is a gift from God from someone else that no longer needed it.
But, why? Why did I need to have a third one? I have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. For some reason my body felt that my kidneys were an invader and attacked them. The battle caused by my immune system had devastating effects and caused my kidney function to stop working. The function of the kidneys are not only to pass urine to the bladder but to cleanse toxins from the blood. In order for this to be done without the use of my kidneys, I needed a machine to do it for me in the form of dialysis. Luckily for me, I was only on dialysis for 4 months before my kidneys started working again. A double edged sword, the Lupus caused them to stop and yet was possibly the only reason that they started again. However, it’s not as simple as it sounds.
Once the kidneys stop working, they connective tissue scars. As time went on, the scarring became worse and worse until the function was barely adequate to perform the necessary duties and I was in need of a transplant. I went on the list for kidney transplant and had to watch my diet as well as go in for regular testing to keep an eye on what remained until they found a donor. In 2007, that became a reality and so far, so good. Needing a kidney is not as severe as needing a heart or liver. While dialysis is not the most pleasant of lifestyles, it can save your life while waiting for a transplant. Depending on certain criteria, such as blood type and overall health, it can take days to months to years to find a replacement. The kidney can come from a living donor or a deceased donor. Mine, was from a deceased donor.
There are still many factors in finding the right donor. You cannot simply have someone who is willing. I did but they were discounted because of possible hypertension (high blood pressure). A compatibility test is run to make sure that first of all both parties have the same blood type (see link above), share as many HLA, human leukocyte antigens, and are not already sensitized to a potential donors HLA antigens. The last two are not as important but make it less likely for transplant rejection. With transplant medicines these days, the chances have improved greatly though.
Once you receive a kidney transplant, appointments with a nephrologist will be made for three days a week in the beginning. This is once you leave the hospital and are to make sure that all of your kidneys levels are stable and within certain guidelines. While in the hospital, the doctor will prescribe immunosuppresant drugs that are used to suppress the immune system from rejecting the donor kidney. They will be required for the rest of the patients life. I am two years out from my transplant and do not find it that big of a deal to take my meds each day. If you think of the alternative, it’s really no worse than taking your vitamins to stay healthy. One thing that being in this situation does, is force me to care more about my body. Read more about this life saving procedure by clicking on any of the links above.