New living kidney donation leaflet published by NHS UK Transplant

A new leaflet is offering a lifeline to thousands of people with kidney failure across the UK .

The leaflet, Could I be a living kidney donor? has been published by NHS UK Transplant and will be available at kidney transplant and dialysis centres and from the Organ Donor Line.

It explains the donation and transplantation process and how relatives and friends can give their loved one the chance of a normal life by donating one of their kidneys.

More than 5,000 people, including 115 children, are waiting for a kidney transplant but the critical shortage of donated organs means that fewer than 2,000 are carried out each year.

The shortage has lead to increasing numbers of families and friends asking if they can donate one of their own kidneys.

Living kidney donation is highly successful and now accounts for one in four of all kidney transplants in the UK .  Last year 461 people received a living kidney transplant - a 21% increase on the previous year.      

All organs are matched between donor and recipient by size and blood group, but kidneys are also matched by tissue type.

When living donors and patients are close relatives, the chance of finding a good match of tissue type and blood group are improved, as are the chances of a successful transplant.
Social worker Tom Bortey, from London , was given a new kidney by his brother George and their story is featured in the leaflet. 

Tom said: "It has made such a fantastic difference to my life that I wanted to tell our story in the leaflet so that other people could think about the possibility of living donation. I am very grateful to George - if he hadn't donated his kidney there would have been no hope for me."  

Over the past three years NHS UK Transplant has invested more than £2.8 million in 25 living kidney donor programmes at hospitals in the UK to increase opportunities for living kidney donations from both related and unrelated donors.

UK Transplant Chief Executive Sue Sutherland said: "Living transplantation has become more important because of the shortage of donated organs from deceased donors and the steadily increasing number of people needing a transplant.

"We are keen to give more people the chance to consider living donation because it is so successful and has such a positive impact, not only on the person with kidney disease but their family as well."

The new leaflet will be offered to patients and their families following diagnosis of kidney disease which could lead to a planned transplant, perhaps even before their loved one has to undergo renal dialysis.

It also features two more patients whose lives have been transformed by a living kidney donation.

Chris Kemp, of Wiltshire, who gave a kidney to his son, Oliver, says in the leaflet: "Having only one kidney certainly doesn't stop me doing things. Oliver and I joke about the transplant sometimes. I tell him he's had my money - he might as well have my body!"

Paulette Cain, of Bristol , who donated a kidney to her husband, David, said: "People say it was a generous thing to do. However, in reality, I wanted it for myself and Jade, our young daughter, as much as for David because the strain on our lives was so great."

The leaflet was co-edited by London nurse consultant Lisa Burnapp, who explained: "This new leaflet is a useful source of information for people who might be prepared to consider donating a kidney to a loved one or a friend, but who may not know very much about it or how to proceed.  It is designed to give people straightforward answers to frequently asked questions.

"Most people, given the choice, would prefer to plan their lives ahead. Living donation offers patients with kidney failure and their families the opportunity to do this and the earlier the information is made available to them, the sooner they can consider their options.

"We hope that this leaflet will encourage people to think about what is best for them at an earlier stage so that more patients benefit from a kidney transplant before they need dialysis."

The leaflet was compiled by members of the British Transplantation Society Living Donor Renal Transplantation Forum, co-chaired by Lisa Burnapp, Nurse Consultant in Living Donor Renal Transplantation at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, and Paul Lear, Consultant Transplant Surgeon, Southmead Hospital, Bristol.

Anyone wanting obtain a copy of the leaflet or to know more about organ donation, or join the register can contact the Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400, or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk

 
NOTES

Living kidney donation in the UK is increasing against the following background:

·        kidney transplantation is a highly successful treatment -  94% of kidneys in living donor transplants still function well after one year
·        the average waiting time for a kidney transplant is two and a half to three years, but for some minority ethnic groups it may be more than five years
·        the survival of transplants from living donors is significantly better, allowing more people to receive and benefit from a kidney transplant
·        recipients who are transplanted prior to dialysis have better long-term transplant survival
·        unrelated donors, such as spouses, are less likely to be well matched to the recipient. However, in all but the best matched situations, the success rates of these      transplants are equal to those of related donors
·        so far this year (2004-05), 281 living kidney transplants have been performed in the UK



For further information call NHS UK Transplant Communications on 0117 975 7477 or 975 7475