Kidney Donor Conversations statement on our stance with the Black Lives Movement.

Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.

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If you chose a specific person to give your kidney to, that is a Directed Donation. But what if you are not “a match”? That means your blood is not matching enough with the person you want to give your kidney to. Many people stop the process of donating without considering other options.

There Are Other Options if You Are Not A Match!
It works like this. You and the person you want to give your kidney to, but do not match, are called a “Pair.” You two are not alone. There are other “pairs” of people like you, made up of others who need a kidney and those who want to give a kidney, but they don’t match each other.

Paired Exchange
All of the “pairs” are put together in a computer program. Then the computer finds someone you match to donate your kidney to. And the other person in your “pair” is matched with someone who wants to donate their kidney. Both of you are matched!

Your loved one gets a kidney and you help save a life! This is called “Paired Exchange.” You may also hear this called a Kidney Swap.

Consider This!
If you are not a match with the person you want to give a kidney to, tell your transplant hospital that you still want to donate through a Paired Exchange program. You can still help your person who needs a kidney!
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Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.
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There are 95,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list and most of them will die waiting for a kidney.
These are people in late-stage chronic kidney disease and many are on dialysis. Do you know anyone who is on dialysis or on the kidney transplant waiting list that needs a life-saving kidney transplant?
Who would you save by donating your kidney while you are alive?
“Most of us would make sacrifices for close friends and family members – people whom we love and trust and with whom we have long-standing relationships …” according to Abigail Marsh in her book The Fear Factor.
Have you ever considered giving your kidney to a relative such as a grandparent, parent, sibling or child? What about people you care about but are not related to like your spouse, close friend, or in-law?
Directed Living Kidney Donation
When you decide to donate your kidney to a specific person, it is called a “directed donation”. In 2019, there were almost 7,000 living kidney transplants. Over 80% of those were directed to a relative or someone the donor knew.
Your Secret List
Most of us don’t talk about a list of people we might be willing to donate our kidney to. Who is on your secret kidney donor list? Who would you donate a kidney to while alive?
And who would donate a kidney to you if you had kidney disease? Are you on anyone’s secret kidney donor list?
Consider This!
We all have a list of people we might consider donating a kidney to if needed. Today, think about who you love enough to put on your secret kidney donor list. Whose life might you consider saving if they had kidney disease?
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Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.
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I used to think that because I registered to be an organ donor that I would be an organ donor when I die. But the more I learn about deceased donation, I find that may not be true.
The Organ Donation Problem
Less than 1% of those registered to be an organ donor at death will actually donate. There were over 155 million registered, over 2 million people died, and yet only 10,722 donated upon death in 2018. We have a false belief that registering to be an organ donor means we are an organ donor. But that is not likely.
What are the reasons why you may (or may not) donate when you die?
There are a few very specific ways you have to die in order to donate your organs. First, you must be in a hospital in an intensive care unit. You will have either Brain Death or Circulatory Death to be an organ donor. A brain dead person is dead, although his or her cardiopulmonary functioning may be artificially maintained for some time.”
You will not be awake or talking. You will be on a ventilator with no chance of recovery.
There are other reasons that would exclude you from deceased donation:
Organs are medically suitable for transplant, so you need to be healthy!
What about family consent?
If you fit the criteria for deceased donation upon your death, the hospital is required to tell your family and ask to donate your organs. But the hospital still has the legal authority to proceed with organ procurement without the consent of your family.
Essentially, the decision to donate is truly up to the hospital. They can do what your family wants, or what your registration says.
I have talked to my local deceased donor registration staff, and they do not take organs if the family does not consent because they do not want to be involved in a lawsuit. They are not alone; in the past 5 years, 35% of hospitals did not take organs if the family objected.
How do you want to die?
Most people want to die at home, in their sleep, after living a long life. If you want to live longer than 75 and die in the comfort of your own home, you won’t donate organs when you die.
Registering to be a deceased organ donor seems to be for traumatic, unexpected deaths. Yet we think we will donate when we die, as long as we register.
Consider This!
You are not an organ donor until you actually donate an organ
There is less than 1% chance you will donate even if you are registered
You must die in a certain “right way” to donate organs
Talk to your family about your desire to donate so they will honor your wishes if you die in the “right way”
Ask your family members if they want to be organ donors, in case they die in the “right way” and you have to make that decision for them
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Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.
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Most people are born with two healthy kidneys. There are some people who are born with only one healthy kidney, and they may never know they only have one unless they have an x-ray or ultrasound and then find out.

You can live a long life with one healthy kidney!

Then why do we have two? Great question.

Kidney Problems
If one kidney is damaged (like in a car accident) and no longer works, it is great to have another one that can clean your blood and keep you alive. Some people get cancer in one kidney and it can be removed and your other one keeps working. But in those cases, having two of any organ would be helpful.

However, most people with kidney problems have kidney disease, not cancer or an accident. When you have kidney disease, it affects both kidneys. That means both kidneys are “sick” and can’t clean your blood like they are supposed to. The disease might keep getting worse until your kidneys can’t keep your blood clean and keep you alive. That is when you would need to be on the kidney machine (dialysis), or get a kidney transplant, or you will die. Having two kidneys does not help in this situation.

Dialysis
Dialysis does the job of cleaning your blood like your kidneys used to do. Typically, you will still have your two bad kidneys, but they get smaller and are not a problem. They just sit there not working. Dialysis does not clean your blood as well as a healthy kidney, so you would feel sick much of the time and have little energy. Many people on dialysis are so sick that they are not able to work anymore.

You could also get a kidney transplant before you start dialysis. This is even better for your body and you live longer than if you start dialysis first.

Kidney Transplant
If you get a kidney transplant, you only receive one kidney. You could get this kidney from someone who died, or someone alive who wants to donate a kidney. A living person only needs one kidney and they can give one to you! You only need one working kidney to get you off dialysis because this one healthy kidney would clean your blood and you would feel more normal again with more energy. And many people are able to go back to work after a kidney transplant.

People who get kidney transplants often have three kidneys! One healthy kidney and two that are not working. If the transplanted kidney gets diseased and stops working, you might need another kidney transplant. Then you might have four kidneys; one healthy kidney and three that are not working.

Consider this!
Maybe the reason we have 2 kidneys is to give 1 away!

Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.
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Did you like this video? Do you shop at Amazon? Check out http://smile.amazon.com, sign up for free, and choose to support Kidney Donor Conversations! With each Amazon Smile purchase you make, Amazon will donate 0.5% to our nonprofit. Every bit helps us grow!
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Kidney Donor Conversations Update, coronavirus, and kidney transplants. See script below.

Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.

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Did you like this video? Do you shop at Amazon? Check out http://smile.amazon.com, sign up for free, and choose to support Kidney Donor Conversations! With each Amazon Smile purchase you make, Amazon will donate 0.5% to our nonprofit. Every bit helps us grow!

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EMAIL: info@MyKDC.org

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CAMERA & MIC: Samsung Galaxy Note 10
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Full Script:
This is Glenna Frey, Co-Executive Director with Kidney Donor Conversations, giving you an update from our headquarters, which is and always has been my home office.

What is happening for us right now?

As a nurse, I continue to work my part-time job at ProMedica Cancer Institute - typically wearing masks and other protective equipment. In our Healing Care department, I help people cope with cancer using aromatherapy, guided imagery, relaxation breathing, and Healing Touch. I am very cautious when I have to leave home because my husband (Amanda’s father) has a kidney transplant and the medications he is on makes him a high risk for getting infections.

The rest of my time I am working at home with KDC. We are no longer going to community events or providing in-person presentations. This past month I converted one of our living kidney donor presentations (Saving A Life: What They Didn’t Teach Me In School”) to a voice-over PowerPoint for Lourdes University nursing students so they can view this online.

Amanda lives in Michigan and is doing more online counseling from her office at Kalamazoo Psychology, helping people cope with their family, marriage, and their new life with Coronavirus.

Our weekly KDC meetings continue as they always have, using Google Hangouts.

How are those we serve are being impacted?

If you are a living kidney donor, your risk of getting COVID-19 is currently considered the same as the general population.

Most transplant centers are not doing transplant surgeries. That means deceased donors are not providing organs for people on the transplant waiting list. They are typically on ventilators and those are now needed for Coronavirus patients. We will not be able to get organs from those people - that is a missed opportunity.

Unfortunately, that means those on the transplant waiting list will have to wait even longer to receive a kidney. And we know many will die waiting.

What about living kidney transplants? Those surgeries are also not taking place. Most centers have put a hold on working up living kidney donors for now. We have a great opportunity to discover potential living donors during this time so that when restrictions are lifted, we can help those on the kidney transplant waiting list! I’ll discuss how.

What are we focused on in the short term?

We continue to provide education through blog posts and videos that you can find on our website at www.MyKDC.org and Facebook.

We are expanding our living kidney donor presentations to an online format, so if you are interested in a webinar for remote group meetings, family, or friends, let us know.

We continue to provide one to one telephone support for anyone curious about living kidney donation, if you have questions, or are feeling alone in the donation process and would like to talk.

What 2 things can you do now from your home to help?

If you would like to know if you might be healthy enough to donate a kidney, you can answer simple online questions from your home. Go to www.MyKDC.org home page and select “Click and see if you can be a kidney donor”. The more people that complete this survey, the more people we can help on the transplant waiting list and give them hope for a healthy kidney in the future ...

Share information about Living Kidney Donation with your family and friends to help us discover more living kidney donors!

Contact us a www.MyKDC.org. We are here for you. Stay healthy.

There are several ways to donate your kidney while alive. This video will discuss Directed Donation and how to start the process of living kidney donation.

Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.

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Did you like this video? Do you shop at Amazon? Check out http://smile.amazon.com, sign up for free, and choose to support Kidney Donor Conversations! With each Amazon Smile purchase you make, Amazon will donate 0.5% to our nonprofit. Every bit helps us grow!

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LINKEDIN: http://www.linkedin.com/mykdc
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http://www.MyKDC.org

EMAIL: info@MyKDC.org

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CAMERA & MIC: Samsung Galaxy Note 10

Not totally sure what a kidney is? This video will help you figure it out!

Kidney Donor Conversations is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to informing groups and individuals about all types of kidney donation and inspiring them to consciously choose their donation path. Visit http://www.MyKDC.org for more information.

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Did you like this video? Do you shop at Amazon? Check out http://smile.amazon.com, sign up for free, and choose to support Kidney Donor Conversations! With each Amazon Smile purchase you make, Amazon will donate 0.5% to our nonprofit. Every bit helps us grow!

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LINKEDIN: http://www.linkedin.com/mykdc
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http://www.MyKDC.org

EMAIL: info@MyKDC.org

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STATS

https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/factsheets/Organ-Donation-and-Transplantation-Stats


Pres Donation Center Denver
https://pslmc.com/specialties/kidney-transplant/



https://www.kidney.org/