Donating a kidney to someone you don’t know recently made the news when actor and director Jesse Eisenberg announced his plan to do just that. Officially known as non-directed or altruistic kidney donation, it’s a hugely generous act but it often proves to be almost as life-changing for the donor as it is for the recipient, as Jan Shorrock, 49, found out. Shorrock, who is now an executive officer at the charity Give A Kidney, donated a kidney in this way in 2013, and says being able to improve someone else’s quality of life so profoundly is incredibly rewarding. With six people a week dying while waiting for a transplant in the UK, and thousands more enduring lives restricted by dialysis, she explains the crucial facts about donation.
1 Kidneys from living donors have the best success rates
While kidneys from deceased donors are still used in approximately 70% of transplants, kidneys from living donors are seen as the gold standard treatment. A year after surgery, 96% of living transplanted kidneys are still working well. “The kidney tends to last longer and work better,” says Shorrock, who was so affected by meeting kidney patients during the donation process that she ended up working for Give A Kidney.
“And, really importantly, the surgery can be planned for the person who’s receiving the kidney – unlike when a deceased donor kidney suddenly becomes available and you’ve got to scramble a surgical team and get the recipient in quickly,” she says.
2 The need is massive
There are getting on for 7,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant in the UK, and while they’re waiting many people are on dialysis – effectively a life support machine that does the kidneys’ job of cleaning their blood, then pumps it back into their body.
“Kidney disease is really difficult to live with,” says Shorrock. “Dialysis is a life-saving treatment, but it can have a huge impact on your quality of life. You may be going to hospital three or four days a week for a process that takes several hours and is very, very tiring. The rest of your life revolves around that.”
3 You can live a totally normal life with only one kidney
Studies have shown that donors generally have safe levels of kidney function and life expectancy after their donation. That’s because their remaining kidney generally gets bigger, and works harder, in a process known as compensatory hypertrophy. Part of the painstaking screening process before someone can donate is to check how well their kidneys work, and they’re usually left with the higher functioning one. Most people find their lifestyle doesn’t change in any way, says Shorrock, as long as they’re living healthily and continue to do so. That means eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and getting professional medical advice before engaging in activities that could injure the remaining kidney, such as contact sports. “Having only one kidney doesn’t affect me at all,” she says. “I don’t really think about it.”
4 Donating is safe – and serious complications are rare
Becoming a donor starts with a series of rigorous checks, including blood tests and scans, to make sure that you’re healthy enough to donate. A psychological assessment ensures you understand the risks involved and are emotionally prepared for the process. The operation to remove a kidney, called a nephrectomy, is mainly done these days as keyhole, or laparoscopic, surgery. This reduces recovery time – most donors are in hospital for between one and three nights afterwards – and leaves only small scars.
Kidney donation carries the same potential risks as any surgical procedure, including infection, bleeding, blood clots, and reactions to the anaesthetic, but serious complications are rare. Donors are fully informed about the risks as part of the process. They may feel tender for a few weeks, but can usually get back to most normal activites within a month to six weeks.
5 Just one living kidney donation can save up to three lives
Transplant patients and their donors ideally have to be compatible by blood group and tissue type – so even if someone has a friend, family member or partner willing to give them a kidney, a transplant may not be possible because they’re not a match.
This is where a non-directed living donation can kickstart a chain of transplants. The kidney donated by a stranger goes to the first patient, and a kidney from that patient’s friend or loved one – which wouldn’t have worked for them – goes to a compatible patient on the waiting list. The chain can continue so as many as three transplants take place.
“Non-directed kidney donations can be a kind of wildcard, opening up possibilities for chains that may never otherwise be possible – so they’re really, really valuable,” says Shorrock.
6 You can get reimbursed for expenses, including your pay
There are strict rules against financial rewards for donating a kidney, but an NHS reimbursement scheme aims to ensure that donors aren’t left out of pocket. It can cover things such as travel costs and loss of earnings if you need to take unpaid leave as part of your recovery period.
7 You don’t have to be young to donate
There is no mandated cut-off age for living donation, because age is less important than the health of the kidney. Plenty of people in their 60s, 70s, and even some in their 80s, have successfully given kidneys.
8 Changing someone’s life is uniquely rewarding
While she was still in hospital, groggy from the anaesthetic, Shorrock was told her kidney had been transplanted and was already working well. “It was lovely to hear,” she remembers.
And while the donation process is anonymous, recipients can write to their donor after the transplant if they wish, without identifying themselves.
Some time after her donation, Shorrock got a letter from the young woman who’d received her kidney. “She shared the impact on her and her baby.”
“Occasionally I still think about how old that child would be now and think hopefully she’s had a different kind of childhood to how it would have been if her mum had been on dialysis,” says Shorrock.
“We have very few opportunities to transform other people’s lives. I think lots of donors feel very lucky that they were able to use the privilege of good health to make that difference for somebody.”
