Donating a kidney during your lifetime to a loved one who needs it has multiple benefits for the recipient. Here are the ones.
- In France, 62% of transplant activity concerns kidney transplants, which means that the kidney is the organ in greatest demand.
- The Biomedicine Agency is raising awareness about non-post-mortem kidney donation.
- Donating a kidney to a loved one during your lifetime has multiple advantages for the recipient.
As National Kidney Disease Awareness Week comes to an end, the Biomedicine Agency explains why it is important to consider donating this organ when a loved one requires it and you are still in this world.
Kidney donation while alive: six facts to take into account
Reason n°1: a faster transplant than following a post-mortem donation
Early planning of the transplant resulting from a donation from a loved one offers greater peace of mind to the recipient. Unlike a post-mortem donation, there is no waiting list.
Reason #2: Better quality grafts
After ten years, the survival of grafts taken from living donors is 76.3%, compared to 61.4% for grafts from deceased donors.
Reason #3: lower risk of rejection
Kidney transplantation between relatives, especially between members of the same family, presents excellent compatibility, thus reducing the need for heavy anti-rejection treatments.
Reason #4: much better quality of life than with dialysis
Kidney transplantation significantly improves quality of life compared to dialysis, offering greater freedom and less constraint linked to immunosuppressive treatments.
Reason #5: prolonged life expectancy for the patient
Donating a kidney to a loved one offers the patient a better life expectancy and prevents a deterioration in health.
Reason n°6: unchanged life expectancy for the donor
The risks during harvesting are minimal and the donor can lead a normal life with a single kidney, without significant impact on their life expectancy. Only annual monitoring is scheduled.
The kidney is the most requested organ in France
Of the 5,634 French transplants carried out in 2023, 3,525 were kidney transplants (including 557 thanks to a donation during the lifetime of a loved one). In France, 62% of transplant activity concerns kidney transplants, which means that the kidney is the organ in greatest demand.
“It is essential to remember the importance of kidney donation which allows many patients to regain kidney function associated with an almost normal quality of life and prolonged life expectancy,” underlines the Biomedicine Agency.
“France is the third country in the world to carry out the most organ donations per capita from deceased donors, but with regard to living donation, our country is however at the bottom of the ranking of Western countries”, deplores in conclusion Doctor Laurent Durin, emergency physician trained in public health.
-1730888646.jpg "Kidney donation while alive: “It was an act of love that I did for my sister”")
