Too few French people know it: it is possible to donate your kidney during your lifetime and thus bring a sick loved one back to life.
- Chronic kidney disease affects nearly one in ten people in France, or about 5.7 million people.
- Among them, 91,875 are treated for chronic end-stage renal failure, either by dialysis (55%) or by transplant (45%).
From October 18 to November 11, 2021, the Biomedicine Agency is launching its new campaign to inform about kidney donation to a loved one and raise awareness of this practice which is still poorly known in France. “We can and we must do better”, declared at a press conference Emmanuelle Cortot-Boucher, director general of the Biomedicine Agency. “Kidney transplantation from a living donor is practiced too little in our country, even though it is very effective”, she adds.`
Kidney transplantation is offered to people with end-stage kidney disease. This allows them to stop dialysis and return to a normal life. “Kidney transplants made from living donors allow the patient to have a longer life expectancy and a graft that works longer”, specifies the biomedicine agency.
Who can donate their kidney?
Kidney donation to a loved one is regulated by law. Thus, the donor must be of legal age and responsible, but also maintain a relationship with the recipient. It can be the patient’s father or mother, spouse, brother or sister, son or daughter, grandparent, uncle or aunt, first cousin or first cousin. Anyone providing proof of living together for at least two years with the recipient, or of a close and stable friendship with the sick person over the same period, can also donate their kidney. “There is no age limit, except the physiological age”, says Professor François Kerbaul, director of organ-tissue harvesting and transplantation at the biomedicine agency.
Kidney donation is a complex subject that many patients do not dare to discuss with those around them. “Preparing for the transplant takes time and requires complicated procedures. It is therefore essential to talk about it with the family as soon as possible, but also with your doctor, as soon as the diagnosis of kidney disease is pronounced. insists the biomedicine agency.
The gift of living in figures
In 2019, in France, 3,643 kidney transplants were performed, including 510 thanks to living donation (i.e. 14%). In 2020, 2,595 kidney transplants were performed, including 390 thanks to living donation (i.e. 15%).
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