By Jon Dawson – Contributor
Live donor kidney transplants are becoming more common as medical facilities continue working on procedures for donors that are less painful and disruptive to their lives. In addition, organizations help expedite waiting times through “paired live donors.” These programs, also known as donation daisy chains or donation circles, work as follows:
- A person in need of a kidney transplant has a loved one or friend who wishes to donate a kidney, but the kidney is not a match.
- The paired donation organization has a match to that donor
- The donor donates the kidney to the patient who matches.
- Another donor is a match to the first donor’s patient.
- That donor gives a kidney to the other patient, and so on.
The larger the daisy chain or wider the circle is, the more likely it is that participants will match. For many, this is a time- (and life-) saving strategy can literally make the difference between life and death.
Some Concerns
Patients with kidney disease, kidney failure, liver disease and other organ diseases already have compromised immune systems. Prevention of blood-to-blood pathogen transfers is a huge concern, both for patients and transplant programs.
Despite success with daisy chains, one area of concern for patients who undergo a kidney transplant is contracting Hepatitis C. The Hepatitis C virus attacks the liver, and if untreated can be fatal. In the long term, Hepatitis C causes permanent damage to the liver, necessitating a liver transplant.
Addressing Those Concerns
Transplant programs take unusual steps to lessen the likelihood of this virus. In addition to a rigid series of screening tests, donors are screened clinically and asked many lifestyle questions to ensure that they are not at risk for Hepatitis C. The virus can only be transplanted by blood-to-blood transmission. These programs continually research diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C in order to increase patient safety.
Lessening Financial Worries
Many transplant programs are approved by Medicare. Approval by Medicare for transplant programs along with the number of accreditations available is evidence of the stringent steps that these programs take to lower the number of Hepatitis C infections in transplant patients. The confidence that Medicare has placed in various transplant programs is important to patients for more than assurance of quality. It means that every patient who undergoes a transplant in a Medicare-approved transplant program is eligible to receive Medicare Part B for post-surgical medical support.
Things to Consider
After a diagnosis has been made and a second (and maybe third) opinion has been offered, there is a long list of transplant programs from which to choose. When investigating these programs, there are several factors to consider.
ü Are there transplant centers that specialize in your disease?
ü Will your insurance company cover a procedure performed at this facility?
ü Is this transplant center ideally located? Does that matter?
ü What is the experience of this transplant center?
ü How many transplants does this center do in comparison to other centers?
ü What is the matching level required at this facility?
ü What is the cost for a procedure at this center?
These are only a few of the questions that should be asked of every program before due consideration can be made. While it may seem as if a transplant is a fairly cut-and-dried procedure, there are many considerations that go into choosing the transplant program that is best suited to each individual patient.
As science continues to make strides into the future, transplants will undoubtedly become safer, and the chance for bloodborne pathogens will diminish significantly. In the interim, transplant centers will continue to take cautious measures with every patient in order to mitigate the chance for secondary infections.
