Improving Creatinine Clearance to become a donor

[willowtreewren]

Hi, everyone,
When my husband was finally put on the transplant list (that is one of those frustrating stories relating to insurance issues), I was tested to be a donor. I was a perfect match for him but my creatinine clearance fell below the cut-off level for our center. Since we both still work full time at our own business, it would be really hard for us to go to another center.

I heard somewhere that there are things that I can do to improve my CC and I am willing, but don't know, and have not been able to find this information. Our center is willing to retest me, but I don't want to take that urine test again until I've studied, so to speak.

Does anyone know what steps I can take to achieve this goal?

I would go to the ends of the earth to help this man. We've been married for 40 years. Except for PKD he is as healthy as they come.

Thanks for any advice!

Aleta

[xtrememoosetrax]

Hi,
You probably know this already, but it would not be a good idea to try to "game" the test to make your creatinine look better than it really is.  If you were to donate, your remaining kidney is supposed to hypertrophy and compensate for the loss of the other one, but since donating, I have learned that this effect gets somewhat smaller as we get older; that is, a 20-year-old donor will regain more function than, let's say, a 50-year-old.  In general, it is my understanding that a person's post-donation kidney function is going to be about 70-80% of what it was pre-donation.  And then there is also some normal diminution of function that goes with aging, so if your renal function as measured by creatinine clearance and/or GFR is borderline or low, there would be good reason for you to think twice about donating. 

However, having said all that, I have read about people who have "failed" one creatinine test but passed another.  There's something called a Glofil test that I believe is supposed to give a more precise result than can be obtained via the regular 24-hour urine test.  If you go to livingdonorsonline.org and ask the same question there (you may want to try reading some of the existing threads on creatinine clearance, 24-hour urine tests, etc, first), there are people who can give you better information on this than I can, so I would suggest that you do that. 

I wish you and your husband all the best: I certainly understand your desire to help him, but it's important not to compromise your own health in doing so.  Remember that the medical folks are trying to get people OFF the transplant list, not put anyone on it. 

[willowtreewren]

Thanks, Moose!

I'll check out the links that you gave. I was very borderline on my test. I don't want to "game" it, as you said, but I just want to make sure that I'm not being passed over if I am indeed a good candidate.

We do NxStage and my husband feels great, but the time involved has really had a tremendous impact on our business.

Once again,
Thanks,
Aleta