I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: okarol on February 05, 2009, 08:21:50 AM
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My Big Fat Vegan Kidney Donation
Posted February 2, 2009 | 01:15 PM (EST)
What's the awesomest gift you can give someone? Their life back, right?
That's what I had been thinking for a while. And so, I had been
looking into donating a kidney. From my research I knew that the
surgery was really safe (only 2/10,000 fatality rate, lower than for
appendectomies), and that you can survive perfectly well with just one
kidney. Really what you're looking at is a bit of inconvenience in
exchange for...saving someone's life.
Sign me up!
My research eventually led me to a popular site called
matchingdonors.com, and even though I knew what I was going to find
there, I was NOT prepared. It's like a dating site, except the
personal ads are all from people begging you to save their lives by
giving them a kidney. So it's full of messages like:
"I'm 40 years old and want to live to see my kids grow up."
"I'm 60 years old and hoping to live to attend my grandson's graduation."
"I'm 25 years old and just want the chance to live a normal life."
Heartbreaking doesn't begin to describe it. Most of these people were
on dialysis, where, three times a week, you sit for hours hooked up to
a machine that does the kidney-work of filtering out waste from your
blood. Dialysis is, at best, a mixed blessing: it keeps you alive, but
totally screws up your life and doesn't even work all that well. Most
dialysis patients are weak and sick all the time, and die within a few
short years.
Once I saw the matching donors ads, I knew I would have to donate --
how can you turn someone away when you've seen their face and heard
their desperate story? In fact, I wished I had a thousand extra
kidneys to donate. But I only had one, so how to choose?
Lots of the people self-identified as animal lovers, with some
including photos of themselves with their companion animals in their
ads. As a vegan and animal/veg activist I knew I would definitely want
to donate to one of them. And then I came across an ad without a
picture that included this text:
"I am a retired Veterinarian from Colorado. My wife and I started a
no-kill animal shelter 20 years ago to give animals a second chance at
life. I would like a second chance too. We have invested everything to
help save the animals."
My kidney starting singing sweet songs of love, having found its dream
recipient. His name is Bill Suro, and the shelter he and his wife
Nanci started in Denver is called MaxFund. They save sweeties like
Millie, a dog who was found in New Mexico with anemia, a fused spine,
grossly infected back feet, and (rage alert) BB shots embedded
throughout her body. Many shelters would have euthanized her, but at
Maxfund she got all the medical help she needed and is now whizzing
around in a rollie cart! (See her story here; joyful weeping alert.)
So I called Bill and offered to donate. Then came a months-long
battery of medical tests, including the ever-popular 24-hour urine
collection, in which you get to pee into a giant bottle and then hand
it over to some lucky nurse. Then we had some vegan drama: some of my
urine levels were low according to the standards of traditional
medicine. Dr. John J. Pippin from the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine to the rescue! He wrote a note to me, which I
forwarded to the transplant center, explaining, "Since many vegans
have lower (healthier) protein intake than omnivores, and NO animal
protein intake, their GFRs [glomerular filtration rates, y'all -HR]
will often be lower...vegetarian and vegan diets actually improve
kidney function for patients with kidney disease."
In November, I flew from Boston to the Medical College of Georgia in
Augusta, where the transplant would take place. There, I met Bill and
Nanci in person for the first time, which, as you can imagine, was
intense. They were filled with gratitude and amazement bordering on
shock, since only about a 100 people a year get a kidney donated by a
stranger. So, for them, this was like winning some kind of
super-lottery. I understood their gratitude but felt uncomfortable
over it. For me, the donation really was an inconvenience as opposed
to a major sacrifice -- honestly don't know why more people don't do
it. Besides, I am profoundly grateful for their twenty years'
commitment to helping animals, which seems like a much bigger deal.
The operation - in which the surgeon laparoscopically "popped" out my
kidney through a small incision -- was a snap. (I have a 1.5″ scar
above my navel, and 2 tiny satellite scars where they inserted the
lights-and-camera action.) Afterward, I was on an epidural for a day
but after that never took any pain meds at all.
The main downside was a few weeks of inconvenience, as I mentioned
earlier. Even though the surgery was minimally invasive, it does take
time to recover. I needed to get a lot of rest and not lift heavy
stuff for a while.
Health-wise, the main risk for the donor is hypertension, and the
doctors also warn you against eating too much protein, which can
strain the remaining kidney. Given that both conditions correlate with
meat-eating -- no problemo! Oh, and you're limited to one alcoholic
drink a day, which I guess for some people could be a hardship; and
they also warn you against activities like contact sports that could
damage the remaining kidney. (If I ever need a kidney myself, by the
way, I move to the top of the wait list.)
I lost some income due to down time. But there were no medical or
out-of-pocket expenses for me, as the recipient and his insurance pays
for everything.
And Bill? The minute my kidney was in him, I am told, it started
producing urine like a champ -- and although the surgery and recovery
are a lot harder for the recipient than the donor, he's doing great.
He recently wrote me that, "a bad day now is still better than a good
day on dialysis."
A lot of people look at you weird when you tell them you're donating a
kidney to a non-family member, just as they look at you weird when you
tell them you're vegan. In this society, unfortunately, you can ruin
countless people's lives running a corrupt investment fund and still
meet with more social approval than if you try to lead a life of
nonviolence and altruism. But we're all working on that, right? So,
just like with the veganism, I shout the donation out loud and proud.
I anticipated feeling great about having donated -- and I do.
(Research has shown that donors experience an uptick in self-esteem.)
What I didn't anticipate was that I would now have these two amazing
people, Bill and Nanci, in my life. They have really taken pains to
grow the connection, sending me letters, cards, local newspapers and
even cherished family photos. What a gift. (And let me acknowledge the
others whose love and support made the donation possible -- especially
my friend Deb, who, when I told her what I was doing, immediately
volunteered to watch my dogs for weeks while I was away.)
We all know that there is nothing more glamorific than saving a sweet
life. At the same time, I know that not everyone's going to sign up to
donate. If you're one who might, that would be an amazing thing -- and
email me for info or support, if you'd like. In the U.S. alone, more
than 6,000 people every year, or around 1 every 90 minutes, dies
waiting for a kidney.
Even if you're not able, or willing, to donate a kidney, think about
what you could do to save a life. There lots more ways to do it than
you might think, including going vegan, which, if you're an American,
saves about 90 lives a year (!), compared with the average American
diet, and also helps keep you healthier. (And if you're not yet ready
to go full-vegan, every little bit helps.) Aside from that, you'll
find many other suggestions on how to save a life in philosopher Peter
Singer's Website and forthcoming book, The Life You Can Save .
Sometimes, I find myself wondering what my kidney is up to at the
moment. "I wonder if it's walking by the pond." "I wonder if it's
working at the vet clinic." "I wonder if it's watching bad TV." I
guess I've come to think of it as being like a dog I gave up for
adoption. I don't wonder if it's happy, though, because I know that if
any kidney is happy, mine is -- having found its "Mr. Right," an
amazing being who shares its values and is committed to helping keep
other amazing beings alive and happy.
Adapted from a blog entry at the glamorific GirlieGirlArmy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-rettig/my-big-fat-vegan-kidney-d_b_163139.html
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One misconception is that kidney donors would move to "the top of the list" if they ever need a kidney. They don't. But they do get an extra point which would give them an advantage over others who are waiting.
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So this is what was being discussed in chat last night.