If you are a person who is suffering from kidney disease, your situation might get to the point where you and your doctor decide that it is time to seek kidney transplant surgery. At that time, finding a kidney transplant donor will take on utmost importance. You may already know that finding a donor is not as simple as many people think. Chances are very strong that you will start by checking for a possible family member to help with the donation. Beyond that, a good friend or someone willing to offer one of their kidney's to you will be the next best thing. Collectively, all these people are considered living donors.
There are also cases in which people have died as a result of an accident. They may have previously agreed to donate their organs upon their demise. Such acts of kindness and charity are of the highest order as the kidney transplant donor will now be able to keep someone else alive.
Before any surgery can commence, there are a few tests that will need to be performed. There are many components of the blood and usually, these individual components do not match exactly from the donor to the recipient. One of the keys to a successful surgery is to have a perfect match between as many of the components as possible.
The three major tests include blood type, HLA typing, and cross-match testing in the case of a living donor. Blood types consist of O, A, B, and AB. O is considered the universal donor while AB is known as the universal recipient. Human leukocyte antigen typing, or HLA for short, is the matching of six critical antigens found in the blood. The more that match, the better are the chances for a successful surgery. Finally, cross-match testing involves the mixing of donor blood with blood from the recipient. A negative result means the blood is compatible while a positive result means the recipient's blood contains antibodies that will fight off the cells from the donor... no good.
After the kidney transplant surgery has been successfully made, the patient will have to be supervised by a physician very carefully. That person will usually have to take medications for the rest of their life. This is in order to ensure that the new kidney will not be rejected by the body. On average, in the United States, there are over fifteen thousand kidney transplant surgeries performed each year with approximately one-third supplied by a living donor and the balance coming from a deceased donor.
Since the vast majority of kidney transplant surgeries are successful, it is possible for you to get back to a normal life, free from the dialysis machine. Having a positive outlook, a good measure of patience, and a little bit of luck are that is needed to get the right kidney transplant donor.