What Is Expected When You Donate A Kidney
Those dealing with total kidney failure endure significant and long-term hardships, including the pain of kidney dialysis, lengthy hospital stays and other symptoms that can impact your personal life, family and business. In the long term, the ideal treatment for anyone dealing with total kidney failure is typically a kidney transplant.
What Do Doctors Look For?
While most kidney transplants are successful procedures, sometimes a patient’s body rejects the transplanted organ. To boost the likelihood of success, kidney specialists attempt to determine which potential donors are least likely to result in a rejection.
Immediate family members are usually the first choice, but a donor does not have to be related to a kidney recipient. Physicians evaluating the likelihood of kidney transplant success also evaluate these factors:
- HLAs: Do a kidney donor’s HLAs (human leukocyte antigens) match the patient’s? Every person has six, but a six-point match is not necessarily required for transplant success.
- Cross-matching antigens: Doctors blood test both a patient and a potential donor to find if a cross-match (or a negative reaction) happens. If no adverse reaction takes place, doctors may perform the transplant surgery.
- Blood type: Do the patient and donor have compatible blood types?
Speak With An Attorney; Call Today
The attorneys at Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A. are known and acknowledged nationally for their knowledge of medical malpractice statutes and issues related to kidney disease. We encourage you to contact our law office in Coral Gables, Florida, by calling 305-744-5888 or sending us an email.