Kidney Function

You should speak with your physician about your interest in transplantation, and obtain further information about the success of transplantation, types of donors and the complications of transplantation. You should also seek a willing donor among your relatives, and discuss the type of donor, living related or cadaver you would like with your family and physician. You can assure family members htat a physician will not accept a kidney from a living donor if they believe that there is significant risk to that donor.

If you are to receive a living donor kidney, the following will be arranged and completed prior to transplant:

• tissue typing from both yourself and the potential donor
• full donor workup or medical evaluation
• periodic physical examinations by the local nephrologist or transplant center
• blood tests and X-rays (other types of tests may also be required)

If you are receiving a transplant from a cadaver, the following will be completed before your name is placed on a waiting list:

• you are tissue-typed and the results are placed in a computer with other names on the waiting list
• a tube of blood serum must be sent regularly from the dialysis center to the tissue-typing laboratory for sensitivity screening
• periodic physical examinations, X-trays and blood tests are ordered

Also, the hospital or dialysis center must be assured of your whereabouts by receiving the telephone numbers and addresses so that you can be reached in the event a kidney becomes available.

If a Cadaver Kidney Becomes Available

You will be notified when a potential kidney becomes available. Once notified, you should stay close to a phone to receive information on the time of hospital admission. Arrangements for traveling to the hospital should be made and you will probably be told not to eat or drink anything in preparation for the surgery. You may need to be dialyzed before the surgery depending upon when you were last dialyzed, your blood chemistries and your general medical condition.

In some cases, uremia, the building up of waste products int he bloodstream between dialysis treatments, can affect thinking. Sometimes, a person may experience difficulty in remembering things, inability to concentrate and confusion. On rare occasions, they may lose contact with reality or experience hallucinations. Experiencing things, like seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling or smelling things that do not exist, can be very frightening. If this happens, it is important for you to tell your physician. Some people who experience hallucinations do not tell anyone for fear that they are losing their minds, when in reality, the hallucinations can be caused by inadequate dialysis treatments, the need for medications or by fever and infection (delirium).

Kidney Failure and Sex
Sometimes, your desire for sexual activity, or sexual appetite, changes with chronic illness. The ability to enjoy sex, on the part of the male or female, depends on you as an individual. Impotence, or the inability of a male to have an erection or to maintain an erection, can occur. Problems with ejaculation are also a possibility. However, your ability to participate in sexual activity and to enjoy sex is still possible. If you find your sex life changing, talk to your doctor or social worker, because these problems may be treatable. Very often, the stress and anxiety that is related to kidney failure and the subsequent treatment can affect your sexual appetite and ability to enjoy sex.

Counseling
A social worker has the necessary skills and training in counseling and family therapy. If you think that counseling for you or your family members is needed, you should talk with a social worker. This professional member of the medical team can help determine if counseling can benefit you or other members of your family.

Famous actor/comedian Tracy Morgan is now in recovery after successfully receiving a kidney transplant on December 10th. The 42 year old star was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 15 years ago. While he lived with the disease for several years, it wasn’t until recently that Morgan started taking his condition seriously, after his doctor informed him that he may end up losing a foot.

“That was it for me,” Morgan explained. “Now I take my insulin every day. My blood sugar doesn’t get over 120.”

People that suffer from Type 2 diabetes (the most common type) are particularly at risk for kidney failure. This type of diabetes inhibits the body’s natural ability to properly produce insulin. Insulin is a vital hormone that is necessary to get glucose into cells so that it may be used as energy. If this process is obstructed, the glucose may build up in the bloodstream which may lead to eye, nerve, and kidney damage. If this problem is neglected, there may be serious consequences such as loss of limbs, stroke, or heart disease.

Along with frequent doctor visits, there are many ways for people with Type 2 diabetes to minimize their risk of experiencing kidney failure. For instance, eating fish twice a week is believed to significantly reduce the risk of kidney disease for diabetics. Poor diet is one of the biggest risk factors.

Tracy Morgan is expected to recover quickly, and will probably only have to be absent from a couple episodes of 30 Rock, his current hit television show. Upon returning, Morgan will be welcomed by his fellow cast members such as Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and fellow kidney transplant recipient Grizz Chapman.