A woman from Bedford, who donated one of her kidneys eight years ago, is asking others to consider whether they could also ‘Share Their Spare’ today, on World Kidney Day (12 March, 2020).
Jacqueline Emkes, (59), donated her kidney as a living donor in 2012 at the Royal Free Hospital in London, after complications resulting from a hysterectomy in 2009 meant that she would have to lose one of her kidneys for her own health.
After talking to the hospital team, Jacqueline decided it would be great to turn her horrible situation into a positive one and chose to donate her removed kidney to someone in need.
She said, “There are currently nearly 5,000 people waiting for a kidney in the UK, and around 250 people die each year in need of one.
“Whilst my donation was triggered by my own health complications, I’m using the opportunity of World Kidney Day to remind people that they do not have to be deceased to donate, but that healthy people can potentially step forward to help someone now as a living donor. To find out more visit www.giveakidney.org”
Bob Wiggins, of charity, Give a Kidney said, “We’re encouraging everyone to consider if you could share your spare.
“Many people still don’t know that any healthy adult can volunteer as a living donor and more than 800 people in the UK have now donated one of their healthy kidneys to a stranger, changing hundreds of lives for the better.
“Not only that, but someone stepping forward to donate in this way can potentially trigger up to three transplants, so donated kidneys are incredibly valuable.
“Together this group of donors, known as non-directed donors, have already saved the NHS tens of millions of pounds over the cost of keeping the recipients of their kidneys on dialysis treatment.”
Any healthy adult can volunteer to be assessed as a living donor and a kidney from a living donor is the very best treatment option for most patients with kidney diseases.
The volunteer donor typically goes through a thorough assessment over several months to ensure they are fit and healthy and that the risk to them is as low as possible.
If approved, they are matched with a suitable high priority recipient from the transplant waiting list, or they are entered into a sharing scheme which enables one non-directed donor to potentially ‘trigger’ up to three transplants.
Lisa Burnapp, Clinical Lead for Living Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant said, “Living donation is highly successful, and hundreds of people have had their lives saved and transformed, thanks to the generosity of these donors.
“Through donor chains, up to three people can benefit from a single donation because it can trigger a chain of transplants. The more people who are willing to consider donating in this way, the more kidneys there are available to help everyone waiting for a transplant.”
Living kidney donation has been taking place in the UK since the 1960s. It is a highly successful form of transplantation carried out at NHS hospitals and regulated by the Human Tissue Authority.
People wishing to consider giving the gift of a kidney to someone as a living donor can find out more at www.giveakidney.org
#ShareYourSpare
To register your wish to donate your organs after your death please visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk
