In a recent news story of great success and altruism, the oldest living kidney donor donated a kidney to a neighbor in great need. Frank Dewhurst donated his kidney to Linda Nall, a neighbor who had been struggling with lupus since 1986. At age 84, Dewhurst is now the oldest living kidney donor in the United States. KNO spoke with ASN member, Dr. Hassan Ibrahim, Chief of Nephrology at Houston Methodist Hospital, about the experience.
In a recent news story of great success and altruism, the oldest living kidney donor donated a kidney to a neighbor in great need. Frank Dewhurst donated his kidney to Linda Nall, a neighbor who had been struggling with lupus since 1986. At age 84, Dewhurst is now the oldest living kidney donor in the United States. KNO spoke with ASN member, Dr. Hassan Ibrahim, Chief of Nephrology at Houston Methodist Hospital, about the experience.
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Q: First of all, congratulations on such a successful transplantation. When you were asked to consider this case, involving a donor of advanced age, did you approach the case any differently than a typical transplantation process?
A: The main issue with a person who is of advanced age who is considered for kidney donation is to consider their overall cardiac health. Kidney donation is certainly a major surgery and an elderly person must have the appropriate level of cardiac fitness as determined by thorough cardiac evaluation, and kidney function declines with aging in many individuals. Therefore, an older person should be assessed for their exact level of kidney function, as done with other donors. Ideally, a kidney from an older individual should be given to an older recipient.
Q: With information you’re authorized to provide, what seems to be the future outlook of the donor’s and recipient’s health after the transplantation?
A: Our donor is doing extremely well. He was discharged the next day after his surgery. He is back to his usual level of exercise and has become an important advocate for live kidney donation. The transplanted kidney should extend the recipient’s life and improve her lifestyle for many years.
Q: What advice would you have for others, of any age, who are considering becoming living kidney donors?
A: We believe that a major obstacle to live donation is the multiple misconceptions people have about the safety of live donation. We encourage people not to make assessments on who could be a viable candidate for them, but to allow the transplant program to help make that decision. The case of this older gentleman makes that point well, as many would not have given him the chance to be evaluated because of his age. End-stage kidney disease has dire consequences and expanding the live donor pool in a thoughtful way is needed.
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