Post by sharonPost by Sharon TooS
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The show also needs to address living donors and why Carter's parents or
cousin aren't candidates to donate to him.
They may be candidates, but it doesn't mean they're willing to donate. My
friend's family, for whatever reasons, are not donating. Instead, I'm her
donor once she gets strong enough for surgery. I've had second thoughts in
the past, so I understand why it's not for every one.
Carter has divorced parents who have shown a selfish streak in the past.
Maybe they'll make up a medical reason why they can't donate. I imagine
that cousin Chase would not be considered a viable donor for reasons other
than medical due to his limitations from the overdose/brain injury.
Then there is that sister of his that went missing after season 1,
possibly to hook up with Chuck Cunningham from happy Days.
I agree, there may be personal reasons why a family member may not want to
donate; but even those should be addressed by the show, IMO. �Carter's
mother also had some substance abuse issues, as I recall, which might
disqualfy her from donation.
As an intern, I was on a renal service where we frequently evaluated
potential kidney donors who wanted to give to a family member. �There was a
very long list of disqualifying conditions and many people were removed from
consideration for things they didn't even know they had. �I recall a couple
of siblings who couldn't donate to their sister because it turned out both
had congenital malforations of one of their kidneys. �Their renal function
was normal, they had no idea there was a problem untl they began donor
screening. �Another woman who wanted to donate to her brother had a history
of having had a kidney infection as a teen. �She was treated with
antibiotics, recovered quickly, didn't think a thing about it. �It turned
out both of her kidneys had significant scar tissue from the infection,
putting her at risk for future renal failure and disqulifying her.
There can also be personal situations in families that preclude donation at
that time. �For example, my mother was on dialysis for 4 years before she
died. �After about 2 years, she decided to pursue a possible transplant.
One of my sisters was trying to get pregnant at the time and was already in
her mid 30's. Delaying a pregnancy to donate was not a good option for her.
I had just borrowed $150,000 to start my own medical practice. �There was no
way I could take six weeks off work at that moment and not default on the
loan.
I also was personally opposed to my mother getting a transplant because she
had severe vascular disease affecting multiple organ systems and I felt that
it was unlikely that a transplant would prolong her life, more likely, she'd
have a stroke or heart attack from the process which would shorten her life
or decrease the quality of it. �She went to Cleveland Clinic for a consult
where the gung ho transplant team told her what a wonderful challenge her
case would be. �First, they would assess her carotid arteries, which were
undoubtedly diseased, and surgically repair them. �Then, if she didn't
stroke out or die from that; they'd assess her coronaries and do a bypass.
If she made it through that, then they'd consider transplanting a kidney.
The docs actually told her this stuff with a straight face as though it was
a good idea. �My father attended the appointment with her and called me
afterwards to vent, 'What is wrong with these people? �Are they nuts? �They
want to kill her!' �I agreed with his assessment and told him all about
major medical centers and 'teaching cases'. �Luckily, my mother, who wasn't
too keen on hearing what I had to say on the topic, had a terrific internist
who laid it out for her and told her she was far more likely to die in the
process than to end up with a functioning kidney and she decided against
continuing.
Sharon- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Thank you for your insight and sharing of your experience. My
walk in the park to get and have one. You have to constantly go for
blood work in the beginning, take all kinds of medications. But it
was a great ten years with my mothers kidney. It is better than
dialysis and manual exchange PD dialysis. Home dialysis is the latest
mode that is gaining ground in the dialysis community. You have a
maybe one day off a week. You put your own needles in, monitor
days a week. It's called the NX Stage machine