Donating a kidney.. if you have no idea what youre talking about please dont answer..?

My mom was born with Juvenile nephronophthisis which is a type of kidney disease. She has had 2 transplants in the past 20 yrs and now she is in chronic rejection.. last time she was on dialysis she went into cardiac arrest and was in a coma for 5 days. I'm afraid her body simply cannot handle another round of dialysis and waiting on the transplant list.

Which brings me to this- I've read that if you are closely related you could be a perfect match. And I have type O- blood. I've learned that her success rate from not only a live donor, but from a perfect match are much higher than not. But, I'm wondering if I would be a candidate to even donate since I have the bad kidney disease gene. I can't get it because my dad was not a carrier, but I'm not sure if the doctors will see me as a risk. If anyone knows the answer to that, or even has experience as a donor I could use some wisdom advice and such. thanks

Also my mom's sister can't donate because the disease is genetic and her sister has it as well.

I'm married so I'm also worried my husband is a carrier of the gene. We do plan to have kids in the future but not now, I'm only 20 yrs old.

They don't only look at the blood type, there are other things they look at to see if there is a match. I've heard that a sibling is more often a closer match than a child because the siblings both have genes from both their parents, but you (her child) only have her genes. Does she have a willing brother or sister? The best thing to do if you want to try to donate is to talk to her doctor and see if there are any problems with it.

If you are going to give the kidney to your mother then i cant see the problem with that, they might have been worried if it was possible for you to get the disease, and you had already donated one of your to your mum and then you only had one to deal with the disease. Ask your doctor about it, get the tests done, you have nothing to lose if you arent a match, but you will know that you have done as much as you could to help your mum and she will know that too. Good luck I hope your mum is ok

I'm not sure what guidelines your Mother's doctors have to abide to as they can very from state to state....but the fact that the disease is not active in you is a good sign....just because you have the gene doesn't mean that your kidney isn't good, it just means that there is a possibility that you could again pass that gene onto your children. I would suggest talking to your Mom's doctors in private, see if that can run the needed tests on you without your Mom's knowledge and only bring it up to her if you are cleared in advance. There would be no need to add stress to her already difficult situation by getting her hopes up. Good luck.

Bless you for offering to donate a kidney. If your kidneys are in good working order and the Nephrologist has determined you are not @ risk for developing the disease and you are a good match for her, there is a possibility you will be considered..talk to the Dr. heading her transplant team, he/she would have the final say..I hope she receives a kidney soon.

If you want to donate one of your kidneys to your mom you should tell her this and make an appointment to see her Dr and discuss this with them.

My sister had 3 transplants in 28 yrs. My mother gave my sister the first transplanted kidney, at that time they had 4 things they looked for that matched, they only had 2 out of the 4 matches, it's no longer like this.
Her second transplant was from a cadaver. The third transplant was from my daughter, her niece.

Its been 3 years this month since the last transplant and things are going quite well for her.

Type O is the universal donor. So you have that in your favor already.

You should get tested for the genetic markers for this disease. I'm sure if you inherited those genes from your mom, then the transplant team wouldn't risk your health by having you donate.

You are right about live donors being better for compatibility, and about the importance of being a "perfect match". I would certainly look into it, but be realistic about your expectations.

You can at least take the first steps--they will tell you if you are not healthy enough. Be upfront with your information. it may help your mother in the long run.
Be aware that an operation like this is actually harder on you than the one who receives the kidney--this is because they are taking something away from your body. It takes you longer to heal.
I am on dialysis right now--so, I'm no expert, but I feel like this is a knowledgeable response. Good luck, and I hope your mother does well/improves.