subject: Kidney Donor Can Lead A Normal Life After Transplantation Surgery [print this page] Kidney donor as the name suggests is the person who lends his organ to the needy.
Kidney donor can either be a dead or a living person. It is myth that people have that human beings cannot survive on a single kidney. If you know of some one who is need of the organ then you can go ahead and donate your kidney to the needy without much worries.
It is essential that both the parties who are involved in the process undergo kidney pairing test. The test helps to determine whether the blood type, the tissue type etc are compatible. Only then the transplantation surgery is conducted. Thus a HLA (human leukocyte antigen) test is done for this purpose. Once the suitable pair is found the surgery is carried on. Thus a kidney donor cannot lend his kidney to any random person, proper compatibility is essential.
Kidney donor can lead a normal life after the surgery. They can do all the activities of the day to day life. However once you donate the organ you cannot go back to the normal life immediately. You will have to give in some time to recover. The time required for complete recovery is not fixed, it differs from person to person.
The kidney transplantation surgery as such is not a complicated surgery. It requires five to six hours to get completed, in case other complications do not arise. Generally once the surgery is done with the donor is kept in the ICU for some days and is discharged after eight to twelve days. The kidney donor will be required to take life long medications so that the body continues to function normally.
Once you donate one of your kidneys, the single kidney will have to perform the important function of absorption of the waste from the blood and throwing it out in the form of urine. Hence it becomes mandatory to take care of the organ so that it stays fit to carry on its duties. It is advised to drink plenty of water so that the kidney can absorb the waste easily. You will also be required to sty away from foodstuffs which have seeds in them, like tomatoes etc as they are not good for the organ. You will be barred from picking up heavy things, swimming will be prohibited till you recover completely.
A kidney donor provides a second life to the patient whose kidney is damaged upto the extent where it cannot be treated any more. The only option is transplantation.
