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Older Kidneys Do Well in Older Patients Needing Transplants

by VR Sreeraman on Feb 19 2010 2:58 PM

A recent study in John Hopkins University school of Medicine shows that your dad or grandfather need not wait for years for a much younger kidney! If he is say 70 years old, he does not have to be put on the same waiting list as younger patients, because he only needs a kidney for as long as he will live and he needs one as fast as possible, since, he has neither the cushion of time nor the stamina as the younger patients. So he need not be in the queue for a 20 year old kidney. He can get kidneys from what is called an Extended Criteria Donors (ECDs) list or kidneys from older donors if it becomes available first. That way, your loved one will also have a much better chance of survival.

The interesting finding of the study is that the patients do well with the older kidneys since they get it much sooner compared to the standard waiting list termed as standard criteria donor or SCD.

The statistics in USA is that one third of the patients over the age of 65 wait longer than necessary for a kidney just because they are not put on the list of people willing to accept kidney from older donors.

So chin up! If your septuagenarian father needs a kidney transplant ask your doctor about ECD list.

Source-Medindia
SRM


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