A Kidney For Our Mom

What’s involved in the surgery and what’s the recovery period? Most kidneys are removed by laparoscopic technique but occasionally an open technique may be required for the donor surgery. Hospital stays for the donor can be as short as 2 days but more typically it is 3 or 4 days. After leaving the hospital, the donor may experience some tenderness, itching, and pain in the incision site as it continues to heal. There may be some limitation on heavy lifting for 6 weeks after the surgery. You may also need to restrict contact sports for a time, but it is important to stay physically fit after surgery. Ask the transplant team when you can resume physical activity after the surgery.

What tests are used to determine if someone can be a kidney donor? There are a number of tests that will be done to determine if you are able to be a living donor and if you’re a good match for the recipient. In general, you should be in overall excellent health with no medical problems, and have two kidneys and normal kidney function. You may need physical examinations, psychological testing and donor/recipient compatibility testing, including blood and tissue typing.

We understand there are financial considerations associated with kidney donation. The Living Organ Donation Expense Reimbursement Program (LODERP) is administered by the Kidney Foundation of Canada, to reimburse donors for eligible expenses that they may incur during the donation process. Some of these reimbursable expenses include: - Travel - Accommodations... - Parking - Meals - Potential loss of income Learn more about LODERP at www.kidney.ca/britishcolumbia/loderp If you are interested in being a kidney donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.

The Living Donor Kidney Transplant process consists of 4 steps: Step 1: Pre-screen Step 2: Laboratory and Diagnostic Studies Step 3: Transplant Team Evaluation and Medical Imaging... Step 4: Surgery and Recovery Step 1: Pre-screen As a prospective donor, you can begin the process by calling the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You will need to complete a medical and social history questionnaire. If there are no immediate concerns, the nurse coordinator will arrange for a blood type and cross match test to check for compatibility between you and the recipient. Step 2: Laboratory and Diagnostic Studies You will need to do a number of tests to ensure it is safe for you to donate. Some tests may be done through your family doctor, and most can be done close to your home or work place, even if you live outside of the province. Women need to schedule an appointment with their family doctor for a mammogram and Pap smear. Step 3: Transplant Team Evaluation and Medical Imaging If the results of the laboratory and diagnostic testing are within normal range, and you decide you want to proceed, your next step is to meet the members of the transplant team in Vancouver. This visit usually happens over two days as there are many people to meet with and several medical imaging procedures that need to be performed. The transplant team includes a nurse coordinator, social worker, psychologist, transplant nephrologist and transplant surgeon. Medical imaging procedures include a nuclear renogram, ultrasound and CT angiogram. Once all the evaluations and testing are completed, the transplant team will determine if you are a suitable donor. The results of your evaluation are confidential and are not shared with the recipient. Once you know the decision of the transplant team, you can decide if you would like to proceed. If for any reason it is determined that you are not suitable as a living donor, the recipient will be told by the transplant team. Specific reasons for turning down a donor are not disclosed unless permission is granted. Step 4: Surgery and Recovery Choosing a surgical date usually requires discussions between the donor, recipient, surgeons, physicians, social workers and transplant coordinators. As the surgery date draws near, both you and the recipient will need to update some of the matching tests and other blood tests. Surgical procedures have advanced, and in most cases our transplant surgeons are able to use minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery. Donors usually spend 2-4 nights in the hospital and require between 4-12 weeks of additional recovery time. Donors from out of town should expect to stay in Vancouver for about a week after surgery.

Did you know almost anyone can be a kidney donor? The BC Transplant Agency indicates the following criteria for someone to be a kidney donor: - Donors must come forward voluntarily ... - Donors must be in good physical and emotional health, and be able to give informed consent for the transplant procedure - In BC, donors must be at least 19 years of age - There is no strict upper age limit for donors - Donors do not have to be an exact blood match in order to donate (The Living Donor Paired Exchange Program enables incompatible donor and recipient pairs to proceed with the transplant by exchanging kidneys with another incompatible pair.) If you are interested in being a kidney donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.

Top 6 Questions About Living Donor Kidney Transplant

Dear Family and Friends, We often write to share our most happy and memorable moments with one another, yet we seldom write in times of sadness and when we’re in need of help. Many of you know our mom, Yashmin Firoza Khan. She’s 56 years old. She’s a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a grandma and the list goes on. She’s been amazing at each of the roles life has blessed her with. She’s selfless, caring, kind and compassionate. She’s devoted her life to caring for her child...ren and those around her. She now needs our help. Our mom has been suffering from kidney failure for several years. She is now at the point where a kidney transplant is her best medical treatment. Unfortunately, her children and spouse are not a match, so we are reaching out to our network of family, friends and acquaintances to try and find someone that will be willing to donate. YES, I WANT TO DONATE: Please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point. I WANT MORE INFORMATION: Please feel free to speak to any member of our immediate family (604-779-7863) and/or visit the BC Transplant website. We’ve learned that it’s possible for kidney donors to live a normal and healthy life with just one kidney. We were also interested to learn that donors don’t have to be a relative or be an exact blood match in order to donate. Donors are carefully screened to make sure it is safe for them to donate and it is all done privately, so unless the donor chooses to tell us who they are, we won’t know. We understand donation is a very personal decision and we do not want anyone to feel pressured into doing so. We do ask you to please however get the word out in case you may know someone else that may be interested. Thank you so much, The Khan Children

Wait times for organ transplants continue to cost patients their lives across Canada... More than 4,350 Canadians were still waiting for an organ transplant by the end of last year (2018) - The Globe and Mail If you are interested in being a donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.

We have had many questions about why us siblings cannot donate to our mom given our blood type is the same, and the reason is due to a positive (reactive) crossmatch (compatibility of a donor's and a recipient's blood or tissue). Our mom is considered highly sensitized; she has many antibodies built up in her system that only give her a 1% chance of matching someone in British Columbia. Learn more at https://www.kidney.org//con/Antibodies-and-Transplantation... Our immune system naturally forms antibodies as a protective response against bacteria and viruses. In the context of transplantation, antibodies are good when they are ready to attack foreign invaders that can lead to illness, but antibodies can also be ready to attack foreign tissue such as a new kidney transplant. For this reason, antibodies towards different tissue types, otherwise known as anti- human leukocyte antigen donor specific antibodies (anti-HLA DSAs), are measured prior to transplantation. Having a high number of different antibodies towards different tissue types could mean that you are at high risk of rejection if you received a transplant from certain kidney donors. If you have antibodies against your particular kidney donor, the crossmatch will likely be positive (reactive) meaning that transplantation with that donor would be at high risk for rejection. If you are interested in being a donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.

Thank you so much to everyone for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers. We are so grateful for each person that has helped spread our story and search for a donor. We still have a long road ahead, but we feel so blessed with all the positivity that has surrounded our mom. Please keep sharing; we know together, we can find our mom the kidney she needs. Thank you . - If you are interested in being a donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.

Living Donor Mentor Program The Kidney Foundation of Canada (BC Branch) Living Donor (LD) Mentor Program is available for anyone who is considering being a living kidney donor to a recipient in BC or the Yukon. This free, peer support program matches potential living donors with mentors who have already donated a kidney. 13 past Living Kidney Donors have been trained as peer supporters... Anyone considering being a living donor can be matched with a LD Mentor to hear about their experience with living donation Interested donors can contact: 1-866-390-PEER If you are interested in being a donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.

Why is organ donation so important? Organ donation saves lives and restores health. A kidney transplant is not a cure, but it offers the best possible improvement to health and quality of life for many people living with kidney failure. The only other life-sustaining treatment available is dialysis, which artificially cleans the blood. The need for organs for transplantation is much greater than the available supply. Both kinds of organ donation (living and deceased) combined... still don’t meet the need for kidneys for transplantation. Wait time can vary from a few months to several years. Kidney Transplants Are Highly Successful Kidney transplantation is all very successful and acceptable treatment. The success rate for a transplant from a living donor is high: 9095% of these kidneys are working well after one year and they last on average 15 to 20 years. Success rates are improving every year with advances in medical research. What Exactly Is Living Kidney Donation? Normally everyone has two kidneys, although you can live a healthy life with just one. Living donation takes place when a person freely decides to donate a kidney to someone who needs a transplant. This offers the person waiting for a transplant an alternative to dialysis or a deceased donor transplant. Donating a kidney is the most common type of living organ donation. A living kidney transplant is the most successful of all transplant procedures. Advantages of Living Kidney Donation Time to Plan The surgeries can be scheduled when both the donor and recipient are in the best possible health. This will help to ensure that the quality of the donated kidney is at its highest. Less Waiting The length of time a recipient waits for a kidney is shorter when the organ comes from a living donor. Also, other recipients on the transplant waiting list will move up the list when the recipient’s name is removed. Avoidance of Dialysis With a living donor kidney, the transplant surgery can sometimes take place even before the recipient begins dialysis treatments. Better Donor Organ Survival Rates The transplanted kidney of a living donor often lasts longer than a kidney from a deceased donor. It tends to be healthier, and often works right away. Feeling of Satisfaction For the donor, knowing that you’ve helped someone in need is a very positive psychological experience. To learn more, visit https://kidney.ca/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx If you are interested in being a donor for our mom, please contact the donor nurse coordinator at St. Paul’s hospital at 604-806-9027 or 1-877-922-9822. You can mention you are interested in living donation for Yashmin Firoza Khan. All information is private and confidential and any potential donor can make the choice to back away from the process at any point.