Kidneys serve important function

By Carlina Villalpando

The Daily Times

February 17, 2006

More than 1,600 people in South Central Texas currently are awaiting organ transplants, many of whom need kidneys.

While kidneys don't always get a lot of press as far as vital organs are concerned, theres no denying they're essential for life. The kidneys make urine, remove extra water and wastes, help control blood pressure, keep body chemicals in balance, maintain strong bones and tell your body to make red blood cells. When they begin to fail, life becomes very uncomfortable. The future for those who have kidney disease often is bleak.

"The kidney is a vital organ. Once they start failing, there are things we can do to preserve the kidney, but when they're gone, you die," Dr. Gerardo Chica said Wednesday.

According to local nephrologists, more than 3,100 in the South Central Texas region currently receive dialysis to treat in-stage kidney disease. In fact, according to the National Kidney Foundation, one in nine people suffer from in-stage kidney failure and millions more are at risk for developing the disease.

"Not many people understand how horrible long-term kidney disease is," said Kent Bressler, a kidney transplant recipient. "It's very painful, and it drains the life from you."

Kidney or renal failure has several causes. Chica said acute renal failure occurs at any age and can be treated to full recovery if identified early. Common causes of kidney failure include damage to the organ caused by diabetes, high blood pressure, renovascular disease, kidney stones, urinary tract infections and Lupus. Most of these conditions occur over a long period of time and cause irreversible damage to both kidneys. However, Chica said potential for failure can be anticipated and stopped before damage occurs.

Treatment

Once kidney damage is done and failure advances to below 15 percent of its normal function, dialysis becomes necessary. Dialysis is a treatment that removes waste and fluid from the body when kidneys no longer work well enough to keep the body healthy.

Eddie Molina, facility administrator for Kerrville Dialysis, where patients receive treatment locally, said dialysis requires patients to make complete lifestyle changes.

"To even come close to doing the kidney's natural job, (patients) have to get treatment at least three times a week for about three to five hours at a time," he said. "When you think that the normal kidney works 24 hours a day, 12 hours a week barely is adequate."

The most life-sustaining and long-term treatment, however, is transplantation.

"Depending at what stage they start treatment, people can live with kidney disease for a long time before they completely shut down," Chica said. "We try to protect the kidney as much as possible to preserve it as long as we can, but when it advances, there's not a lot you can do. That's why I'm a big advocate of transplants."

Chica said the success rate of transplant surgery has improved remarkably, especially for patients who receive living organs. However, a growing shortage in the supply of organs and tissues available for transplantation consistently keeps many people from getting them.

Become a kidney donor

In the United States, more than 89,000 patients currently are waiting for an organ transplant; nearly 4,000 new patients are added to the waiting list each month. According to the NKF, 17 people die while waiting for a transplant each day in the United States.

"That's a staggering number," said Kent Bressler, a kidney transplant recipient. "There are literally thousands of people on the list that will die waiting for an organ. There are thousands of organs that go wasted, because people don't sign up as donors."

Bressler had a transplant in 1987 and will celebrate 20 years of survival on April 30. His kidney was donated by his brother, but Bressler said perfect strangers also can be matches.

Autumn Risner knew Terry Jacoby just two months before agreeing to offer him her kidney.

"I knew it was something God wanted me to do, so I never had a hesitation," Risner said. "So I got tested, and we were about as close a match as we could be without being related."

Risner, who works with Bressler at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital, was vaguely familiar with organ donation, but it wasn't until she met Jacoby that she began seriously considering the possibility of becoming a donor. She said she learned that the procedure was relatively painless.

"I've had absolutely no problem since the procedure. With kidneys and livers, you can donate, and still be fine," Risner said. "I think that's why God gave us two -- so we can share."

"If you even have the slightest inclination, don't be afraid of it," she added. "There also are a lot of people that say they would donate, but just haven't taken the time to sign up. That narrows it down a lot."

Copyright © 2006 The Daily Time.

This article posted March 5, 2006.