61
Living Donation Forum / Re: Does Low GFR Mean CKD in Living Kidney Donors?
« Last post by Michael on July 21, 2023, 04:50:21 PM »What Should a Living Kidney Donor Do?
I've seen lots of posts from living donors who were told they have CKD based on the standard GFR chart. It's happened to me. But... I don't think the right response is "you're probably just fine." I think the correct response is "We don't know."
Unfortunately, there aren't standards agreed upon by medical and insurance professionals for evaluating the health of a living donor's remaining kidney, and there are no plans to do so. (I've asked.) So what to do? I think there are three things:
1. Work with your doctor to measure your kidney health year over year to spot any negative trends. Here are specific suggestions, including a worksheet to help with the tracking: PDF version - https://livingdonorsonline.org/worksheets/LivingKidneyDonorHealthTracker.pdf Word version - https://livingdonorsonline.org/worksheets/LivingKidneyDonorHealthTracker.docx
2. Educate your primary care physician. There are peer-evaluated medical papers/commentaries on the topic, a couple of which are posted above.
3. Support legislative protections. Until there are agreed-upon standards for donors, we are at risk of being denied insurance coverage or charged higher rates. Thus, we need the Living Donor Protection Act of 2023 to be passed in this Congress. There are several state initiatives, too.
I've seen lots of posts from living donors who were told they have CKD based on the standard GFR chart. It's happened to me. But... I don't think the right response is "you're probably just fine." I think the correct response is "We don't know."
Unfortunately, there aren't standards agreed upon by medical and insurance professionals for evaluating the health of a living donor's remaining kidney, and there are no plans to do so. (I've asked.) So what to do? I think there are three things:
1. Work with your doctor to measure your kidney health year over year to spot any negative trends. Here are specific suggestions, including a worksheet to help with the tracking: PDF version - https://livingdonorsonline.org/worksheets/LivingKidneyDonorHealthTracker.pdf Word version - https://livingdonorsonline.org/worksheets/LivingKidneyDonorHealthTracker.docx
2. Educate your primary care physician. There are peer-evaluated medical papers/commentaries on the topic, a couple of which are posted above.
3. Support legislative protections. Until there are agreed-upon standards for donors, we are at risk of being denied insurance coverage or charged higher rates. Thus, we need the Living Donor Protection Act of 2023 to be passed in this Congress. There are several state initiatives, too.