Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3

[himer24]

I have a question; when you donate a kidney, do you automatically have chronic kidney disease because you only have 1 left? I have stage 3 and i feel great. never had a problem since i donated 11 years ago. just wondering...

[Fr Pat]

     Having only one kidney is not a "kidney disease" as long as the kidney is working well. I have been told that some doctors may simply look at your test numbers, compare them to charts for "average" (TWO-kidney) people and casually declare "stage 3 disease". Other doctors will look at your entire health picture, take into consideration that YOU have only one kidney, and THEN determine if you have "stage 3 disease" or if this is your a"new normal". So it would be wise, I think, to ask further questions. Does your doctor have experience in treating living kidney donors? That can make a difference.
    Fr. Pat

[elephant]

Hi himer24,  you may need to educate your doctor(s), since they may not have ever had a donor as a patient.  I keep track of my blood results to show that they are stable over time.  This is your "normal" level as a donor.  Interestingly, when I have been hospitalized for my colitis and am getting tons of IV and prednisone, my kidney function shows as actually normal.   Love, elephant

[Oldnslow]

I've gotten into heated debates with my doctors over this.   I'm also labeled as CKD III with GFR between 50 and 59.      I said, hey the kidney is healthy.   They said we have to go on the GFR.     Well, thank heavens the insurance company didn't boot me.   

[Michael]

I've had the same discussion with my doctor. We agreed to leave the CKD in my medical record because... well... he has to.    But he made a note acknowledging that table is not for someone with one kidney.

Also, I've been keeping track of my kidney health biometrics for 20 years using a spreadsheet as evidence that it's been holding steady for decades: https://livingdonorsonline.org/kidney/afterwards/#:~:text=LDO%20created%20a-,personal%20worksheet,-listing%20the%20tests

Finally, I've captured lots of discussion on the issue of "low" GFR for living kidney donors in this message thread: https://livingdonorsonline.org/ldosmf/index.php?topic=7950.0 There might be information there to share with your primary care physician.