kidney Transplant Questions

[Boxing]

hello

I have some questions related to Kidney Transplants.

1. if a living donor donates who is 57/58 female to a 35 year old male, can the kidney still last for 25 years plus?

2. Based on a test called cross match they got 5/6 match on tissue etc .. how likely is it to reject immediately ? The transplant team say 99 percent of transplant they do is successful due to the rigorous testing before using the kidney.

3. Is it more than likely having a kidney transplant in mid 30”s you would need second one at some point?

4. Once you have a transplant does the kidney function go back to normal range I.e egfr 60% plus?

Thanks for any responses!

[gretazreta]

hi!

My understanding is that an older person’s kidney may still last as long (my donor was 61 and I was 50 and the team didn’t seem to think that was an issue for me!)

Not sure if the exact details on cross match except the team won’t proceed unless the match is likely to be successful- they do thousands of these and they will know.

I think at 35 you may need another down the track but it is not inevitable. People out there have some LONG lasting transplants. Also worth considering is that the technology is improving all the time, so who knows what the process might look like in 20 years?

I am 3 months out from transplant, prior my eGFR was 6, now it is around 55-65. Other people I know have a little lower but still have a massive improvement.

Hope all goes well for you

[Boxing in reply to gretazreta]

Thanks for the response!

[Winner76]

Hi.

How long a kidney lasts is more down to healthy living with your new kidney. I recieved my kidney at 43 and I expect I will need another one or dialysis. Yes your transplant will work just as well as your own kidney but remember you will also be on medications with side effects. I think I got 4/6 tissue match with no problems at all . They wouldn’t accept your donor if they didn’t think it was worth it.

Good luck

[Boxing in reply to Winner76]

good to hear! How are you coping with the meds and how long have you had your transplant for? My concern was a female kidney giving to male with aged 57 giving to 35 year old..

[Winner76 in reply to Boxing]

I’m coming up 5 years from a deceased donor. The meds are difficult in the first few months but once they get it right it’s ok. I did get diabetes from the steroids 🤦‍♀️ I recieved a kidney from my sister in 2016 she’s only 10 years older than me and it was removed 3 days later because of a blood clot that formed in kidney, it’s really rare for that to happen. But it just shows you , you could have a perfect match , age etc and it doesn’t mean it’s better. Your donor must be very healthy and have a good kidney because they wouldn’t let her do it if she wasn’t.

[Boxing in reply to Winner76]

oh wow! Everything comes with risk! Did the diabetes eventually go away? I am on steroid for some tumor treatment at the moment My HbA1c blood test came out 46 mmol/mol. I hope it goes back to normal when I am off it.

[Winner76 in reply to Boxing]

Hi,

I’m always going to be on steroids so will probably always have diabetes. Here in Ireland they never take transplant patients of steroids or it’s very rare. . My HbA1c is 44 , I take a tablet daily.

[Boxing in reply to Winner76]

do you have symptoms from 44 that’s not really high.. what medication have they given you for it?

[Winner76 in reply to Boxing]

No symptoms at all. I’m on 5mg of Tragenta a day.

[Boxing in reply to Winner76]

oh that’s good then your number is pre diabetes I believe! I’m hoping mine comes back to normal range once I cone off steroids for my treatment

[Beachgirl32]

I haven’t had transplant yet . But wanted to say congrats on finding a donor give out of six in pretty good . I am a hard match cause of high antibodies.

Only in your 30s possible for second transplant but we never know how long . My codon got his in his 40 s so far it lasted 20 years and his numbers are still good .

My brother had his kidney 12 years ago in his 50 i know I’m not sure about the percentage of the function but his creatinine has stay about 1.0 sometimes it has gone up like 1.2 but they get it back down he has always been a vegetarian don’t know if that help he in his 70s now

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

So many factors go into answering this question! First is the recipient diabetic? I am not an expert but answer from my own experience. Depends on your recipient knowing what issues she has. The better the tissue match the better the outcome. Also depends on the immunosuppressant meds. I had a cousin whose mother was his LIVING donor, but due to heart issues due to his diabetes his transplant only lasted 6 years.

I have had a transplant back in 1999...so am 25 years post transplant. I am not diabetic. My kidney failure was all due to strep throat infection. My deceased donor was a 4/6 match. I had no other health issues

It is so hard to tell how she will do! For me, it was telling my transplant team every issue I had, no matter how small. They don't know your issues without telling them!

My transplant has been a TRUE MIRACLE! I am leading a fantastic LIFE!!!

[Boxing in reply to WYOAnne]

wow thanks for the response and a great sucess sorry! My main concern was a female of 57 donating to a 35 year old male… if that makes any difference. None of us are diabetic or have heart problems. 25 years is a great length of time! What is your current egfr?

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador in reply to Boxing]

Creatinine of 0.9 and eGFR of 94l Your match should be great!!!!

[Boxing in reply to WYOAnne]

thanks so much! I am currently on a drug to control my tumors in my half kidney to get as much time before I need to have the transplant. If and when then drug decides to stop working I then will need to transplant..

[PostivelyJo in reply to WYOAnne]

That must have been quite a shocking time . That a Strep throat infection could end up with a transplant . I was aware if need one due to PKD and had time to adjust .

[ShyeLoverDoctor]

it’s a big assumption a fifty seven-year-old person is going to be able to donate. You have to go through rigorous testing and only one and five people who tries to donate is eligible.

They also do try to roughly match body size to the donor and recipient.

Kidney function declines with age and they don’t want to take one of your kidneys if the other isn’t great. Usually they require a GFR of 85 because the donor loses 20% to 30% of their kidney function. For example, I had two people be tested age 59 and 60 and they had a GFR of 83 and 80.

it is true that one in three donors is over the age of 50.

Forget about cross matching. I matched only two of the seven antigens. However I had no antibodies in my blood to human tissue since 1. Never been pregnant. 2. Never had blood transfusion 3. No prior transplants.

Furthermore I’m blood type B and I received a blood type A (sub 2 ) kidney . Apparently there is more than one type of A blood. Don’t ask me to explain because it really is too complicated. It’s called an ABO incompatible match donation. It’s risky and more chance of rejection.

Creatinine is more accurate measure of function than GFR. However, people use GFR because it’s easier. Transplant centers are actually happy with a creatinine of to 1.5. Plenty of transplant patients are in the 50s GFR, so no it may not go back to the 60s. You can’t count on that.

[redpanda67]

Hi Boxing,

I had my transplant 20 years ago at age 30. My donor was 45 with only a 2 point match. While kidney function may return to normal GFR above 60, it also may not. As ShyeLoverDoctor said, GFR is helpful for doctors because it considers age, and the consensus is that our kidney function declines as we age. However, I find creatinine is easier to compare over time. My creatine has never been "normal" and usually runs around 1.8-2.0. It's been like that for 20 years as long as you are stable and creatinine is still within a functional range, doctors will be happy.

[Boxing in reply to redpanda67]

wow 20 years! That is good I would be over the moon if I got 20-25 years kidney transplant. It’s scary because it can stop working at anytime and this could from 1 year to many many years.. some trying to keep what I have at the moment but I am heading for transplant at some point in next few years that’s for sure!

[Cleo0806 in reply to Boxing]

I donated my kidney to a lady who is about 60 or so. I donated when I was 72. My recipient is doing well with my kidney. Originally I was turned down by two transplant centers to donate. If one transplant center turns you down get another opinion from another center. The 3rd transplant center accepted me and there were no problems. Most important thing is for me to take care of my health every day!

[Boxing in reply to Cleo0806]

wow! What an age to donate! How long have they had your kidney for and what number match was you out of 6?

[LRob0223]

while I can answer the expectancy of a kidney I know I was 46 when I received my sisters kidney who was 61. I am hoping with medical advancements it will last my life time if I do my part however I do know there are no guarantees and my body could decide to reject it at anytime. My GFR has not returned to the 60’s (it did briefly after the transplant) but at 1 1/2 years I am hovering between 45-50 and feel really good.

[Boxing in reply to LRob0223]

that’s great to hear! I hope it continues!