Things to Look For Before Making a Kidney Donor

Kidney donor surgery is a medical step taken to replace a kidney that has lost its function. Patients whose kidney has been damaged due to chronic kidney disease or kidney failure, will be replaced with one donor kidney through kidney donor surgery. Kidney donation is done as an action that can save a person's life. Many reasons are a determining factor for someone willing to do a kidney donor. Emotional closeness is suspected to be the main reason.

Kidney Donor Rules

For those of you who are going to do a kidney donor for family, friends, or relatives, there are a number of things to consider before a kidney donor is done. The first thing the medical team will do is conduct an examination to assess the compatibility of your kidney with a prospective kidney transplant recipient. Another main requirement for prospective kidney donors is not having kidney disease or health conditions that have a risk of causing kidney disease. In people with diabetes, kidney donation may be less advisable. As for hypertension, some people with a history of hypertension might still be considered eligible to become kidney donors if the hypertension suffered can be controlled properly. Then a comprehensive health check will also be carried out to ensure that these actions will not endanger the health of the donor. If the examination results state that the donor's kidney is healthy, compatible with the recipient of the kidney donor and overall good health condition, then the kidney donor operation can be performed.

Take care of physical and mental health

There are several things that must be considered related to physical and mental health so that kidney donor surgery can be done. These include:

• Stopping the consumption of certain drugs

Your doctor may advise kidney donors to avoid taking drugs that can affect blood clots such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or blood thinners for the week before surgery. The purpose of avoiding the consumption of these drugs is to minimize the risk of bleeding during the procedure.

• Healthy diet

Eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins may be recommended before undergoing surgery. Avoiding certain foods and drinks, such as avoiding alcohol consumption several weeks before and after surgery, might also be recommended.

• Exercise regularly

Before doing a kidney donor, it is advisable to exercise regularly. This can be done by walking casually, biking, or swimming with the aim of improving lung health, so that the metabolism is able to run optimally. In addition, with better health, recovery after kidney surgery will also be faster.

• Quit smoking

About four weeks before a kidney donor operation is performed, the kidney donor must stop smoking. Because smoking can increase the risk of complications and make post-operative wounds slow to heal. If smoking is difficult to stop, ask your doctor for a solution.

• Prepare mentally

Preparing mentally before performing kidney donor surgery is very important. So that kidney donors do not feel nervous and feel excessive worry, try to discuss with people who have done a kidney donor and ask the things that are worried about. Asking medical personnel, including doctors, is also recommended that the donor donor is mentally prepared.

• Relaxation

Keeping the mind relaxed is also important to do. For example, going to the movies, spending time with friends or doing relaxation in the form of yoga and meditation.

The time for kidney donor surgery will usually be informed by the doctor about 4-6 weeks before the operation, so you can prepare and arrange your routine schedule. After surgery, it takes at least 4-6 weeks for the body to recover and resume activities. During the recovery process, the donor kidney will feel sick and uncomfortable. However, this complaint can be overcome by pain medication from a doctor. Activities such as driving or lifting heavy loads should also be avoided for six weeks postoperatively. The goal is for the body to recover quickly. After the kidney donor action is done, you need to understand, that lifestyle needs to be maintained so that it is always orderly and healthy, so that the quality of life after the donor kidney can also be maintained properly.