SSM Health Medical Minute: Learn about becoming a living kidney donor
ST. LOUIS – Living donor kidney transplantation occurs when a healthy individual donates one of his or her kidneys to a person with end-stage renal disease, thus sharing the gift of life. The SSM Health Transplant Center at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital provides a full range of medical and surgical services for patients with end-stage renal disease and live disease in a newly renovated, state-of-the-art-clinic.
Nephrologist Dr. Krista Lentine, the medical director of the Living Donor program at SSM Health Transplant Center, says when kidneys fail, treatment options are dialysis or transplantation. Nationwide, there are more than 90,000 people awaiting kidney transplants and about 1,100 waiting in the St. Louis area.
“Transplantation is preferred because it does the best job of restoring patients to health. Last year, nationwide, there were 20,000 deceased donor transplants and 6,000 living donor transplants,” Lentine said. “So that number should be celebrated as a milestone, but it’s clearly not enough to meet the need given the large number still on the waiting list.”
Lentine is a world-renowned researcher who co-chaired the international work group that developed guidelines for living donor kidney transplantation. She wants to get the word out that there is safety in living donation.
“An important point about living donation is that the cost of the medical procedure of the evaluation of the donation, surgery or there’s no cost to the donor,” she said. “That’s covered by the recipient’s insurance or Medicare.”
You can become a living donor or learn more about the process of starting evaluation as a living donor by calling 314-257-8310 or clicking here.
The SSM Health Medical Minute airs Wednesdays on KPLR News 11 at 7 p.m. and FOX 2 News at 9 p.m.
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