New Blog 1: Kidney Donor

Kidney Donor

Donate-Kidneys for Life-Receive, is the theme of the World Kidney Day being observed today all over the world, to motivate healthy people to donate one of their kidneys to those who depend on donors’ organs to live a normal life.Interestingly, kidneys are the only organs in the human body which can be donated by a healthy person and both the donor and the recipient can lead an active life afterwards. “In Pakistan, 100 persons per million face renal failures every year, which means that every year, 18000 to 20,000 persons are in need of kidney transplants to live a normal life and these lives can be saved through kidney donations,” said Dr Anwar Naqvi, senior urologist associated with the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) on Wednesday.

Ironically, less than 1000 transplants take place in Pakistan every year, notwithstanding, the number of patients with kidney ailments is growing at a rate of 0.2million per annum, he added.

The senior urologist said about five million people were suffering from kidney-related diseases in Pakistan, adding that diabetes, hypertension and urinary tract infections were the three leading causes of the disease in the country.Pakistan, which has the sixth largest number of diabetics in the world, is now facing a rapid increase in the disease, he said. He also emphasised early diagnosis and effective treatment of renal diseases to avoid hypertension and heart failure. Dr Naqvi said blood siblings were the most effective donors as their tissues matched 100 percent with the recipients while parents’ tissues could match up to 50 percent. He informed SIUT was holding an activity on Thursday to create awareness on kidney problems and ways to prevent them. Meanwhile, the Aga Khan University Hospital is also holding a seminar to disseminate information on the chronic disease and highlight importance of kidney donation.