Program focused on live donors is breaking records

ABC NEWS (Australia)

New data shows that while organ donations increased over the last year, they still haven't returned to pre-covid levels. But one transplant program focussing solely on live kidney donations has broken all previous records.

Transcript

00:00 Belinda Neuwick always hoped she wouldn't need a transplant, but at 48 years old she

00:07 was on the brink of renal failure.

00:08 It was just getting harder and harder.

00:11 You had so much fatigue and a lot of pain.

00:15 Polycystic kidney disease runs in her family.

00:19 Her mother Wendy died at 62 after spending 15 years on dialysis.

00:24 Her husband was ready to give her one of his kidneys.

00:27 I've always thought that hopefully we would be a perfect match.

00:32 Unfortunately he wasn't, so the couple signed up to the Australian New Zealand Paired Kidney

00:37 Exchange.

00:38 The program allows a person facing kidney failure with a friend or family member who

00:43 wants to donate but isn't a good medical match to be paired with others in the same situation.

00:49 Altruistic donors willing to give a kidney to a total stranger can also start chains

00:53 of transplants.

00:55 The paired program has had its best year yet, facilitating 80 transplants across state and

01:01 trans-Tasman borders, including a chain which is expected to reach 20 transplants this year,

01:07 the longest in Australian history.

01:09 There are 14,000 people on dialysis in units just like this one all around Australia and

01:14 many of them are waiting for a kidney.

01:16 Most kidney transplants still come from deceased donors, but live donors are starting to play

01:22 a much bigger role.

01:24 There's major advantages to living donor transplants.

01:28 Overall living donor transplants tend to do a bit better in the long term.

01:32 Nico and Belinda got the call and Nico gave his kidney to a stranger so Belinda could

01:37 receive one.

01:38 It was just such a special moment seeing it get wheeled in.

01:42 There's always risk but just seeing that immediate recovery is just remarkable.

01:48 It was a pretty miraculous transformation.

01:50 There's no other word other than miraculous.

01:54 Part of that glow is gratitude.

01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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