Thousands face wait for kidney
Thousands of people are awaiting a new kidney in New Zealand, but face a lengthy wait as donations struggle to meet even five per cent of the demand.
Drawn-out wait times have renewed calls for more awareness, with some patients waiting more than 10 years for a transplant.
The number of kidney donations in New Zealand has slowly risen over the past five years, from 108 in 2012 to 147 in 2015.
However, there are 2700 patients on some form of dialysis in New Zealand.
Adding to the wait is the necessity to match both blood and tissue type.
Among those still waiting for a kidney is Josh Hill, 29, of Whanganui, who has spent the past 10 years on dialysis.
For Hill, the simple act of staying alive requires being hooked up to a machine three times a week, 41⁄2 hours each time.
He described the possibility of a new kidney as ‘‘a dream’’.
The Manawatu Standard revealed his decade-long plight last week, and since then Hill said he had received messages from people eager to see if they could match his B+ blood type.
‘‘I could not believe it. I did not think there would be that many even want to offer.’’
Hill said there was simply a lack of awareness.
‘‘A lot of people don’t even know what kidney failure is, or dialysis.
‘‘The donation rates in New Zealand are some of the lowest in the world because there is not the awareness.’’
Kidney Health New Zealand national education manager Carmel Gregan-ford said the average
‘‘A lot of people don’t even know what kidney failure is, or dialysis.’’ Josh Hill
wait time for a kidney was somewhere between two – five years.
‘‘In order to be accepted onto the transplant waiting list, the patients have to undergo a series of tests to ensure their body would be able to cope.’’
This included a blood group and tissue type test so when a kidney became available, it could be given to the person with the closest match.
Gregan-ford said there was a real need to raise awareness about organ donation and the importance of talking to family about it.
‘‘Just having ‘donor’ on your licence isn’t enough as your family make the final decision.
‘‘I think a public awareness campaign would help.’’
In 2015/16 a kidney transplant averaged $36,589, according to the Ministry of Health.
This did not include costs such as anti-rejection drugs, and other post-transplant healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, the average cost of dialysis was about $45,000 per person, per year. This did also not include costs such as transporting patients to and from treatment, which was done in some cases.