RELATED CONTENT: Genetic nightmare for Warrnambool family
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A WARRNAMBOOL woman has been given a new lease of life.
Just months after being placed on the transplant waiting list, Rachael Sealey is in hospital recovering after receiving a new kidney.
The 35-year-old said while she was in pain, she was extremely grateful someone had given her the gift of life.
She said she had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love following her operation. “I would just like to say a big thank you to each and every one of you who sent me your love,” she said.
“Such great love and support is what’s getting me through this.”
Ms Sealey had been on dialysis three days a week for the past two years.
Her family has broken records with the high incidence of kidney disease.
Ms Sealey’s mother Jenni De Grandi and sister Lisa Hyder both underwent kidney transplants two years ago within three weeks of each other.
Mrs DeGrandi’s older sister Jeanette Kelly also underwent a kidney transplant, their mother was on dialysis and their grandmother died from kidney disease.
Ms Sealey said doctors were shocked by the high number of family members struck by kidney disease.
Mrs DeGrandi said they had been told their immune systems attack their kidneys.
Dialysis was a traumatic experience for Ms Sealey, who has a needle phobia.
Ms Sealey was only placed on the transplant waiting list and was worried she may wait for years for a suitable donor.
She encouraged people to become an organ donor.
“It’s such a huge thing to be able to save someone’s life,” Ms Sealey said.
“If you can do it, you should.”
Mrs Hyder was lucky to have a kidney donated by a friend and Ms Sealey has witnessed her return to health.
Shawn Delaney donated a kidney to Mrs Hyder after she spent 18 months on dialysis.
Ms Sealey’s mother wasn’t as lucky, with her body rejecting the donor kidney at the start.
“My body rejected it for the first two weeks,” she said.
Want to give someone the gift of life and become an organ donor? You can register here.
FAST FACTS
Organ donation in Australia
People of any age, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion, could one day need a life-transforming or life-saving transplant. Kidneys for transplantation come from living or deceased donors.
At any one time, more than 1,500 people are on Australian organ transplant waiting lists. The average waiting time for a kidney transplant is almost four years.
The first successful kidney transplant in Australia was performed in 1965, and since then more than 30,000 people have received transplants.
Australia currently has one of the highest success rates for organ transplantation in the world, with survival rates in the first year exceeding 90 per cent.
Kidney donation after death
One deceased donor can transform the lives of up to ten people and significantly improve the lives of many more.
Studies show the majority of Australians are willing to become organ and tissue donors. They also know that family confirmation is required for donation to take place.
For as many people as possible to become potential organ and tissue donors, every family needs to ask their loved ones about organ donation, and know their decisions.
What is a deceased donor?
Deceased donors are people who die with relatively healthy organs that are considered suitable for transplantation. Deceased donors may have indicated they would like to be an organ donor, or their family makes this decision after their death.
Very few people – less than one per cent – will die in hospital in circumstances where it is possible for one or more of their organs to be donated. People are around ten times more likely to need an organ transplant than to become a deceased donor.
The most common type of deceased organ donation is ‘donation after brain death’. Brain death occurs when the brain swells causing a loss of blood flow and oxygen to the brain, and the brain stem stops working. Brain death is death.
Around 1.7 million Australians aged 18 years and over (one in every ten adults) have signs of chronic kidney disease.
If you know the risk factors and ask your doctor for a regular Kidney Health Check you can help detect kidney disease early and improve your outcomes.
Are you at increased risk?
Adult Australians are at an increased risk of chronic kidney disease if they:
- have diabetes
- have high blood pressure
- have established heart problems (heart failure or heart attack) or have had a stroke
- have a family history of kidney failure
- are obese with a body mass index (BMI) 30 or higher
- are a smoker
- are 60 years or older
- are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin
- have a history of acute kidney injury.
You can find out more at the Kidney Health website.
SOME MORE FACTS
One organ and tissue donor can transform the lives of 10 or more people
Australia is a world leader for successful transplant outcomes, but we still have a long way to go
About 1600 people are on the transplant waiting list at any one time
In 2014, 378 organ donors gave 1117 Australians a new chance in life.
The majority of Australians are generally willing to become organ (76 per cent) and tissue (76 per cent) donors.
Less than 1 per cent of people die in hospital in the specific circumstances where organ donation is possible.
In Australia the family of every potential donor will be asked to confirm the donation decision of their loved one before donation can proceed.
In Australia more than 60 per cent of families give consent for organ and tissue donation to proceed.
Of the 51 per cent of Australians that know the donation decisions of their loved ones, 94 per cent would uphold these decisions.
We encourage all Australians to register their donation decision on the Australian Organ Donor Register and to discuss their donation decision with family members.
SOURCE: Transplant Australia