Page 42 - BusinessWest December 26, 2022
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 Organs
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into Mass General’s kidney-donation program than it was to get into the drama program at Yale.
He was exaggerating, obviously, but only to a degree. And the logistics of getting into a program constitute only one of the many challenges facing those who need a kidney — or any other organ.
For many, including Auerbach, there is the emotional trauma that comes with the news that they are essentially on a clock — they have so much time (in his case, 18 months to three years) to secure a donor before they will have to go on dialysis, or worse.
“That was a punch to the gut,” he told Berry on his radio program. “And I felt very alone at the time. My family, my partner, everybody was like, ‘that’s too bad — we’re here for you.’ But that’s not necessarily what I needed at the time. The only way for me to move forward was to take charge of my own life and to do my own planning.
“I thought, ‘worst-case scenario, if 18 months to three years is reality, you better have a will, you better have a way to transition out of your busi- ness, the people who work for you and depend on you — you better plan for that,’” he went on. “The other things is, do you want to be hooked up to a machine, or do you want quality of life? And
I chose the good quality of life. But ... my life will be expanded, knock on wood, if a donor comes through.”
And then, there is just the waiting, and not knowing if the phone is going to eventually ring with a caller delivering the news that a kidney has been found.
Unfortunately, as the population ages and with the numbers of donated kidneys — both from
living donors and those who have died — being relatively stagnant, the number of people living in limbo (that’s the kindest word to use) is only increasing, said McPartland, noting that there are generally between 150 and 175 on the waiting list at Baystate Health at any given time.
As noted earlier, those without living donors may stay on the list five years or longer waiting for a kidney to be donated, he went on, adding that, for some, especially older patients, their condi- tion may deteriorate while they are waiting — to the point where they become too sick to qualify for a transplant.
For quality-of-life reasons, someone needing a kidney will certainly fare much better if they can receive that organ before they need dialy-
sis, McPartland added. “The way to really help patients is to get a transplant before they ever start dialysis. The patients do better, they live lon- ger, and the kidneys work better and for longer.”
Riella agreed, noting that, in many cases, kid- ney disease, which he called a “silent disease” because those suffering from it generally do not experience pain or discomfort, isn’t detected until late in life — in many cases, too late, as their dis- ease has progressed to the point where they can- not move up a waiting list in sufficient time to ultimately improve their quality of life through a transplant.
This is why early detection is important, he said, adding that blood tests can reveal if and to what degree the kidneys are in decline.
Overall, the average wait time for a kidney is six years, said Riella, adding that this number has only increased in recent years, and for several rea- sons, especially the aging of the population. “The gap in the number of kidneys available and the
number that is needed is huge.”
Like other hospitals that perform kidney-
transplant surgery, Baystate and Mass General are very active in efforts to help encourage people to donate organs, and also in helping those on lists
“That number of those
waiting is growing by
”
   to get kidneys through various means, including matching programs.
For example, if someone on a list finds a will- ing donor, but that kidney is not compatible, that kidney can be exchanged for one that is compat- ible through a voucher program, enabling people to move up on a waiting list.
It is for these reasons that Auerbach chose to go public despite his many reservations about doing so.
“I thought, ‘I’ll become the poster child for organ donations. Hopefully, I’ll get one, or at least the list will get whittled down, and I’ll move up the list faster. I’ll be the spokesperson for those 100,000 people.’ That was my motivation.”
While many fully understand the urgent need for kidneys and other
roughly 10% a year.
 DR. LEO RIELLA
 organs, he explained, his story and that
Organs
Continued on page 56
  42 DECEMBER 26, 2022
BUSINESS OF AGING
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