Cape Town – Bronwen Fredericks and her mother Bridget are deeply grateful for her new kidney – thanks to a young organ donor who had discussed organ donation with his family prior to his untimely passing.
The 15-year-old was one of two Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital patients who received their new kidneys in similar fashion last month. They now have a chance to regain their childhood back home and in their communities, while “Living Well with Kidney Disease”, the 2021 theme for World Kidney Day tomorrow.
Bronwen said: “I’m really grateful to my donor and excited for my new life. I’m really looking forward to being able to dance again.”
Her mother shared that a simple blood pressure test started them on the path to where they are today.
“I would like to encourage everyone, especially parents, to do a regular general check-up with their children at a clinic or GP. A simple blood pressure test could show us that there was a serious problem and we were able to take action that saved my daughter,” she said.
’’Irrespective of age, being diagnosed with kidney disease can pose a huge challenge for the patient and their family. It remains draining on those involved, be it emotional, financial, physical or a combination of these – but imagine the impact on a young child,’’ the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, which conducts around 10 to 12 kidney transplants a year, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Red Cross Hospital said it is looking to reduce stress factors through education, empowerment and by building a partnership with patients and their families.
“The diagnosis and management, particularly in the advanced stages of kidney disease, impacts severely upon the lives of our young patients by reducing their ability to participate in everyday activities like attending school, participating in extra-curricular activities and socialising, whilst the whole family’s ability to travel and parents ability to work is also affected,” said Dr Deveshni Reddy, paediatric nephrologist at the hospital.
People living with kidney disease tend to, above all, want to be able to live well, maintain their role and social functioning, while maintaining some semblance of normality and a sense of control over their health and well-being.
Current kidney disease management and treatment focuses on prolonging kidney function and delivering relief from kidney failure. Dialysis is one method used to give the kidneys a rest by temporarily taking over its function, while kidney transplantation could help in the case of chronic kidney failure.
“The goal is that by moving to a more patient-centred approach in addition to managing the disease itself, patients will feel hope and be encouraged to live well and ‘better’ with kidney disease and be able to participate more in all life has to offer,” said Reddy.
Professor Mignon McCulloch, the head of paediatric nephrology and solid organ transplantation at the hospital, said: “While we always try our best to treat chronic kidney disease and other kidney disorders through medical intervention, sometimes a surgical intervention, or dialysis and resultant kidney transplant, is the only option.
“The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital conducts around 10-12 kidney transplants per year, making it one of the most active paediatric transplant services in South Africa, which is only possible due to the close collaboration with the multi-disciplinary role-players from Groote Schuur Hospital and Red Cross.’’
IOL