Dorothy and I were in Regina the other night to spend time with good friends who lived across the street from us when we lived in the Saskatchewan capital.
Their son, who is experiencing kidney failure and recently began hemo-dialysis, was there, too.
There were a whole lot of questions and answers, and here’s hoping we were able to help.
At the same time, we are hopeful that we were able to start him down the road to a kidney transplant. A friend of his has said that he is more than willing to be a donor in order to help him get a kidney, but neither of them was at all certain about how to begin the process.
So I did a bit of research and found a really good website belonging to the Saskatchewan Health Authority. This site includes an online brochure that features a lot of good information for anyone thinking about being a kidney donor, regardless of their location.
That page is right here and it’s well worth a look.
As well, if you are living in Saskatchewan, and thinking about being a living donor, you may contact:
Saskatchewan Transplant Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
1702 20th Street West
Saskatoon, SK S7M 0Z9
1-306-655-5054
Or email: SHAlivingdonation@saskhealthauthority.ca
——
There also is a Regina office:
Kidney Health Centre
235 Albert St. North
Regina SK, S4R 3C2
1-306-766-6477
——
There also is a blurb on that site that reads:
“About 90 people in Saskatchewan are currently waiting for a kidney transplant. On average, they will wait 2.8 years for a kidney — that’s 437 dialysis treatments per person. Please offer hope by talking to your family about organ and tissue donation.”
If you are considering being a donor, do the research and make a decision. Someone’s life may depend on it.
Also . . . always remember that there isn’t a cure for kidney disease. A transplant isn’t a cure, but it does allow the recipient to have a much better quality of life.
TAKING NOTE 