2024-02-02 15:52:23
“With just one kidney you live very well” and as the singer and presenter Francesca Michielin, who spoke about the surgery she underwent, at least “the over 4,200 people who in 20 years (data from 2001 to 2021) have experienced life with just one kidney ) donated it”, not to mention all the patients undergoing nephrectomy for other reasons related to pathologies and transplant recipients. Giuseppe Remuzzi, director of the Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute in Milan, an internationally renowned nephrologist, explains this to Adnkronos Salute.
“Nephrectomy – says Remuzzi – is a relatively simple operation, it can be performed traditionally, laparoscopically or with the use of a robot. We transplant a single kidney for patients who undergo a transplant. We then think of all the kidney transplants living, in which the donor continues his existence with only one kidney and the recipient also”.
“The data on the long-term survival of those with only one kidney comes from living kidney donors and the majority are doing well – explains Remuzzi – All the available studies demonstrate that they live like normal people and the risk of suffering from kidney failure is advanced renal disease is the same as that of the general population. The only variations” detected in the long term “are a modest increase in blood pressure and the passage of proteins into the urine reported by several studies in a smaller proportion of people examined. An acceptable risk, which can be controlled and does not concern everyone – specifies the specialist – but approximately 30% of donors and after many years” from nephrectomy. “These are problems that can be prevented with careful blood pressure control and there are drugs that can remedy them. The most important works, ultimately, have highlighted that having only one kidney, and therefore kidney donation, does not represent a problem compared to the longevity of the person”.
No sacrifices or special attention? “No, absolutely nothing – replies the scientist – Living with only one kidney means leading a perfectly normal life for the majority of people. Those in this condition can play sports, eat what they want”, in the case of Michielin take to the stage and go on tour. “The only risk is that the other kidney gets sick, but generally that doesn’t happen. So we can say that it doesn’t change your life”, assures Remuzzi.
The kidney, explains Remuzzi further, “is an organ that has the ability to act as a substitute and when one is removed, the remaining one takes over the function of the other. Very frequently, therefore, even the renal function of a single kidney comes very close to that of two, because “the organ left alone to carry out its activity” increases in size, increases glomerular filtration, and so on. In the very long run it may cause an effort, but the essence is that we live well. We have many more glomeruli of how many are needed: we have about a million of these ‘balls’ that are used to filter the blood. If you remove a kidney, you are still left with 1 million ‘nephrons'”, the individual functional and structural units of this organ. One million “is much more than is needed to support the metabolic needs of an organism”, assures the expert. “Suffice it to say that if a person has kidney failure and loses a large quantity of nephrons, he doesn’t notice it. He generally begins to have problems when he has only 10% of functioning nephrons.”
How important is it that well-known people, particularly among young people, bring their testimonies on health problems and share them with the public? “It is something that can certainly help. But it is a very subjective decision to talk about it or not – specifies the director of the Milanese Irccs dedicated to pharmacological research – There are people who feel better sharing their health problem with others, it can be therapeutic. It is very much so, for example, for those suffering from cancer: the fact of feeling part of a community that can share their anguish and suffering can make them feel understood and welcomed. But there are also those who prefer to keep all inside, those who prefer that no one knows what’s happening to them until they’re well. It’s something very subjective and you can’t say whether it’s right or wrong. Of course, many times it can help that public opinion is exposed to the problems of who suffers and who knows what medicine does.”
Talking about it, Remuzzi’s reasoning continues, “many times also means making known the progress and some miracles of medicine. This is beautiful and important: the more informed people are, the easier it is to treat them. I’ll say more: it’s not true in my opinion I warn you that you should not go online. There is a lot of information available online, even if social media often reports incorrect information. But do research and get an idea of the disease you are dealing with before going to the doctor, to example, it is not necessarily wrong. It helps, because the doctor already starts from a person who has some knowledge. And a lot of information found online refers to scientific literature. The Internet is a large container, there is everything. There are things wonderful things and completely wrong things. You have to know how to choose”, he concludes.
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