65 pc kidney donors are women, 70 pc recipients men

Participants at an event, organised in the City on Tuesday to mark World Kidney Day, raised their voice against gender bias in renal transplants stating that the number of women who donate kidneys is more compared to men.

Five women, who have donated their kidneys for their loved ones, were felicitated at a programme to mark International Women’s Day and World Kidney Day.

 It was observed by the doctors of Narayana Health City that 65 per cent of kidney donors at their hospital were women and 70 per cent of renal patients were men.

According to a report published in the Indian Journal of Nephrology, wives constituted about 87 per cent of all spousal donors in spousal kidney donation and the trend was evident across India.

Women volunteer to donate kidneys due to economic and social factors. They outnumber men as live related donors in most renal transplant programs in India, with reported ratios of 6:1 in some centres.

Dr Lloyd Vincent, head of the department and consultant nephrologist, said that gender inequity in access to medical care is a phenomenon seen world over and kidney disease is no exception.

“In India, gender disparities are a major ethical concern in renal donation and transplantation where women have a lower chance of receiving hemodialysis and kidney transplant than men, but they constitute the majority of living kidney donors. Prior Indian reports suggest that women not only donate live related kidneys more often, but are also less likely to receive a live kidney than men,” he added.

Although denied equal access to kidney transplantation, ironically, women transplant recipients tend to cope better after kidney transplantation.

Kidney donation is a safe process and once completely evaluated and cleared, the chance of the donation affecting a woman’s lifespan or lifestyle is extremely low where risks of having a life-threatening problem with donating a kidney is 1 in 3,000.

Women of child-bearing age can have children after kidney donation as the donor surgery does not affect their reproductive organs,  Dr Lloyd said.