I read the article about palliative care for kidney patients with sadness [“ ‘My time to live’: Novel program gives Seattle-area kidney patients palliative care and dialysis until the end,” Aug. 30, Health].
I watched my mother and aunt suffer through polycystic kidney disease, a common hereditary condition that leads to renal failure in people as young as 50. However, they both got a new lease on life thanks to heroes in their communities who stepped up and donated a kidney. The transplant process can be complicated, emotional and expensive, but once a match is made, it is not a hard procedure. Donors go on to live life normally, and recipients get their lives back.
If we are truly serious about health equity, we should be raising awareness about living organ donation and working to make it a more viable option.
Emily Alhadeff, Seattle