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Dialysis sure beats dying, but a kidney would be better

16 Sep 05:50am

Filed under: Dialysis, Health, Kidney Disease, Organ Donation, Renal Failure

I’m writing this in the renal unit of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney’s south. I’m typing with my right hand because I am not allowed to use my left.

One Australian dies every week waiting for a transplant.

The reason? I am on dialysis.

In 1994, in Rwanda, I contracted an illness which was transitory and minor in itself, but which triggered an auto-immune system disease which nearly killed me. In the process it damaged my kidneys – and although they recovered in the short term, the damage was done.

Continue reading "Dialysis sure beats dying, but a kidney would be better" »

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Jill Higgs-Boson says:

05:18pm | 31/10/10

If they turn off life-support when someone is brain-dead, I think our bodies *are* just pieces of meat… If they made the process of organ donation more transparent, and people knew that the body would be kept on life support for as long as possible, (and treated like a piece… Read more »
Jennifer says:

04:03pm | 17/09/10

Sorry Mark, but one part of this piece really irked me - the bit about not being able to travel is rubbish. My husband has been on dialysis for 26 years and he is off to Saudi tomorrow. Next month he’s going to South Korea for work. He’s also been… Read more »

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