World Transplant Day is March 10, and for one Winnipeg family, a kidney transplant has made all the difference in the world.
Grady Batchelor, 9, was born with kidney failure, and in the spring of 2020, his mom Karlee said, his kidney function had declined so much that he was put on the transplant list.
Grady, now healthy and happy and set to celebrate his “transplantiversary” in the coming weeks, went through the process with a special helping hand — his kidney donor, dad Graham.
“It was nice that he had someone to go through the whole experience with,” Karlee told Global News.
“They both were in recovery together. It was really hard for him to be away from his dad for the 10 days in the ICU and on the ward, but otherwise, it was really good that they had this thing to share.”
Complicating the entire process was that Grady’s surgery happened during a global pandemic.
“We had started the workup in July (of 2020), and we were supposed to be able to go ahead with the transplant in November-December … and then they shut down all elected surgeries,” Karlee said.
“They didn’t reopen transplants until March (of 2021).
“The whole thing was really scary and having an immunocompromised kid during the pandemic was very scary.”
For Grady, having his dad involved in the process made the whole experience easier.
“It was really, really, really special to me,” he said.
“I don’t feel pukey anymore. I just feel, way, way better.”
The Batchelors are headed to Banff for a ski trip — Grady’s favourite winter activity — where they’ll celebrate the anniversary of the successful transplant.
According to Shared Health, there are currently around 200 Manitobans waiting for a kidney transplant — with blood type playing a role in wait times.
Shared Health said in a release Wednesday that as many as one in 10 adults in the province are living with kidney disease — with most being unaware.
“Manitoba’s rate of kidney failure continues to rise. As we mark World Kidney Day, we want to remind Manitobans at higher risk of kidney disease to get checked regularly by their doctor – even during a pandemic,” said Dr. Mauro Verrelli, medical specialty lead for renal health.
“Minimizing your level of risk and detecting kidney disease early will improve health outcomes by delaying or preventing kidney failure.”
Transplant Manitoba said kidneys can lose 80 per cent of their function before any symptoms are felt, so early detection is important.
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