N.B. woman never expected to have to fight to donate kidney to cousin in Ontario
CBC
When Susannah McKenzie-Sutter heard her cousin in Ontario needed a kidney transplant, the 28-year-old Saint John woman didn't hesitate to offer one of hers.
She hasn't kept in close touch with McKenzie Smith in recent years but has fond childhood memories of spending summers with her "cool older cousin."
Preliminary blood tests showed she's a good match.
But McKenzie-Sutter quickly learned her plans could be thwarted because she's one of thousands of New Brunswickers without a family doctor.
The hospital in London, Ont., where the transplant would be done, told her she cannot donate — or even get tested to confirm she's a good candidate — without having a family doctor or a nurse practitioner.
"That was a big, big shock and I definitely felt quite frustrated," McKenzie-Sutter said.
Her 40-year-old cousin in Kitchener is in end-stage kidney failure.
Smith has a genetic form of chronic kidney disease, which progresses slowly, often without symptoms, until dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes, such as urea and acids, build up in the body.
Her kidney function has dropped to about eight per cent. She is easily fatigued and requires several medications to manage her symptoms, such as anemia and high blood pressure.
"Being forced to confront my own mortality is scary," Smith posted on the Transplant Ambassador Program website and on social media in mid-January, seeking a live donor.
Her doctors predict she will be in full kidney failure within two or three months, Smith said in an interview.
The median wait for a deceased kidney donor in Canada is more than three years, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
As of the end of 2023, the most recent data available, about 2,450 Canadians were on a waitlist. Eighty-five people died waiting that year.
Without a transplant, Smith will soon have to go on dialysis — either hemodialysis, usually done at a medical centre three days a week, four hours each day, or peritoneal, which can be done at home overnight but must be done daily.
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