Is being on dialysis really a life threatening situation?
A. Yes. Nephrologist Benjamin Hippen notes in the scientific journal New Atlantis, “Life on dialysis is a fragile, vulnerable existence.” Far too often, things do not go well, and people on dialysis are unable to work, experience multiple complications and die quickly. Here are the latest United States Renal Dialysis Statistics on life expectancy on dialysis (http://www.usrds.org/2009/ref/H_Ref_09.pdf). People 60-64 are likely to live 4.8 more years on dialysis vs 13 more years on dialysis (that is 8-9 years longer) for 45-50 year-olds. The benefit is 13-14 more years on transplant than on dialysis — and these increments do not even take into account concurrent illness or how long the person had been on dialysis prior to transplantation). Q: Has the HOD Society saved any lives? A: Yes. The HOD Society has helped to save hundreds of lives. Some donations were directly enabled by the HOD Society, such as in the pairing of altruistic, live kidney donor Eric Swim of the U.S. with ten year
