Dave0r

I can imagine that this isn’t news too many. Im sure to the majority of those who would seek out articles and journalists who talk about privacy and data collection, the idea that “big data” could one day be weaponised against you isn’t that far fetched an idea

The problem we face which you alluded to in another comment is how companies are telling us about how they use our data. I might understand that Facebook scrapes the meta data from my camera uploads, or is scanning my WhatsApp group messages to better understand my political views, or what type of bagged ice I like...

But my mum doesn’t. Most of my colleagues don’t. Crikey the other day I tried to explain how Snapchats end business model is more than likely exporting a system (and selling.) that can recognise faces alarmingly well, and she couldn’t even imagine how that would be a thing......from an app that has progressively been getting better at recognising faces and adding all sorts of more advanced fun and free filters to it.

Privacy is a right. So is the choice to sacrifice some or all of that privacy in lieu of convenience. The important word here though is choice, and for a true choice to be made there should be open and honest information that’s easy to understand

Did you ever get detention?

This statement is false

Not only do they blood type a kidney when it’s available they also have the patients (recipients) and donors tissue typing. Tissue typing is a much more detailed science than blood type

Tissue typing analyses the antigens in the recipient vs the donor (amongst other things) as if there isn’t at least a 50% match chances are the recipients immune system, even with immune suppressants will reject and attack the kidney. There are normally several “candidates” for a kidney and the best match wins. When my dad got called in 6 others were there too waiting to see if this was their time

Finally they conduct cross matching to make sure the recipient shouldn’t just “reject” the donor organ. Organ rejection isn’t just a case of the kidney being damage and unusable, it’s life threatening for the recipient

An organ is a gift, and it will be transplanted in to the BEST possible recipient, not a close match. The operation itself is extremely taxing

There is a wonderful program running the in US (and I think now worldwide) called paired donation. I heard about it through a Freaakanomics podcast and did some more research, it’s fantastic and well worth being part of if you ever feel the need to randomly donate an organ, your one donation could trigger a cascade of 6 further donations, amazing

https://paireddonation.org/about-us/algorithm/

Source - my dad had a kidney and pancreas transplant 16 years ago and being the nerd I am have been privileged to talk to some very clever doctors who explained much of this. Here’s some info I found to support;

https://www.allinahealth.org/health-conditions-and-treatments/health-library/patient-education/kidney-transplant/for-the-kidney-donor/tests-you-need-before-surgery/

My dad is B+ blood type (not entirely super rare) and spent 9years on the waiting list

I’m guessing you are US based, im it sure how long wait times are out there (hopefully a lot shorter...) but the wait times can sometimes be very very long 😔

The benefit to peritoneal dialysis is that it can be done at home and over night using an automated exchange machine and allows you to retain a much better quality of life

Blood exchange dialysis is much harsher on your system and will eventually cause other problems (calcification of vessels being the worst)

I noticed elsewhere you mentioned a fistula placement. These eventually degrade and need relocating or new ones being fitted and can sometimes even block after fitting. None of these treatments are designed to be life long, and I don’t say that with the intent to upset you. They are a poor facsimile of what your kidneys can do and delay at best the inevitable (sometimes for many years)

PD works by having a tenckhoff catheter (tube in belly going in to your peritoneal sack) where fluid is exchanged in and out generally over night. Fluid is then left in during the day (takes much getting used too and gives you a belly) which absorbs much of the toxins your kidneys can’t. It’s much less harsh and is suitable for patients with less “severe” kidney failure. Sometimes even after trying this method it is still not viable for some patients. Even if for some reason your exchange machine breaks you can manually drain and refill using gravity, slower yes, but allows more flexibility in your lifestyle.