It is World Kidney Day on the 11th of March 2021. The theme is “Living Well with Kidney Disease.”
But kidney disease really isn’t easy to live with. Both the patient and their support network are often negatively affected. Those in advanced stages of kidney disease often suffer from side effects such as fatigue, pain, depression, cognitive impairment, gastrointestinal issues and disrupted sleep. Naturally, the patient’s family and friends will also be affected by these often debilitating problems.
In honour of World Kidney Day, we asked Sister Zibuyile (Buyi) Koalane-Zondi some questions about her work in this sphere.
How long have you held this position?
I was appointed as a transplant co-ordinator in December 2014, after having worked as an ICU registered nurse for eight years.
What is the best thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is transforming renal patients’ lives for the better.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to avoid kidney disease?
I would advise that our community adhere to their hypertension and diabetic medication as prescribed, since it has been researched that hypertension is prevalent in most individuals with diabetic kidney disease.
Failure to treat hypertension of patients results in an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is also a faster progression of kidney disease.
They should also be drinking six to eight glasses of water daily.
Do all patients qualify for dialysis treatment?
Not all patients qualify for dialysis. We follow national guidelines which determine the criteria to select.
What do you see as one of the worst aspects of being on dialysis?
To dialyse three times a week impacts on the patients’ work schedules, and some will even lose their jobs, contributing to poverty levels.
Has Covid impacted the way that you operate?
The whole transplantation process has been severely affected by the pandemic and has been held up or completely stopped at times.
Is there anything you, as a healthcare worker, wish that people understood about the pandemic?
I wish that people understood that they really do need to obey the rules that were stipulated in terms of preventing the spread of the virus – they should sanitise, wash their hands and practice social distancing.
What role do you play in the procuring of organs and in the transplanting of organs to recipients?
I am involved in the selection of suitable recipients and the work-up of recipients who are all on the waiting list. I also counsel the relatives who are required to give consent so that tissue and organs can be retrieved.
How many transplants do you think you’ve been involved with, and how many/what percentage would you say were cadaver donors?*
Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital is our KZN Transplant Centre, to which we refer our patients for further assessment and to check suitability for the process. I am based Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg since 2015, only 30 percent of our patients received organs from cadaver donors. KZN government hospitals only deal with kidney transplants. If we have a donor we ensure that other coordinators are aware and that teams are able to retrieve the needed organs for other recipients.
What is your overall perception of how patients respond to the concept of organ transplants? This is a very sensitive issue, where there is insufficient supply of organs from cadaver donors due to lack of knowledge and cultural background. Sadly, the number of people diagnosed with end-stage renal failure is increasing drastically.
What is the worst part of your job?
The worst part of this job is counselling the family of the patient who has been declared brainstem-dead. This is a very emotional period for everyone.
