a new life that begins after a transplant

A 58-year-old patient received her new kidney in February 2022. “It was the best thing of my life”says Pierrette Holierhoek, kidney transplant recipient. “I had this happy surprise of being called, we did not believe it at all since on my blood group, there was an average of five, six years. And there, in the end, I would not have waited three years”, she explains. His nephrologist examines him regularly. “You have to be active with a transplant, because in fact, you have to take ownership of it, since you will live 15 years, maybe 20 years, maybe even more with a transplant”explains Dr. Cyril Garrouste, transplant nephrologist at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital (Puy-de-Dôme).

More than 5,000 transplants were performed in France in 2021, but many patients are still waiting too long. Indeed, 400,000 people are registered in the refusal register and more and more families oppose the taking of a deceased relative. “There is no age limit in fact, 80, 90 years old, you can be a donor”says Dr Laurence Escaravage, doctor at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital, coordination of organ and tissue removal.