Home visit service
The home visit service is a Scotland-wide initiative – called REACH Transplant – and it aims to improve access to living donor kidney transplant by providing high-quality, tailored information to patients and their friends and family, in a relaxed setting.
Many people who need a kidney transplant find it difficult to talk about living kidney donation with their loved ones. You may feel uncomfortable “asking” someone to be a living donor. This is normal. Try to be as open as you can about your kidney problems and treatment options.
The vast majority of donors say they would not change anything about their decision to donate. They would make the same decision again to help someone. Even if someone has offered to donate, you may feel uncomfortable with the thought of accepting a kidney donated by someone you know. This is also normal. Try to listen carefully to their reasons for wanting to donate.
If you find it difficult to broach the subject of living kidney donation with your family and friends, it can be helpful to discuss this with your clinical team. They can give you some ideas about how to start the conversation.
If your kidney doctor thinks that you will need a transplant in the next year or so, he/she will ask a one of the nursing team to visit you at home to discuss this. Many people find a home visit, where family and friends are encouraged to attend, is a valuable opportunity to learn about kidney disease, transplantation and dialysis with plenty of time to ask any questions you may have.
Your nurse can also help you explore the idea of living kidney donation in a way that you feel comfortable with.
The home visit service is a Scotland-wide initiative – called REACH Transplant – and it aims to improve access to living donor kidney transplant by providing high-quality, tailored information to patients and their friends and family, in a relaxed setting.
Every renal unit in Scotland has a REACH Transplant Nurse Specialist carrying out home visits. Feedback from patients and their invitees about the home visits is overwhelmingly positive.
REACH Transplant does not aim to recruit potential living donors – rather the visiting nurse aims to make sure that the patient and their loved ones are supported to make well-informed and timely decisions about future treatment options.
Contact: Orla Hobson, REACH Transplant Programme Lead, 07919 367131
Information for people who may need a kidney transplant in the future
This booklet has been developed for patients who have been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and who may need a kidney transplant in the future.