Rehana Kosar recently celebrated 10 years since a successful kidney transplant. The 52-year-old suffered from kidney infections from a young age and was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis (a type of kidney disease) in 2013. Rehana spent a gruelling nine months undergoing dialysis before she found a suitable donor. 
“I was lucky that I didn’t have to wait as long as a lot of other people,” said Rehana. “A suitable kidney became available in October 2013 when a young girl tragically died in a car accident. I think about her every day and I’m so grateful to her and her family for giving me this second chance at life.
“Although a kidney transplant means I don’t have to go in for dialysis, it isn’t a cure. I’m in and out of hospital every two or three months with an infection. Last year I had seven admissions and so far this year, I’ve had three. I have to take medication every day to stop my body rejecting the kidney. Other side effects include getting extremely cold, especially in the winter, tiredness, cramps in my legs, migraines and an inflammatory form of arthritis. When I first had my transplant, my kidney was functioning at 63 percent. Ten years on, it’s down to 43 percent. It’s worrying that it could get worse.”
Being diagnosed with the disease was particularly traumatic for Rehana, who lost her father in 1993 due to kidney failure. But Rehana has made significant changes to her lifestyle such as going to the gym and eating healthily to limit the chances of her new kidney failing. Rehana hasn’t let her condition get in the way of her participating fully in life. She’s an ambassador for Kidney Research UK and works with the Bradford renal team to raise awareness, as well as funds. Rehana has spoken out about the stigma of organ donation in the Asian community and encourages everyone to have open and frank conversations about their wishes with their loved ones. She’s also active in the union as an Usdaw rep and is currently in the process of completing Usdaw’s flagship Breaking Down Barriers programme.
“Being ill did affect my mental health but I’m lucky that I have a very good support network which includes my family, friends and colleagues. They keep me positive when things get tough,” said Rehana. “At work, I have a very understanding manager and my support plan is always followed which keeps me in work.
“It’s important to me to give something back and being a rep allows me to do my bit by helping people who need support.”
About kidney transplants
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a long-term condition where the kidneys do not work as well as they should. It can get worse over time and eventually, the kidneys may stop working and are unable to keep up with waste and fluid clearance on their own. People with end-stage kidney disease will need dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Dialysis is a procedure that removes waste products and excess fluid from the blood. It’s carried out three times a week, with each session lasting around four hours. A kidney transplant involves an operation to replace the damaged kidney with a kidney from a living or deceased donor. After the transplant, the recipient will need to take medication for the rest of their life to keep the body from rejecting the new organ.
In the UK, 5,865 people, including 100 children, are currently waiting to receive a kidney transplant, with the average waiting time being around two or three years.
Kidney recipients and donors are matched by blood type to reduce the chance of the body rejecting the kidney. Organ matching is also better when the donor and recipient are from the same ethnic background. Black and Asian recipients tend to wait longer due to the lack of donors from ethnic minorities. However, the number is rising since the UK introduced the opt-out system, where all adults are considered to have agreed to donate when they die, unless they have said otherwise.
A successful kidney transplant from a living donor lasts about 20 to 25 years, and from a deceased donor, 15 to 20 years. Although a kidney transplant doesn't ‘cure’ kidney disease, it does allow people with transplants to live longer than those who stay on dialysis, with a better quality of life. Recipients have increased strength, stamina and energy, enabling them to live a more normal lifestyle which will include being able to work, travel and spend time with family and friends, with fewer restrictions on what they can eat and drink.