They’re both designed to help people in the event of a kidney malfunction, but there’s a common misconception about kidney dialysis and transplants.

“There’s an idea out there that you need to be on dialysis first in order to be transplanted and that really is not the case. Ideally, if you could do a transplant prior to dialysis, I believe it will be in the best interest of the patient,” explains Dr. Peggy Mouracade, a nephrologist on the medical staff at Lee Memorial Health System.

More than 750 people in Lee County rely on kidney dialysis each year. While doctors admit its amazing technology, receiving an already working kidney is ideal. “If you are in the system per say, where you are being monitored closely, if you are a candidate for a kidney transplant, then you can actually get referred and evaluate potential donors, which can be family members of friends,” says Dr. Mouracade.

That’s why doctors stress the importance of having blood tests and a urinalysis regularly to detect any potential kidney problems. Sometimes dialysis is inevitable. “Ultimately, even despite your best efforts at compliance from the patient’s standpoint or medical therapies, people still do progress to the end stage, where dialysis becomes a necessity,” adds Dr. Mouracade.

For more information you can log on to www.dialysisfinder.org.