I'm posting this as someone who inherited Polycystic Kidney Disease and is forever grateful to have received a healthy kidney from an altruistic donor.
From the PKD Foundation website:
A typical kidney is the size of a human fist and weighs about a third of a pound.
Polycystic kidneys can be much larger, some growing as large as a football.
Kidneys can develop cysts ranging in size from as small as a pinhead to as large as a grapefruit.
There are two types of genetic PKD:
ADPKD is the more common type of PKD and is estimated to affect more than 600,000 Americans and 12.4 million people worldwide.
ARPKD is a rare form of PKD that occurs in 1 in 25,000 children worldwide.
There is no cure. But with the first treatment for ADPKD approved in 2018 and ongoing clinical trials, there is hope.
