@lcamino Hi Lynn, This is a good question. I feel certain that this is a pressing concern for many of our readers!

I looked at (and I'm sure you did, too) the Mayo Kidney Transplant Home Page. I am providing it below as a reference for easy reference for you, or any of our readers. Here you will find links to kidney transplant information. While I did not find anything as specific as your question, I did see a note to encouraging patients to make contact with the Mayo staff to answer questions about transplant. There is a "Contact Us" Icon, where you can find the contact information.

@keggebraaten, do you have anything that you can add?

Lynn, You are being so very proactive as you approach the need for transplant, I know that you are being treated at your home by your local nephrologist, but - Have you considered a consult with the Kidney Transplant Dept at Mayo where you anticipate having your transplant? They do work with our local physicians who are at a distance to better monitor our care.
Rosemary

@lcamino and @rosemarya - I was able to check with one of our pre-transplant nurses this morning. She verified that our BMI cutoff for pre-kidney transplant patients is 40. That said, if patients need a kidney transplant and are over the 40 BMI limit, I would still recommend that they contact the transplant center. Often there are weight loss suggestions our doctors and dieticians can make to assist the weight loss process. We know that weight loss is very difficult, and we know that PKD patients carry some of their weight in their enlarged kidneys....the BMI of 40 is a guideline so if you are over that BMI, you shouldn't give up hope. Transplant could still be an option for that group of patients. I hope this information helps. I am here to help if you need anything more. Have a great weekend!
- Kristin

@rosemarya - Well I have been told by my Mayo nephrologist that I don't meet with the transplant team until my GFR is 20 and it is at 22 so no I have not met with the Mayo transplant team. Late last night when I looked on the website I missed the place to "Contact Us" so I will give that a try. All I could find was where to make an appointment.

Thanks for your help!

@keggebraaten and @rosemarya THANK YOU SO MUCH! I never even got a chance to use Rosemary's link to contact Mayo for help! You guys are fantastic and I'm so thankful for you! This is not the first time one of you has asked a doctor or nurse a question to help us out and it is so helpful and makes us feel so valued.

While I'm going to keep up my weight loss with Jenny Craig I'm more relaxed as my BMI continues to drop. While I have a long way to go to meet my goal I'm relieved that I'm in the "safe zone". Having said that I will keep walking the dogs and using light weights. For 5 weeks I have been losing 1-2 lbs per week with the help of Jenny Craig. I will be asking my nephrologist if he can estimate the weight of my enlarged kidneys so I know how much is reasonable to lose.

Thanks again and have a great weekend!!!

@lcamino (and everyone) - this forum is a great place to ask questions, because if you have the question, chances are someone else does too. But if you ever have questions you would like to ask privately, you can always email us at transplant-rst@mayo.edu. I get those emails and am usually able to provide fairly quick responses. Of note, we aren't able to give medical advice specific to your condition. Anyone with those types of questions should contact the doctor who is treating them for information about their medical situation. We are very happy to help with any general or logistic questions though. Thanks for asking this great question. Best of luck on your healthy living plans!
-Kristin