@rosemarya @scottij
I told my local nephrologist how concerned I am about my upcoming protocol biopsy. I had very traumatic and frightening kidney biopsies as a child (in the 1960's they did not use ultrasound to guide the needle, they would draw on my back with a magic marker where my ribs were, hip bones, etc and then "guess" where the kidney may be. They missed several times. When they hit the kidney, there was lots of bleeding involved. Not good memories. Fast forward to my biopsy last year (with modern day ultrasound thankfully!). Before the procedure, the doctor listed all the possible adverse outcomes (possible bleeding needing surgical intervention, possibly losing the transplant, etc). I signed the paper and proceeded with the biopsy. All was well. When I told my local nephrologist that I really don't want another invasive protocol biopsy with their associated risks if it can be avoided, he recommended to get the Allosure blood test so we can have some level of confidence that there are no signs of rejection in the blood. Allosure catches rejection before it shows up in reduced kidney function. I will be discussing the possibility of using the Allosure results in lieu of the biopsy with my Mayo doctor. My understanding is Mayo uses Allosure with heart transplant patients so they do respect it. All this said, I always want to do the right thing to take excellent care of my miracle. I am just not sure what the right thing is considering everything involved. I am leaning towards relying on the Allosure and hoping that's the right thing to do. Nothing is 100% so it becomes difficult to choose. I am not sure what the biopsy may show, that Allosure is not telling us. I had my 4 month and one year biopsies. This would be my two year biopsy. What are your thoughts?