Daryl Hall Reveals He Had a Living-Donor Kidney Transplant
Daryl Hall underwent a living-donor kidney transplant earlier this month, with the 79-year-old Hall & Oates singer sharing the news publicly on Tuesday, June 23.
People reported that Hall announced the procedure in an Instagram post, saying he received a kidney from a “very kind and generous living donor.” He said the transplant happened “a couple of weeks ago,” and that his doctors called it “a complete success.”
Hall also gave fans a hopeful update about his recovery, sharing that he expects to be “back to normal in a few months.”
Hall has not publicly explained why he needed a new kidney. The only previous medical information available is that the celebrity was previously diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2006, after being infected in 2000. No direct link between that illness and the transplant has been confirmed.
Daryl Hall’s place in pop music
Daryl Hall is best known as one half of Hall & Oates, the pop and soul duo he formed with John Oates. The pair released 18 studio albums between 1972 and 2006 and had six No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Maneater” and “Out of Touch.”
Hall’s music was built into American radio for decades and includes the kind of songs people still know after hearing only a few seconds.
What a kidney transplant means
According to the Mayo Clinic, a kidney transplant is surgery that places a healthy kidney from a donor into someone whose kidneys no longer work well. A transplant can treat kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease, and it is often considered the treatment of choice compared with long-term dialysis.
The National Kidney Foundation states that a living-donor kidney transplant happens when a living person donates a kidney to someone with kidney failure. A donor can be a family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, or even someone the recipient does not know personally.
How living-donor transplants work
When it comes to a living-donor kidney transplant, one healthy kidney is surgically removed from the donor and placed into the recipient. The recipient’s own kidneys are usually left in place unless they are causing complications.
Johns Hopkins Medicine says patients must go through medical testing before eligibility is determined. The center also states that living donation is one transplant option, while kidney swaps and non-directed donations can help when a donor and recipient are not a direct match.
Information from the National Kidney Foundation shows living-donor kidneys may start working right away and may last longer on average than kidneys from deceased donors. It also states that living-donor surgery can often be scheduled at a time that works best for the donor, recipient, and transplant team.
Symptoms that can point to serious kidney trouble
The Mayo Clinic highlights that early kidney disease may have no symptoms. As it gets worse, signs can include vomiting, upset stomach, loss of appetite, tiredness, changes in urination, swollen feet or ankles, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, muscle cramps, constant itching, and high blood pressure that is hard to control.
Not every symptom means kidney failure. But if any of these symptoms sound familiar, especially if they are new, worsening, or happening together, see a doctor.
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