IT’S a precious gift 23-year-old Adelaide teacher Nicholas Paget is keen to protect.

“Taking care of my kidney is the difference between life or death,” says the PE teacher from Hillbank.

Nicholas received a donor kidney in November last year after suffering more than a decade of treatment and life-threatening complications from the genetic kidney disease Alport syndrome.

His youth, however, places his odds of long-term transplant success against him.

Teenagers and young adults have the worst outcomes after a kidney transplant of any age group under 70, according to national peak body Kidney Health Australia (KHA).

About one third of their kidney transplants will fail within five years.

“Kidney failure is a lot harder for someone who is 20-years-old and trying to keep up with friends, finish uni and get a job than if you’re retired and 70,” says Nicholas.

After his kidneys rapidly deteriorated in January 2016, Nicholas was hospitalised dozens of times for treatment and complications including debilitating migraines and seizures.

He had to postpone his master’s teaching degree, and was absent from many family and friendship milestone to complete the required 10 hours of daily dialysis.

“It was really tough,” he says.

“Kidney failure at any age is a stressful, life changing event and having dialysis to stay alive is very confronting, especially for young people who assume they will have the good health to do all the things young people like to do — be with their friends, go to school and play sport,” said Nicholas’ treating doctor KHA clinical director Dr Shilpa Jesudason.

She said teen and young adult kidney transplant patients faced a number of exacerbating challenges from diagnosis right through to life post-transplant, with organ preserving medication compliance a critical factor.

“The journey is long and arduous for them, and their transplant outcomes are not so great.

“But peer support and education can really impact on their understanding of their disease, their ability to take their medication and greatly improve their transplant outcomes.”

The not-for-profit, KHA, will begin surveying SA teens, young adult patients and their health experts over the next 18 months to help devise it’s Young Adult Program which will focus on providing peer support and education to improve health outcomes.

South Australians are being called to support KHA’s main fundraiser, the Big Red Kidney Walk (4.8km), at Elder Park on September 9.

To register or donate visit: www.bigredkidneywalk.org.au