@mauraacro I appreciate the generous offer to @cleverusername to share your personal contact information to answer questions etc. However, I'd also like to underline the benefit of sharing here on the forum. It was because of the sharing here that @cleverusername was able to find these conversations in the first place. By asking questions and getting answers here, you will both be creating a treasure trove of valuable information and first hand experience for future donors. I encourage you to continue your exchange on Connect and thank you for being willing to do so.

@colleenyoung I understand and completely agree with the benefits of reading and posting on this forum, I'm so glad I found it and will continue to use it to learn and to share.
I have an easier time learning and remembering if someone (physically) tells me something, then follows it up in writing. I like to go back and read over what we talked about to make sure I haven't missed anything or to reread something that I may not have understood the 1st time around.
I've had problems with "tone" on both the reading and writing side that can sometimes only be cleared up through conversation. I've had problems in conversation because of emotion, unfamiliar words or ideas or just crappy cell reception that are easier to clear up in writing.
I don't think most conversations about transplants off forum are secret or that new knowledge being imparted, I think it's a different way to gain perspective, personal contact and/or reassurance with someone who has traveled that road. I spoke with a donor that my social worker thought I'd like to hear from about a week before my surgery. She gave me no advice (except don't wear low rise pants) and no new information but it was comforting to hear someone tell me it would be all right. Everyone told me it would be all right, Mayo, this forum, family & friends, but when I heard it from a lady in N Dakota who donated, it was, oddly enough, more reassuring to me.
In hindsight, some of the things I thought were too small or unimportant to share on a public forum are possibly what potential donors are looking for, I may go back & add them to my timeline. Thank you.

Well said, @mauraacro. Thank you for clarifying. I really appreciate how much you’ve shared for others, especially those little things that turn out to be quite significant.