1. < Transplants

Kidney transplant - The Journey from the Donor's Side

Posted by mauraacro @mauraacro, Jan 2, 2018

I'm headed to Rochester on the 10th for surgery on the 12th. I'm excited and nervous! I didn't know the recipient but have gotten to "meet" her and some of her daughters through phone calls and emails.
I've had labs done at my doctor's office and went to Mayo a few weeks ago for a million more tests. My case was presented to the donor board a few days before Christmas and I was approved and notified the same day. It seems like everything took so long and now is going so fast.
I'm interested in hearing from donors but haven't had a lot of luck. It seems like the recipients are the ones who post the most, which gives me some info and reassurance but it would be nice to hear from the other side too.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Transplants Support Group.

Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Jan 2, 2019
In reply to @contentandwell "@gingerw I do realize it is still dialysis, and from what I understand the dialysis sessions..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@gingerw I do realize it is still dialysis, and from what I understand the dialysis sessions last longer than they do if you go to a hospital for the dialysis. Some people find that more convenient though. I think the problem with that sometimes is that it is easier to skip or to not do it for the required amount of time. One of my friends had a friend who was doing the home dialysis and she didn't do it as much as she was supposed to do it. She was very negligent in her self-care and unfortunately passed away.
JK

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@contentandwell Home dialysis puts all the responsibility on the patient. Just like in any situation, there are those who want the control, and don't mind the inconvenience, and others who would rather the convenience, like you said. The biggest positive for home dialysis of any sort is that your kidneys and whole body get the treatment everyday, rather than 3x a week, so the system doesn't experience the peaks and valleys of toxicity that in-center dialysis can cause. There are some who want PD but are not able to tolerate it. We have a friend who got a living donor transplant, fell in to depression, felt he wasn't worth anything, and stopped his medications. He too passed away.
Ginger

REPLY
1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | Jan 2, 2019
In reply to @gingerw "@contentandwell Home dialysis puts all the responsibility on the patient. Just like in any situation, there..." + (show)
@gingerw

@contentandwell Home dialysis puts all the responsibility on the patient. Just like in any situation, there are those who want the control, and don't mind the inconvenience, and others who would rather the convenience, like you said. The biggest positive for home dialysis of any sort is that your kidneys and whole body get the treatment everyday, rather than 3x a week, so the system doesn't experience the peaks and valleys of toxicity that in-center dialysis can cause. There are some who want PD but are not able to tolerate it. We have a friend who got a living donor transplant, fell in to depression, felt he wasn't worth anything, and stopped his medications. He too passed away.
Ginger

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@gingerw That is so sad about your friend. The woman I knew was not on a transplant list, her dialysis was due to uncontrolled diabetes, and she really was not helping herself at all.
JK

REPLY
hopefulgirl | @hopefulgirl | Jan 5, 2019

Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing on Friday 1/11/19. I will be thinking of you on the 12th and praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. I am hoping I will pass all of the tests and be able to donate by the middle of February. Does anyone know if this sounds possible? My last day of testing is 1/18/19. I do not have a recipient yet but I think that shouldn't be a problem. I have thought and prayed about this for a year and am excited to be at this point.

REPLY
4 replies
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @hopefulgirl "Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing..." + (show)
@hopefulgirl

Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing on Friday 1/11/19. I will be thinking of you on the 12th and praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. I am hoping I will pass all of the tests and be able to donate by the middle of February. Does anyone know if this sounds possible? My last day of testing is 1/18/19. I do not have a recipient yet but I think that shouldn't be a problem. I have thought and prayed about this for a year and am excited to be at this point.

Jump to this post

Good Morning, @hopefulgirl. Welcome to Mayo Connect. I am a recipient from an anonymous deceased donor. My own experience as a recipient tells me that your generousity and willingness to be tested as a living donor is a gift that someone will cherish for life. You are already a genuine hero by your actions. I send you my thoughts and my prayers as you undergo your testing.

I think that you may have been addressing your reply to @mauraacro who introduced this Discussion as a Living Donor. It sounds like you and she have a similar journey.

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1 reply
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @hopefulgirl "Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing..." + (show)
@hopefulgirl

Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing on Friday 1/11/19. I will be thinking of you on the 12th and praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. I am hoping I will pass all of the tests and be able to donate by the middle of February. Does anyone know if this sounds possible? My last day of testing is 1/18/19. I do not have a recipient yet but I think that shouldn't be a problem. I have thought and prayed about this for a year and am excited to be at this point.

Jump to this post

hopefulgirl @hopefulgirl
This Kidney Transplant Discussion - "The Journey from the Donor's Side" has generated the following informative blogs by the transplant staff at Mayo Transplant Dept. I want to share them with you. ❤

-What to Expect During a Living Donor Evaluation
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/newsfeed/what-to-expect-during-a-living-donor-evaluation/
-Countdown to Living Donor Surgery: Key Steps
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/newsfeed/countdown-to-living-donor-surgery-key-steps/
-Living Kidney Donation Surgery Play-by-Play
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/newsfeed/living-kidney-donation-surgery-play-by-play/

REPLY
stella25 | @stella25 | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @hopefulgirl "Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing..." + (show)
@hopefulgirl

Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing on Friday 1/11/19. I will be thinking of you on the 12th and praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. I am hoping I will pass all of the tests and be able to donate by the middle of February. Does anyone know if this sounds possible? My last day of testing is 1/18/19. I do not have a recipient yet but I think that shouldn't be a problem. I have thought and prayed about this for a year and am excited to be at this point.

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Hello hopefulgirl. I can't answer your questions but wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your selfless act of organ donation! I wish you all the best. The world is a much better place thanks to wonderful people like you!! Keep us posted on your journey. God bless you.

REPLY
1 reply
mauraacro | @mauraacro | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @hopefulgirl "Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing..." + (show)
@hopefulgirl

Hi, I was excited to read your post, I'm just beginning my 3 days of testing on Friday 1/11/19. I will be thinking of you on the 12th and praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. I am hoping I will pass all of the tests and be able to donate by the middle of February. Does anyone know if this sounds possible? My last day of testing is 1/18/19. I do not have a recipient yet but I think that shouldn't be a problem. I have thought and prayed about this for a year and am excited to be at this point.

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@hopefulgirl I wish you the best on your journey!
@rosemarya gave some helpful links on the process and we (and Mayo) can help fill in the blanks.
My answer to your timing question is maybe. My evaluation was Dec 12 & 13. I received the green light from the donor board a week later and donated Jan 12. It could have gone faster but for my family I needed to wait until after Jan 3. I had a recipient but don't know how much that factored in to timing.
If your evaluation is like mine, you will have a doctor at the beginning and end of your looooong days of appointments. He or 1 of the social worker nurses will be able to help you with timing.
If you started reading at the very beginning of this post, you'll see I'm very wordy and pretty much live blogged my way through this. I received so much helpful information and encouragement that I greatly appreciated coming from "real people". The staff at Mayo was wonderful every step of the way but it helped so much to hear from the non medical side.

REPLY
1 reply
hopefulgirl | @hopefulgirl | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "Good Morning, @hopefulgirl. Welcome to Mayo Connect. I am a recipient from an anonymous deceased donor...." + (show)
@rosemarya

Good Morning, @hopefulgirl. Welcome to Mayo Connect. I am a recipient from an anonymous deceased donor. My own experience as a recipient tells me that your generousity and willingness to be tested as a living donor is a gift that someone will cherish for life. You are already a genuine hero by your actions. I send you my thoughts and my prayers as you undergo your testing.

I think that you may have been addressing your reply to @mauraacro who introduced this Discussion as a Living Donor. It sounds like you and she have a similar journey.

Jump to this post

Thank you! I will keep reading. This blog seems to have a wealth of information for patients on both sides.

REPLY
hopefulgirl | @hopefulgirl | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @stella25 "Hello hopefulgirl. I can't answer your questions but wanted to thank you from the bottom of..." + (show)
@stella25

Hello hopefulgirl. I can't answer your questions but wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your selfless act of organ donation! I wish you all the best. The world is a much better place thanks to wonderful people like you!! Keep us posted on your journey. God bless you.

Jump to this post

stella25 I am so blessed to be healthy and to be able to do this. I only found out a year ago there was such a thing as a "non-directed" donation. I wonder how many others would donate if they knew it didn't have to be for a specific person (friend/relative). In some ways I'd love to share this process on f
Facebook to encourage others but mostly I don't want to do this for accolades or attention, so in a way it feels kind of private.

REPLY
1 reply
hopefulgirl | @hopefulgirl | Jan 6, 2019
In reply to @mauraacro "@hopefulgirl I wish you the best on your journey! @rosemarya gave some helpful links on the..." + (show)
@mauraacro

@hopefulgirl I wish you the best on your journey!
@rosemarya gave some helpful links on the process and we (and Mayo) can help fill in the blanks.
My answer to your timing question is maybe. My evaluation was Dec 12 & 13. I received the green light from the donor board a week later and donated Jan 12. It could have gone faster but for my family I needed to wait until after Jan 3. I had a recipient but don't know how much that factored in to timing.
If your evaluation is like mine, you will have a doctor at the beginning and end of your looooong days of appointments. He or 1 of the social worker nurses will be able to help you with timing.
If you started reading at the very beginning of this post, you'll see I'm very wordy and pretty much live blogged my way through this. I received so much helpful information and encouragement that I greatly appreciated coming from "real people". The staff at Mayo was wonderful every step of the way but it helped so much to hear from the non medical side.

Jump to this post

mauraacro thank you for your response. I know this is all in God's timing so I will work on being patient. I need to be back to work by the first week of April, so mid to end of February would definitely be good. I'm going to go back and read all of your posts. It is great to be able to connect with others who are or have gone through this process.

REPLY
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