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.

JK | @contentandwell | Jan 6, 2020
In reply to @jgiovann "Thank you so much for checking in. Unfortunately surgery did not go as planed. A week..." + (show)
@jgiovann

Thank you so much for checking in. Unfortunately surgery did not go as planed. A week prior to the surgery it was cancelled. My mom's antibodies changed, most likely due to a blood transfusion that she had in October when her anemia peaked, and they didn't catch it until the bloodwork at our pre-anesthesia testing. She was no longer a match with her donor and the chain was cancelled. We were crushed. We were taken off the NKR, marked "inactive". Now we're waiting for the antibodies to stabilize. Once they see that they have remained unchanged for a few months they will re-list us.

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@jgiovann I am so sorry to hear about this delay. I can only imagine how crushed you and your mother must both have been. Hopefully things will stabilize soon and she will again be active on the list. I suspect that once that happens she will be at the top of the list since she must have been there already.
We will be waiting to hear that things have proceeded and that she has finally had her transplant.
JK

REPLY
1 reply
jgiovann | @jgiovann | Jan 6, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@jgiovann I am so sorry to hear about this delay. I can only imagine how crushed..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@jgiovann I am so sorry to hear about this delay. I can only imagine how crushed you and your mother must both have been. Hopefully things will stabilize soon and she will again be active on the list. I suspect that once that happens she will be at the top of the list since she must have been there already.
We will be waiting to hear that things have proceeded and that she has finally had her transplant.
JK

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Thank you very much. They told us that her most recent plans show her antibody level is unchanged from her previous labs, so that's a good sign. Hoping to find our this week how long they have to see stable antibodies for before they'll put us back on the paired donor list. Then fingers crossed they'll get us back in to a new chain soon!

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1 reply
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Jan 7, 2020
In reply to @jgiovann "Thank you very much. They told us that her most recent plans show her antibody level..." + (show)
@jgiovann

Thank you very much. They told us that her most recent plans show her antibody level is unchanged from her previous labs, so that's a good sign. Hoping to find our this week how long they have to see stable antibodies for before they'll put us back on the paired donor list. Then fingers crossed they'll get us back in to a new chain soon!

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@jgiovann, Your mom's stable antibody level sure sounds promising! I had a blood transfusion prior to my transplant, but don't know if it affected my antibody level, or how it would have affected my transplant waiting time since I had a deceased donor. In fact, I didn't know that it was a possibility.
I hope that you are both soon eligible to be returned to the paired donor chain. Will you keep us informed?
@jgiovann, I have absolutely no experience with a live donor chain. I want to thank you for sharing your experience as a living donor who is involved in a paired chain. I feel as if I am witnessing a miracle in the making and I am humbled to be cheering and praying from the sidelines. Hugs and hope to you, your mom, and to all of the donors and recipients who will be blessed by this. 🤍

Are you within a resaonable distance from the transplant center? Or does the current testing and dialysis happen at a local center?

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jgiovann | @jgiovann | Jan 7, 2020

Thank you very much for your loving support, I greatly appreciate it. I will keep you updated. We live in a small suburb just west of Rochester, NY and are fortunate to have Strong Memorial Hospital only 20 minutes away so we don't have to travel far.

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1 reply
cleverusername | @cleverusername | Jan 9, 2020

Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over a year now since I donated. I thought a 1-year perspective may be a good post. I'm also curious if anybody else has done follow-up posts about how their lives have gone & how they are doing after donation.

As for me: A year after donating, I'm pretty much 100% back to normal. About 5 months after donation I resumed my running routine again, and I'm doing a lot more yoga these days, which has been a huge help. I get the occasional little muscular 'pang' from scar tissue during yoga if I move in certain ways, but that's about it.

2019 was a super hard year for me, for reasons unrelated to my donation, so it took a toll. I suppose it was a good stress test for my body. I try to live a healthy life still, but I can't say I did a super job of that in 2019. I can feel a slight change in now when I'm super anxious or stressed - probably just hypertension/blood pressure saying hello -- but my 6month and 1 year bloodwork/checkups are both good.

(Speaking of this: Having jumped into the world of wearable fitness monitors and the like, I'm curious about getting one that monitors blood pressure. I guess the Apple Watch doesn't do blood pressure without additional gear, which is disappointing. If anybody here has recommendations please let me know.)

I was able to reconnect with my recipient friend in AZ again almost exactly 1 year after our surgeries, which was fun. He's still got some other non-kidney health stuff going on, but kidney wise he's doing great 🙂 He looks a heck of a lot better than the last time I saw him, for sure. Score one for science!

So all in all, I'm doing OK, and I'm just more conscious of my body and my health choices now.

PS my recipient friend and I got some local press coverage about our donation, complete with embarrassing photos 🙂
Link is here: https://www.azmirror.com/2018/12/12/college-friendship-leads-to-new-kidney-for-clean-elections-director/

REPLY
4 replies
JK | @contentandwell | Jan 9, 2020
In reply to @cleverusername "Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over..." + (show)
@cleverusername

Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over a year now since I donated. I thought a 1-year perspective may be a good post. I'm also curious if anybody else has done follow-up posts about how their lives have gone & how they are doing after donation.

As for me: A year after donating, I'm pretty much 100% back to normal. About 5 months after donation I resumed my running routine again, and I'm doing a lot more yoga these days, which has been a huge help. I get the occasional little muscular 'pang' from scar tissue during yoga if I move in certain ways, but that's about it.

2019 was a super hard year for me, for reasons unrelated to my donation, so it took a toll. I suppose it was a good stress test for my body. I try to live a healthy life still, but I can't say I did a super job of that in 2019. I can feel a slight change in now when I'm super anxious or stressed - probably just hypertension/blood pressure saying hello -- but my 6month and 1 year bloodwork/checkups are both good.

(Speaking of this: Having jumped into the world of wearable fitness monitors and the like, I'm curious about getting one that monitors blood pressure. I guess the Apple Watch doesn't do blood pressure without additional gear, which is disappointing. If anybody here has recommendations please let me know.)

I was able to reconnect with my recipient friend in AZ again almost exactly 1 year after our surgeries, which was fun. He's still got some other non-kidney health stuff going on, but kidney wise he's doing great 🙂 He looks a heck of a lot better than the last time I saw him, for sure. Score one for science!

So all in all, I'm doing OK, and I'm just more conscious of my body and my health choices now.

PS my recipient friend and I got some local press coverage about our donation, complete with embarrassing photos 🙂
Link is here: https://www.azmirror.com/2018/12/12/college-friendship-leads-to-new-kidney-for-clean-elections-director/

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@cleverusername that’s wonderful that the donation worked out so well. I admire people so much who do this. I’m sorry to hear that 2019 was not a good year otherwise though. Mine wasn’t great either. It must have been so nice too to have contact again with the recipient.

No fitness trackers do blood pressure, at this point it’s just not doable apparently. I have an Apple 4 and I really love some of its functions but I had a Misfit (not to be confused with Fitbit) and I actually think it was a better activity tracker. I haven’t checked them out recently so I don’t know what the newer, more expensive models have now.
JK

REPLY
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Jan 10, 2020
In reply to @cleverusername "Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over..." + (show)
@cleverusername

Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over a year now since I donated. I thought a 1-year perspective may be a good post. I'm also curious if anybody else has done follow-up posts about how their lives have gone & how they are doing after donation.

As for me: A year after donating, I'm pretty much 100% back to normal. About 5 months after donation I resumed my running routine again, and I'm doing a lot more yoga these days, which has been a huge help. I get the occasional little muscular 'pang' from scar tissue during yoga if I move in certain ways, but that's about it.

2019 was a super hard year for me, for reasons unrelated to my donation, so it took a toll. I suppose it was a good stress test for my body. I try to live a healthy life still, but I can't say I did a super job of that in 2019. I can feel a slight change in now when I'm super anxious or stressed - probably just hypertension/blood pressure saying hello -- but my 6month and 1 year bloodwork/checkups are both good.

(Speaking of this: Having jumped into the world of wearable fitness monitors and the like, I'm curious about getting one that monitors blood pressure. I guess the Apple Watch doesn't do blood pressure without additional gear, which is disappointing. If anybody here has recommendations please let me know.)

I was able to reconnect with my recipient friend in AZ again almost exactly 1 year after our surgeries, which was fun. He's still got some other non-kidney health stuff going on, but kidney wise he's doing great 🙂 He looks a heck of a lot better than the last time I saw him, for sure. Score one for science!

So all in all, I'm doing OK, and I'm just more conscious of my body and my health choices now.

PS my recipient friend and I got some local press coverage about our donation, complete with embarrassing photos 🙂
Link is here: https://www.azmirror.com/2018/12/12/college-friendship-leads-to-new-kidney-for-clean-elections-director/

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@cleverusername, Thank you for checking in and sharing your update on Connect where others can see it. I enjoyed reading the article that you have included. And the photos are terrific! Patient stories have an essential role in medical care. They connect us with others and they provide information, support, and encouragement as we encounter similar health issues.

I'm glad to hear that your are back on track and have become more aware of healthy choices for your own sake. As a recipient, I find that my healthy choices are having some influence on my family and friends, and I think of that as another benefit from my own transplant.
Enjoy 2020, and I hope that you will be checking in with support and ideas for other prospective donors.

REPLY
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jan 10, 2020
In reply to @cleverusername "Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over..." + (show)
@cleverusername

Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over a year now since I donated. I thought a 1-year perspective may be a good post. I'm also curious if anybody else has done follow-up posts about how their lives have gone & how they are doing after donation.

As for me: A year after donating, I'm pretty much 100% back to normal. About 5 months after donation I resumed my running routine again, and I'm doing a lot more yoga these days, which has been a huge help. I get the occasional little muscular 'pang' from scar tissue during yoga if I move in certain ways, but that's about it.

2019 was a super hard year for me, for reasons unrelated to my donation, so it took a toll. I suppose it was a good stress test for my body. I try to live a healthy life still, but I can't say I did a super job of that in 2019. I can feel a slight change in now when I'm super anxious or stressed - probably just hypertension/blood pressure saying hello -- but my 6month and 1 year bloodwork/checkups are both good.

(Speaking of this: Having jumped into the world of wearable fitness monitors and the like, I'm curious about getting one that monitors blood pressure. I guess the Apple Watch doesn't do blood pressure without additional gear, which is disappointing. If anybody here has recommendations please let me know.)

I was able to reconnect with my recipient friend in AZ again almost exactly 1 year after our surgeries, which was fun. He's still got some other non-kidney health stuff going on, but kidney wise he's doing great 🙂 He looks a heck of a lot better than the last time I saw him, for sure. Score one for science!

So all in all, I'm doing OK, and I'm just more conscious of my body and my health choices now.

PS my recipient friend and I got some local press coverage about our donation, complete with embarrassing photos 🙂
Link is here: https://www.azmirror.com/2018/12/12/college-friendship-leads-to-new-kidney-for-clean-elections-director/

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@cleverusername, I read the article with great interest. What a story! And thanks for coming back to share your 1 year post donation update. You ask if other members have come back to share. @mauraacro continues to post to the community as well. How long has it been since your donation Maura?

I’m also tagging @keggebraaten on this post. She’ll be interested in reading the AZ Mirror article.

So, share with us some of the healthier choices you’re making now.

REPLY
mauraacro | @mauraacro | Jan 14, 2020
In reply to @cleverusername "Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over..." + (show)
@cleverusername

Hello all! I wanted to check in with this thread as it has been just over a year now since I donated. I thought a 1-year perspective may be a good post. I'm also curious if anybody else has done follow-up posts about how their lives have gone & how they are doing after donation.

As for me: A year after donating, I'm pretty much 100% back to normal. About 5 months after donation I resumed my running routine again, and I'm doing a lot more yoga these days, which has been a huge help. I get the occasional little muscular 'pang' from scar tissue during yoga if I move in certain ways, but that's about it.

2019 was a super hard year for me, for reasons unrelated to my donation, so it took a toll. I suppose it was a good stress test for my body. I try to live a healthy life still, but I can't say I did a super job of that in 2019. I can feel a slight change in now when I'm super anxious or stressed - probably just hypertension/blood pressure saying hello -- but my 6month and 1 year bloodwork/checkups are both good.

(Speaking of this: Having jumped into the world of wearable fitness monitors and the like, I'm curious about getting one that monitors blood pressure. I guess the Apple Watch doesn't do blood pressure without additional gear, which is disappointing. If anybody here has recommendations please let me know.)

I was able to reconnect with my recipient friend in AZ again almost exactly 1 year after our surgeries, which was fun. He's still got some other non-kidney health stuff going on, but kidney wise he's doing great 🙂 He looks a heck of a lot better than the last time I saw him, for sure. Score one for science!

So all in all, I'm doing OK, and I'm just more conscious of my body and my health choices now.

PS my recipient friend and I got some local press coverage about our donation, complete with embarrassing photos 🙂
Link is here: https://www.azmirror.com/2018/12/12/college-friendship-leads-to-new-kidney-for-clean-elections-director/

Jump to this post

I can't believe it's been a year!
I'm sorry that 2019 wasn't great for you, it seems like life should throw all of the good things at you. Maybe it was just clearing a path for this year?
I have had a slight problem with my blood pressure also. Slight because mine is normally low and it's higher but still within the normal range. A nurse suggested using a free machine at 1 of the stores with a pharmacy (use same machine each time) and taking 2-3 readings with a minute in between but I've only done it twice. I sent off my 2 year and last ever, blood work and sample to Mayo in December and everything came back good so I just work on being mindful of what I'm doing- or not doing.
I forgot about that scar feeling. Not a pain but sort of pulling? It goes away but it didn't happen often so I'm not sure when it stopped, maybe after about 18 months. I gross myself out thinking about all of the layers of muscle, fat and skin they stitched backup and then stop thinking about it.
I'm glad your friend is doing better and hope his other medical issues get resolved soon. My recipient had quite a few problems with viral infections in her first year and didn't ever think she'd feel better but 2 years later she's back to work, traveling for fun and babysitting her first grand daughter. I think back to the first time I met her, the day before surgery and can't believe the difference in her. It is truly an amazing thing.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jan 15, 2020

Today's member spotlight features @mauraacro. Read her interview with fellow member @rosemarya to learn more about Maurawhat inspired her to donate a kidney to a stranger and share her experience her on Mayo Clinic Connect.

– From the Kidney Donor's Perspective: Meet @mauraacro https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/newsfeed-post/from-the-kidney-donors-perspective-meet-mauraacro/

+Follow the About Connect page to see all the Member Spotlights and be notified when new spotlights are published: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/newsfeed/

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