Any double donors out there: liver and kidney?

You are a rock star!
I've heard that liver donation is much harder on the donor than kidney donation is. How did liver donation go for you? My kidney donation wasn't fun but it was, surprisingly, not bad in terms of pain, recovery or any lasting effects. I'm pretty sure I've even joked that the evaluation appointments were more difficult than the surgery. I hope you breeze through it!

Oh, gosh! Thanks! To answer your question, I have often joked that the whole experience was like Serv-Pro: like it never even happened. I bounced back VERY quickly from my liver donation surgery, thank God, and was even running again within 2-3 weeks of surgery. It was lovely to be off work and at home, recovering, feeling good, and enjoying the Spring weather! When I donate my kidney on March 25th (just found out this morning that the surgery date got pushed back by one day), I am looking forward to being off again for six weeks, coming back to work sometime in May, and then retiring on June 30! God is good- ALL the time! <3

That is great to hear! I will put donate liver on my list of things to do

@mauraacro @lwilkey and @rebekahinvt, what accommodations did your employers make for you? Did you get paid leave? Did you have to use your vacation time? Did they celebrate you in any way for your incredible giving of life?

I just read recent posts on this discussion and was blown away by what I read! I decided I had to add my 2 cents worth. I was surprised to find that I previously posted on this thread (August 31,2019)! I’ll try and summarize it:

My daughter donated a kidney to her grandfather (my father-in-law) in 2003.
Flash forward to now. I am Stage 4 CKD and have been told I will need a kidney transplant at some point.
(I’ve been approved & accepted for kidney transplant at Mayo, Rochester. Been looking for a living donor.)
My daughter contacted Mayo, Rochester and inquired about some kind of paired living liver/kidney donation on my behalf. She was thinking she could donate part of her liver to someone who needed that in exchange for a living donor kidney for me. Gotta love her for thinking outside of the box! Well her inquiry was completely shut down.
1) She was told living liver donations were only done when donor and recipient were related.
2) She was told paired donations were restricted to the same type of organ.
3) She was told that she would not be considered for living liver donation because she had already donated a kidney.

Now it sounds like people are accomplishing the very thing that my daughter proposed years ago!

Hi! I got six weeks' of paid time off, so I did not have to use vacation or sick leave, which was a blessing. But no, they didn't celebrate in any way; I don't have a great relationship with my boss, sadly. <3 :/

I'm self employed & there are no provisions for that so it was unpaid. I had 1 client fire me because they, "don't believe in organ donation" so I was better off without them on my roster!
The recipient paid for my airfare & hotel while I was in MN. They bought groceries for my stay & generously spoiled me. We are still in contact & I've traveled to 2 of her daughter's weddings.
My extended family brought meals over when I got back home & helped with grocery shopping & cleaning.

Oh, my goodness! No, donors do not have to be related in any way to their recipients (I wasn't/am not), and apparently being a living liver donor does not prohibit me from donating a kidney, since I'm getting ready to do just that in about two weeks, if all goes well. Not sure if being a kidney donor FIRST would prohibit someone from donating a portion of their liver later, but I suppose it's possible (for example, they will be taking my left kidney since there is too much scar tissue on the right side, due to my previous liver donation, to be able to take the right kidney; did your daughter donate her right kidney, by chance??). CEHunt, are you enrolled in a Paired Kidney Exchange Program (you would have to have a willing donor who has been evaluated/worked up as a donor and has been found to be an unsuitable match for you, but who is still willing to donate a kidney to someone else. The two of you would have to enroll in the program as a pair)?? I know that my kidney will be traveling to Mayo Clinic in Minn for transplantation; it would be so cool if it were going to YOU! hugs! <3

WOW! Yes, you are way better off without that client, for sure. Are you all aware of the National Living Donor Assistance Center?? All you have to do is apply (pretty simple process) and they will provide up to $6000 for any and all ancillary expenses (accommodations, food, transportation, etc) of the donor. This money is available for up to two years, so it can even be used for follow-up appointments after the surgery. I am so grateful for them, as my out-of-pocket expenses would likely have made it very hard for me to be a living donor, but thanks to the NLDAC, I was able to donate once and am coming up on my second donation!

When a friend offered to donate part of her liver, I found this website helpful - https://unos.org/transplant/living-donation/. Apologies, if you already know about it. There is a short questionnaire that my transplant hospital had my prospective donor complete. However, I got too sick so moved up the list for a deceased donor. My understanding, however, is that hospitals vary on how they handle living donor options.