Hi Karis and welcome to our transplant group! Best of luck today as you undergo your tests and screenings. Living donation is an amazing act of generosity and courage – thank you for taking on this journey! Not only will you make a difference for someone waiting on the transplant list, but you will set an amazing example of selflessness and kindness. Who knows, maybe you will inspire others to consider living donation.

I’m sure you’re well-informed about the living donor process and what to expect, but take a look at our new transplant page with dedicated information for living donors:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/#/!tab=resources-35. You may find some helpful nuggets in there as your journey continues.

Are you donating to someone you know? Or are you donating anonymously?

This is an anonymous donation. I have seen the need and feel that if I am accepted it will be a good thing for someone.

Wow, that’s incredible Karis. Do you know if your transplant center does organ donation chains? If so you will definitely impact more than one person. If you haven’t heard of donation chains, they start when someone like you chooses to give anonymously to a compatible recipient. The chain continues with your recipient’s donor (who wasn’t a match) giving to a compatible recipient, and so on. The average donation chain at Mayo Clinic includes 6-9 transplanted kidneys. Talk about amazing! Here’s a graphic explaining the concept: http://mayohealthhighlights.startribune.com/2016/05/13/the-organ-donation-chain/.

Another resource I wanted to point you to is our transplant discussion group. It’s a welcoming online community where more than 100 transplant patients, caregivers and donors share their experiences, find support and exchange information with others. Here’s a link if you’re interested: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/transplant/. I know the group would love to hear from you!

@karis Thank you, karis, for sharing this information.
Thank you for your desire to be tested as a potential living kidney donor.
Thank you for offering a sign hope to the many persons awaiting a kidney transplant.
I hope that the testing is a positive experience for you. And I hope that you will be able to fulfill your goal to be a living donor.
I am a recipient of liver and kidney donation from a deceased donor, and I want you ( and anyone reading this) to know that organ donation is the most precious gift for one person to give to another.
Rosemary

Hi, @karis, I hope that you are doing well. I am visiting you from the Connect Transplant Discussion Group. And I want to invite you to have a look at a newly posted discussion about being a living kidney donor. Please know that I welcome you to join the discussion.
Rosemary
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@karis, here's the direct link to the discussion that Rosemary refers to. Perhaps you can offer some guidance and support to Lovelly as she waits to hear if she is a match for her son.
- Kidney transplant - process for being a living donor http://mayocl.in/2kUIcrW

I did complete the testing to become a kidney donor and all the blood and scan tests were positive. However, when the committee that makes final approval met the decision was to not approve me. The reason given to me was that my kidney had several arteries which would make the transplant problematical for a recipient. As for the testing, I had no problems with any of them and consider that I received a complete physical examination with good results.Carroll Sharp