Shortly after being diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Failure I took part in a pre-transplant evaluation at Piedmont Hospital. Fortunately, I have no other health conditions, other than my kidneys not working properly. Based on this evaluation, I was placed on the National Waiting List for an organ transplant. Due to my somewhat young age, 30, and no additional health issues, my wait time isn’t relatively long. ‘Relatively long’ is in relation to the average wait time being 3 years. April 12, 2008 will be the two year mark of me being on the National Waiting List. I’m scheduled for my 2-year pre-transplant reevaluation in mid-March. This consists of a battery of tests to evaluate my overall health in determining me as a transplant recipient.
Aside from the Waiting List, I may have people volunteer to donate a kidney to me. I’ve had about 14 people get tested from family, church, family friends, and even strangers (whom are now friends!); but, unfortunately, due to different blood types, discovering underlying health issues, or not meeting other criteria, they were unable to donate.
I created this website with the hope that I can find a potential donor, and just as important, that I can educate you about kidney failure and to be more aware of your general health.
As mentioned above, there are a number of criteria to be met in order to be a potential donor, which includes:
-
Blood type
-
Past and current medical conditions
-
Diabetes and/or high blood pressure are the leading causes of renal failure. These will automatically rule you out.
-
Family history
-
Past and current medications
-
Medical evaluation
I have type ‘A+’ blood, and am looking for either type ‘A’ or type ‘O’. As far as the other criteria either I or my pre-transplant coordinator can determine if you are a potential donor.
A donor can expect to be out of work about a month for a full recovery. The surgery itself is performed laparoscopically, which means with minimum invasion. A few doctors have shared with me that this means the donor will have two very small scars from where they remove the kidney to be transplanted. This is as opposed to a more traditional incision that was used until a few years ago. With only one working kidney, there is no decrease in performance of what two kidneys may do.
I feel obligated to mention that as a donor there is no monetary reward and nothing material to gain. Organ donation is a personal decision that should be made with the support of your family and loved ones. It’s a big decision to choose to donate a kidney. This isn’t something that should be decided on a whim, and any potential donor should investigate and further research what organ donation entails before coming to a conclusion.