The kidney transplant I had in 1986 finally quit working this past November. From all accounts nearly 25 years is a really good lifespan for a transplanted kidney. I started dialysis in early December and have been on it since.
As soon as all the dust had settled I started thinking about another transplant. A transplant has its risks and downsides but (in my opinion) it certainly beats being hooked up to R2D2 for three and a half hours a day, three days a week. The quick summary of how the transplant process works is that first, I have to be evaluated and approved for the transplant. They don’t want to waste a donated kidney. Once approved, you get put on the waiting list for a cadaver kidney. At my transplant center and I believe most transplant hospitals in the U.S., the wait is currently at least five years. A better option is a kidney from a living donor (For more info on the benefits of living donation please see the Living Kidney Donors Network). To have a living donor someone first has to volunteer and then also be medically approved.
My first choice, like anyone in this situation, would be to find a living donor. The transplant can be done sooner and both immediate and long-term results are better than with a cadaver donor. But you can’t ask someone for a kidney. All you can do is tell your story and hope someone offers. I decided to send out a mass email to everyone I knew to update them on my health but first there was a handful of friends and relatives that I wanted to tell personally. One of the first people I called was my friend Pi. I’ve known Pi since college when we were roommates.
The moment I told him he said, “Okay, what do I do?” I honestly wasn’t sure what he was talking about so I asked him what he meant. “How do I donate a kidney?” he responded. His reaction was so immediate that I assumed he hadn’t really thought this through. I told him he had to talk to his wife first and they should discuss it. “We’ve already discussed it. We both want to be tested to see if we can donate.” I was completely overwhelmed. I had no idea what to say. Saying thank you seemed so small and meaningless, but those were the only words I could come up with. It’s funny because I have no problem talking about illnesses and setbacks I’ve had with my health. I just wasn’t prepared for someone to offer this so quickly.
Pi and Tuna (Pi’s wife) weren’t the only ones to offer. Many friends and relatives did. And I can’t thank them all enough. I count myself as being very fortunate to have these people around me. After the preliminary blood tests it came down to two people as the best matches. The match is determined by blood type and antigen antibodies. The donor has to be the same blood type as the recipient and antigen antibodies are something you don’t want. The fewer, the better off the match will be. The best matches were Tuna and Diane, another close friend. I wanted them to wrestle to decide who would go to Minneapolis for the evaluation but they discussed it instead.
They decided that Tuna would go for the evaluation. It was done this past Monday and we’re both waiting for the results. We should hear sometime early next week.
Again, I’m very fortunate. However, in the meantime, nearly 111,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for transplants. Many of them will die waiting. Please become an organ donor by signing up here: Donate Life
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