How long to find chain of recepients for kidney?

[rdr321]

I have just been approved and put on the National Kidney Registry to help get a chain of kidney donations going. I have O blood so I know it is not difficult to find a single donor, but for a chain does anyone know how long it could take to get it doing? I am anxious to get it over with. Not that being anxious is going to help move it along.  Thanks Rick

[Karol]

Hi Rick,
So you are a non-directed donor and NKR will have you kick off a new chain? How exciting!
I don't know how long it takes, but they put together chains as soon as they have a donor to begin one. The pool of recipients is put through their software and the matching begins. It can happen pretty quickly if the antibodies play well together.
Good luck! I will follow your progress with interest, I hope you'll keep us posted.
Best,
Karol

[Fr Pat]

Dear Rick,
     Depending on how long ago you started the process, they may also want to wait a while to give you time to think it over more, read more, and firm up your decision. As you know, you are free to back out of the process at any time, right up to the admistration of the pre-op happy drugs. Since the chain involves making plans for several (or even many) patients, and getting their hopes up to some extent, the hospital will want to be pretty certain that you seem unlikely to change your mind. Just how much time that involves I do not know. It would be good, I think, to keep checking in with them regularly to ask how things are progressing. That way they will know for sure that you are still interested.
     Please keep us informed abouty how things go.
    best wishes,
        Fr. Pat

[ohtobeahayes]

Hi Rick! Congratulations!
I'm sure every transplant center does things just a little bit differently, but how it went for me (I started a chain also) was like this: after I filled out all the info and was accepted into the program for testing, there was a 3 month "cooling off" period. You can imagine how HAPPY I was about that- HA! But I understand why they do it.
We used our local paired exchange pool.  They only do the matching for that pool once a month vs weekly for the regular list.  Again, this is probably different for every tranplant center, and almost certainly different using the national pool.  March was a bust, April was a bust, and May we were matched!  Surgery happened last July 13th.
I was SO impatient during that time, which was kinda naughty of me.  The incredible amount of work that goes into coordinating all the different people involved is massive. 
Our chain got 5 people off the waiting list, and I now know 9 of the all time coolest people that I'm ever going to know. Those kidneys came not a minute too soon for those recipients.
Good for you!!  I know exactly how it feels to want to get it "over" with- that was my 3rd major surgery within a years time and I really wanted to just have surgery and be done so I could stop having surgeries.  But hang in there- every single impatient moment you have will be MORE than worth it when everything is said and done.  I am still in bewilderment how the perfect people were involved in this and how awesome it's been.
Can't wait to follow your journey!
Nicki

[lawphi]

Rick:  I imagine you can be matched at the very next draw.  Depending on how many transplants you "set off"  your OR wait time will be short. If you start a multi-center exchange, it will take time to organize the operating rooms, flights and families. Our center prefers to give you thirty days notice before you hit the table.  We lucked into a chain and had a week and a half notice. 

I am donating on June 20th to continue a chain.  I am O+ and was given a choice to delay my surgery to allow my husband to recover and tie up things at work.  I was actually able to give a date to show up.

[rdr321]

 Thanks for the replys

[Eldonna Edwards]

Hi and kudos on your amazing gift! I started a chain right before Christmas last year. I don't think it was more than a week or two at the most between the time I went into the NKR computer and they found a match. They did end up switching recipients a couple days later on behalf of a hard-to-match patient, but I had requested a surgery date of Dec 15-Jan 5 so that my college-aged son would be home to help during recover.

Good on you!

~~ellie