Hi I'm new and considering becoming a living donor... just a few questions

[WayBackTX]

I am considering becoming a living donor for a stranger.

There is one thing holding me back however.

Would it be possible for myself, my younger brother, and my parents to be tested to see if I am a match for any of them?

I just worry that in the future, if they should need a kidney, I'd be unable to give it to them if I donate now. If it was found that I am not a match for them, I would donate now.

Also what are the costs of donating a kidney?

[Clark]

Best wishes. You're grappling with one of the most challenging "what ifs" we have to confront on the path to donation. Donate now, when qualified to donate, to someone in definite need, now, or hold off, perhaps for decades, on the chance that some time in the future you might still be qualified to be a donor to someone, a loved one, who shows no sign of ever needing a transplant now, but might, as anyone might. Paired donation makes your concern about testing for a match moot, and even if it didn't, there's no guarantee you'd still match sometime in the future. I decided that present definitive need trumped unlikely future need, and that if I said yes to donating now, it would reinforce, even just a little bit, the culture of giving we live in, increasing the likelihood that if my loved ones did have need in the future, it would be that much more likely that someone else would come forward for them, then, just as I was, now. You have to weigh these yourself, and whatever you decide is right for you. It is possibly the toughest one. Take care.

[sherri]

I would think that the only information you could get now in terms of matching to a family member would be blood type. If you are O then you are a universal donor and could donate to potentially anyone.  Your family members could easily find out their blood type by donating blood at the Red Cross.The testing for HLA compatibility is expensive and I can't imagine any insurance company would pay for something just so you could know. If you want to, i guess you could pay out of pocket for your family members to be tested but this would not necessarily give you any assurances that you could donate to them even if you were compatible. You could be a positive crossmatch with them etc.

Many potential donors feel like they need to "save" their kidney for their family member or a closer family member etc. Your family members may never need a kidney, if they did you may not match, if they did you may be too old or develop a condition that you couldn't donate to them anyway etc. What I am getting at is we can never predict the future. So if you feel more comfortable holding onto your kidney for potentially someone else, that is fine, but just know that it may never happen. I'm not sure of your age, but if you are a younger donor, you could wait to see how your health progresses as you age, and decide to donate later in life. The need will always be there.

The decision to donate for some takes quite some time, lots of education and research. Good that you are thinking about potential issues which may cause you concern. You can get input from your family physician, a nephrologist, and of course discuss with family or significant other. In terms of costs, the actual testing and surgery is paid for by Medicare or the recipient's insurance since this is a treatment for them not for you. However, there are out of pocket costs, like lost wages from work, travel expenses, hotel or apartment costs if you choose to donate outside your city, and other incidentals like extra cleaning help or child care if needed while you recuperate. You will need to have your own health insurance as your future follow up care will be your responsibility. The hospital should follow up with you at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years and then you are expected to go to your own PCP or nephrologist or whomever  you choose. You will need to have blood work, urine and blood pressure checks yearly from now on. Some living donors have suffered complications which keep them in the hospital longer or have had longer recuperation times than expected so it would be a good idea to have savings to cover this if it happens. Living donors have a slightly higher incidence of mild increase in blood pressure or proteinuria which is why you need to maintain your health and follow your kidney function. Keep reading the information on this site as well as the information from your hospital and ask lots of questions.



Good luck on your journey.

Sherri

[elephant]

Dear WayBack,

It is a good thing you are considering being a donor. 

In the meantime, you can help in other ways.  One way is by encouraging everyone you can to think about registering as organ donors. 

Most people register when they get their driver's licenses (or renew them), but many now sign up through online registries:

http://www.organdonor.gov/becomingdonor/stateregistries.html

Love, elephant