Living Donors Online Message Board
Living Donation Discussion and News => Living Donation Forum => Topic started by: Iforget53 on July 21, 2013, 03:45:40 AM
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How long does it take for the doctors to do a work up for a donor?I am interested in donating a kidney to my wife and we want to ascertain approx how long before we will know if we are compatible and we can go ahead.
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It depends on the hospital, some are quicker than others. It has taken 6 - 9 months to evaluate donors for our daughter.
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I have read a number of people on here that seemed to zoom through testing phases. Our center told us initially that, even under the best of circumstances, it would be a 6 week minimum. Ours was about 10 months, but drawn out by the fact that I had to lose weight, had to get a colonoscopy (due to age), had to update mammogram (due to age) and so on.....
Seemed to take forever, but at least I knew that they were checking me out rather than just processing me through like cattle.
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Hi, Iforget53. Welcome to the list!
You seem to be asking specifically about donor suitability testing. In my case, I knew when I "matched" my recipient candidates (see below) within just a few days.
But donor matching is just the very beginning of the process. Overall, there is huge variation in how long testing and donor approval takes. It can vary by your Center's work load, your own work and travel schedule, the need to repeat questionable tests, etc.
I was in the process for about 15 months. I wish you a much quicker process. In my case, I actually matched for three potential recipients, each of whom got a kidney (I think from a cadaver) before I was fully approved to donate. The third of these actually went pretty far down the testing road together with me. I ultimately donated to the fourth match.
You have definitely come to the right place to learn about living donation, and to get all types of support from a very special group of people.
To return to the question of time: I suggest you prepare yourself for a long, possibly draining process. As I tell others on this list: think marathon, not sprint.
Good luck!
Snoopy
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I found out within a month that I was a match for my brother. I was donating long-distance, and also was participating in a research study, where we had to schedule time for a bone-marrow transplant first. Then, wait 6 weeks for my bone-marrow to regenerate... All told, it was 6 months from my first test to donation. Hope this helps!
kdub
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As others have commented, it varies a lot my transplant center and by individual donor. However, it can be fast. From the time I initiated the process in earnest, I was cleared in about two months. My evaluation process included two 24-hour urine collections spaced a couple weeks apart, a CAT scan, nuclear imaging of the kidneys, loads (and I mean loads) of blood tests, and a meeting with the social worker. Everything except the 24-hour urine collections and some of the blood tests took place during a single hospital visit. Working in my favor: I'm in very good health, and my recipient had essentially already been screened. Working against me: I was out of town relative to the transplant center. As for compatibility by itself, I think that can be ascertained within weeks if not days. Good luck!