Time from match to surgery?

[Linda]

Hi all,

I am curious about the length of time it took from your match being confirmed until your surgery date.

Mine was 6/24 through 10/28.  Just wondering what is "typical."  My coordinator kept leading me to believe it would be in 3 weeks or so. If the "average is more like 3 months, this should be something donors are told up front so we can plan our lives accordingly.

(I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!)

[smudge]

I'm in the UK so perhaps different.  Matched in January and could have had surgery in April but due to work and personal commitments of both my recipient and I chose to delay to June.

We were told the testing process would take around 2-3 months (which it did) and then it would take a further 2-3 months to schedule surgery.

Felt a long time when we were going through it!

[Barbara S]

We started testing in July - I dont remember exactly when we determined if I was a match - but donation in December
I think we had to wait until my brother was officially placed on the waiting list to move forward.

[Aries7]

I was tested and found out I was a match in September 2008. The testing was done at this time as we knew my Husband would be needing a transplant in the next several months, and we were trying to get donors lined up. I did not have my health testing (CT Scan, EKG, chest X-ray, blood and urine tests, etc.) until June of 2009. The transplant/donation surgery was October 8, 2009. We could have done the surgery sooner, except I had a hysterectomy May 11, 2009, so the doctors wanted me to wait a few months between surgeries. Fortunately, my Husband was able to avoid dialysis and everything worked out beautifully.

Linda

[texman87]

We started testing in January 2010... I actually already had my HLA typing done for a friend of mine and forwarded that to my friends son's hospital.  Even after jumping through all the hoops JH put me through we had the surgery done in September 2010... it is not by any means a  short process, but worth it.

[jatopa]

Our center said it would take about 6 months, and it did!   My brother is not on dialysis, so there was not a rush.  I think they can get you through the process if you are younger and if there is a need for speed.  I also think they want the donor to absorb the process and not feel rushed into the commitment to donate.   

[john78259]

I started in March 2011 and was scheduled fro the end of May. Ended up getting rescheduled fro August due to delays in getting the entire chain ready. (I was part of a 10 kidney paired exchange chain.)

[bradmac]

I matched in August and we did the surgery in November.

[bergstromtori]

I started testing in May 2011, matched in June (I was out of town a lot during the summer), did the full work up in July.  We could have done the surgery two weeks after that, but I chose to wait until September 6, 2011 so that my kids would be back in school.

[WillowTree]

I am in Canada and it seems to take much longer than other places. I was told when i started that 6 months was about the quickest I could hope for. I started the process in September '08 and I ended up actually donating in Feb 2010. My work up was not typical (if any actually are) and was a very hard process for me. I always say that the actual surgery was nothing in comparison to the pain and suffering of the work up for me.

Ebony

Donated to my dad 02/09/10

[llinton98]

We started testing in September (09) and could have had the surgery in December, but we decided as a family to enjoy Christmas together and to postpone the surgery until just after the new year. Surgery was Jan. 15, 2010.

[Scott337]

Final match was on September 28 and surgery was October 22.  Went quick but I let the recipient and his family pick the date.



Scott   

[APV]

From beginning to end it took exactly 6 months for me to be able to donate to my husband.  We just passed the 6 month post-surgery mark and we are both doing great.

[PhilHoover]

I was determined to be a suitable match on May 20, 2009.   Due to some unexpected "issues" with "my body" (not the recipient)...the surgery didn't occur until October 28, 2009....

[PaulaHalvo]

Matched in January, surgery scheduled for February 14th.