Kidney donor from out of state, question about recovery time.

[JamesD]

Good morning, I hope someone can help me. I have a few questions about recovery time. I understand that time frames will vary, I am just asking what is typical for a laparoscopic procedure.

How long after a donor is released from the hospital is 24 hour care and or daily assistance needed? 
How long before the donor can drive ?
The donor is a yoga instructor, how long before she can return to work?
What are the potential long term complications? She is 48 and in very good health.



I have a potential donor from out of state, my wife's cousin, and I want her to be fully cognizant of the long term and short term issues. If there is anything else I should be discussing with her please let me know.   This forum has really been helpful to my wife and I and it is much appreciated.

[Fr Pat]

     Most donors are pretty well able to care for themselves when released from the hospital (and do not need 24 hour care), but are not able to life anything heavy for a while (to avoid herniating an incision site). It is handy to have someone who can help a bit for errands etc. for a while.
     It is recommended that the donor (or any surgery patient) not drive for a week or two, to be sure that the effects of the anesthesia and pain-killers have fully worn off. The patient may FEEL well enough to drive, but the drugs can slow down reaction times and decrease alertness, both of which make driving dangerous.
     Apart from the actually healing of the incision(s) most donors find that lingering fatigue or reduction in mental alertness are the factors that most delay being able to return to work.
                   best wishes,
                            fr. Pat

[Porcelina]

JamesD-

I donated across state lines four years ago and here was my experience:

Flights back and forth for testing totaled to approximately $2000 which my recipient reimbursed me for. She will have to be willing to fly back and forth a few times within the span of about 4 to 5 months depending on how quickly things move. My recipient was on Medicaid so sometimes the process moved slowly.

Here's some answers to your questions from my experience:

How long after a donor is released from the hospital is 24 hour care and or daily assistance needed? 

I did not find it necessary to have 24 hour care after my release, but my mother did come by in the afternoons to make some food for me and kept it in the refrigerator/freezer so I wouldn't have to cook. I personally hate the idea of feeling helpless so I made a point to be mobile without too much strain. I went for walks around the neighborhood. I was originally prescribed generic Vicodin but that made me hallucinate so I switched to Tramadol which was much less intense. I probably felt more pain recovering than most donors because I opted for the less intense pain meds. I actually stopped using Tramadol after a couple days and just went to Tylenol since that never left me woozy.

How long before the donor can drive ?

I lived in a city at the time and used public transportation a lot to get around so I didn't drive afterwards, but I recall the doctors saying it would be about 2 to 3 weeks, due to the pain meds…even with Tramadol.

The donor is a yoga instructor, how long before she can return to work?

She will not likely be able to return to work for over a month. I worked at a grocery store at the time (Trader Joe's) and it requires a lot of lifting and moving. I returned to work after 3 weeks doing "light duty" so I wasn't supposed to lift anything over 15 lbs. I was on my feet a lot but took frequent breaks. I don't recall it being too bad, but my job also doesn't require me to be a pretzel like a yoga instructor! If it helps, I didn't feel comfortable getting on my bicycle again for over a month… and I used to ride my bike all the time!

What are the potential long term complications? She is 48 and in very good health.

Potential long term complications differ per person. I am younger, 28, and have yet to see it affect my health. I was given some info about how it may affect a future pregnancy if I chose to have children, but beyond that, there are not too many overall complications. After the surgery, the donor must do 2 years of checkups to make sure that remaining kidney is fine. After that, you're on your own.

I've heard some stories about insurance companies labeling this as a "pre-existing condition" so they are either rejected or they suffer a high premium. Really, though, they just need to make sure the donor does not have any predispositions to developing kidney disease for him/herself. After I donated, my dad was diagnosed with diabetes, so now that is something I must be cognizant of as I grow older. Obviously if I get kidney disease I'm at a very high risk of dying from kidney failure, but I would also be very high on the list for a post-mortem transplant.

I hope that was helpful. Donated from out of state was a little tricky but not impossible. Let me know if you have any questions. Also if your potential donor would like to talk to me directly about it, let me know and I can send you my email address.