Just beginning the process-One big piece of advice?

[Anonymous]

Waiting to hear back from the donor coordinator to set up first meeting, so the process has just very barely begun. Any advice for me as I begin the process?

[Fr Pat]

     Probably the best advice I can offer is to be patient and prepared for a possibly long process. A good hospital will be thorough in both the physical and psychological evaluations and give you plenty of time to make up your mind. So don't expect fast results, and be ready to nudge the process along when there are delays.
    Other advice: write down any questions/concerns you have and make sure you get them clarified. Some hospitals are better than others at educating potential donors (especially about possible risks involved) so you should take the initiative at getting yourself well informed.
          best wishes,
              Fr. Pat

[Anonymous]

Thanks Fr Pat! I've definitely been doing a lot of research but I haven't written any questions down which I will start doing. The possibility of a long wait is influencing my decisions as school is over for the summer, and I'm thinking of working for a year while I do testing, as I'm in between degrees and don't want to start my next one if I'm not able to go 100%. (which, the 3 month full recovery time makes it seems like I won't be able to do).

So do you think I should work or do school?

[kdub]

Hi Anonymous,

Before you do any testing... I would make sure you have as much life insurance as you expect to need in your lifetime.  Once you've started the testing, you may not be able to get life insurance until after the surgery.  And, once you've had the surgery, you may not be able to get the lowest rate anymore, due to your increased creatinine.

I took 1 month off from work to recover.  I think that is probably an average recovery period.  I wouldn't want to be gone for a month from a job I just started.  On the other hand, if your job gives you short term disability, that could be a real plus.

Good Luck!

kdub

[Anonymous]

Thanks kdub, I'll look into life insurance coverage and policy.

The job I start would be a temporary one that I would quit when I start school again, so I'm not really looking for anything long lastin. A job that I can work at for a few months and drop easily when I can donate.

And one month does not sound nearly as bad as 3 

[Mizchelle]

Your three-month window may not be all "downtime", unless of course your job is very strenuous on your body.  If all goes as planned, you should be able to return to work and/or school in a month’s time.  You should take it easy during this time as well as with any major surgery, but it doesn’t seem necessary to rearrange your lifestyle past the first month.

Keep in touch with your doctor and/or transplant team if you're not feeling "yourself" during your recovery time and return to all things with ease and in moderation.

Good Luck! 

[brenda]

My advice: Get all of your medical records including the lab work your donation center does for you and take it to an independent nephrologist for review.  Although my experience is rare on this forum, I trusted my donation center to look out for my health. Two years later, my eGFR is in the high 30's to low 40's, my local nephrologist is saying that he would not have approved me for donation, and my donation center (Georgetown University Hospital Transplant Center) is saying that this is just fine and that I should simply consult my PCP.

I do not believe that Georgetown was malevolent in approving me for donation, simply careless and highly motivated to help my recipient.  They took a gamble that usually pays off - but this time I lost.  I never dreamed I would be in this place when I was preparing for donation; I imagined becoming an advocate for more living donors.  Please be careful and very, very cautious.

Brenda
Donated 5/17/2011