Very Sad

[tk]

Started process for non-directed kidney donation back in early October. Got evaluation results last week. Reject. Kidney stone and high blood pressure. I have always had normal (125/80 or lower) pressure, but it hopped up after a major stress event in summer. It goes to normal after exercise or a very relaxing outing. A few days ago I got a scrip for an ACE inhibitor which breaks the stress hormone feedback loop. Bam! 140/95 to 120/80 - 100/65 after exercise.

Never had stones before, neither has anyone in my family. I am going to get the 5mm stone removed ASAP. Hopefully I can get them to pull it intact rather than breaking it up to guarantee stone free.

I really want to do this. I have no work, financial or social impediments.

Question: Will I get rejected if I try to donate again?

[Fr Pat]

Sorry for your disappointment. I'm not a medical professional, but I think that if you really want to donate you should go ahead and work diligently on your own health issues and then re-apply. Each hospital has its own standards. Regarding blood pressure it would be wise to buy yourself a good home blood-pressure monitor if you don't have one, and carefully measure and record your blood pressure a couple of times a day. It will be very helpful in the future for the doctors to SEE on a chart how your blood pressure has been over the course of several months (or years) rather than rely too much on one reading at the hospital. (By the way, my blood pressure machine's instructions say to take the blood pressure 3 times over the course of 10 minutes and then record the average for the 3 readings.) Also keep in mind that some hospitals may tend to turn down potential donors for this or that medical reason in order to give the patient the opportunity to back out gracefully. So your willingness to work on your health and continue the donation process may help show them you are really serious.
     In the mean time, the National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org) has volunteer activities where you could help sufferers of kidney disease in other ways, and there may be volunteer opportunities right there at your hospital as well.
   best wishes,
     fr. Pat

[RKEM]

I echo the suggestion to work on whatever is causing the blood pressure increase. There might be something that can be fixed permanently. The time of the day also matters a lot. It can really spike at certain times of the day. And I seem to remember that one single incident of kidney stone was not a disqualifying factor for kidney donation.