HOW DOES IT WORK

Please read the donor brochure where you can learn what it takes to be a living donor.

On this website is the phone number to the donation center at my hospital for more information. There is also a link to a donor screening questionnaire to find out if someone is a good candidate for donation. If they are, the hospital will send a kit to have blood taken. If the hospital approves you for a donor they will notify you for next steps. The whole thing will be covered by my health insurance so there would be no costs involved. Any travel and hotel stays would be taken care of as well.

More or less the process includes:

Pre-operative testing. To make sure a potential donor is compatible and fit to undergo this task, the hospotal perfors a series of tests, such as a general physical exam, urine tests, blood tests, blood and tissue typing (compatibility testing), routine cancer screening, kidney function testing, and psychological examinations.
Donor operation. Living donors undergo surgery in a separate operating suite from the recipient. The surgery is laparoscopic (minimally invasive) to remove the donated kidney, which leaves one to four small incision marks.
Recipient operation. Kidney transplantation takes about two to four hours. In most cases, the new kidney is placed into the body and do not remove the damaged kidneys. Damaged kidneys are removed if they are prone to infections or cause other complications.
Post-transplant period. After the surgery, the recipient is closely monitored to ensure the kidney is functioning, and the body is not rejecting the organ.

How does it work: Text