Help me find a kidney

FACTS ABOUT YOUR BEING A LIVING KIDNEY DONOR

1. Why a living kidney donation is the best option for those needing a kidney

2. A living kidney donation is safe

3. You don’t have to be related to someone to donate a kidney

4. You don’t need both of your kidneys to stay healthy

5. Blood and tissue type must be compatible.

6. You will have tests, screening, and evaluation to make sure you're a good match.

7. A donor's hospital stay and when a donor can get back to work.

8. You can still have a baby.

9. How to talk to someone who's donated before.

10. A donor need not live in the same location as the recipient.

Information on the Tampa General Hospital living donor program is http://www.tampagenerallivingdonor.org

Please feel free to ask me about my own search for a compatible donor.

1. Living kidney donation is the best option for people who need a new kidney.

Kidney failure results in the inability to remove waste products and extra water from your body, make red red blood cells, and control blood pressure.

Having kidney failure occurs when you loose 85-90% of your kidney function, and they don't work well enough to keep you alive. There is no cure for kidney failure, but it is possible to live a long life with treatment. There are two alternatives as to treatment: dialysis (where machines and additional meds take over the kidney’s normal processes) and a transplant from either a deceased individual or from a living donor. The latter requires that an individual with kidney disease to qualify for a transplant and then to be placed on the national transplant registry (the “list”). Individuals on the transplant registry wait list may months or even years (4.8 years for my blood type “0”).

Kidney transplants have been successfully performed since the 1950s. Last year In fact, donating a kidney is the most common living organ donation. Of the total 120,000 individuals on one of the organ transplant lists, 94,000 are waiting for a kidney. Currently Tampa General Hospital, a transplant center, 807 individuals are waiting for a kidney. last year some 372 received a kidney transplant (28 from a living donor and 289 from a deceased donor). 104 of those waiting either died or health deteriorated and were taken off the list.

While dialysis is an option for individuals with kidney failure, the multiple-time-a-week procedure is hard on the body and presents its own set of significant health problems.

2. Living kidney donation is safe.

For healthy donors, the donation of one kidney won’t make them more likely to get sick or have future major health problems. Like any surgery, the procedure does have some risks. But overall, living kidney donation is safe. In most cases, donating a kidney will not not raise your risk of a kidney disease, diabetes, or other health problems.

The insurance of the recipient (the person who receives a donated organ) covers the costs of the medical care of a donor.

3. You don’t have to be related to someone to donate a kidney to them.

In fact, one in four living organ donors is not biologically related to the recipient. Spouses, in-laws, friends, neighbors, and even helpful strangers of the same community can be living donors.

It's true that family members have a higher chance of being a good match. But living donor transplants in general are more successful compared to kidneys from deceased donors because these kidneys are more healthy, making a perfect match less critical.

4. You don’t need both of your kidneys to stay healthy.

It might surprise you to learn that your body doesn’t need two kidneys to perform, i.e., remove waste and regulate your metabolism. After donating, your remaining kidney will take on the work of both kidneys.

Should the donor later need a kidney, he or she is given preference on the national transplant list.

5. Your blood and tissue type must be compatible with your recipient’s.

Besides being healthy, living donors must have compatible blood and tissue types with the kidney recipient. The transplant team will perform tests to confirm blood and tissues are compatible (are a healthy match) with the kidney recipient. However if they aren’t, the living donor’s program at Tampa General Hospital can also educate you about the paired donation program that can insure that your intended recipient receives a compatible kidney, while your donated kidney goes to another individual on the list.

6. You will have tests, screening, and evaluation to make sure you're a good match.

The transplant team will perform psychosocial and medical tests to help ensure you will stay healthy after your donation. Some tests you will have include:

blood tests,
urine tests,
imaging exams, and
cancer screenings.

7. Your hospital stay and when you can get back to work.

Most living kidney donors stay in the hospital for a few days. Depending on your employment activities, you may return to work as soon as two weeks or as late as eight weeks after your surgery. Donors also shouldn't lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for the first six weeks after the surgery.

Donors can be reimbursed for lost wages and travel expenses related to their living donation.

8. You can still have a baby.

Donating a kidney won’t make it harder for you to get pregnant or deliver a baby. Living kidney donation doesn’t cause fertility problems in women or men. Still, women should wait one year after donating a kidney before they get pregnant. This gives your body plenty of time to heal.

9. You can talk to someone who's donated before.

Donors often find it’s helpful to talk with another donor about their experiences. Every living kidney donor center can help you speak with someone from their program who has donated a kidney.

For Tampa General Hospitals living donor program, contact (813) 844-8456 or on line [email protected].

They may ask for my name and date of birth, November 2, 1945.

10. You don't need to live in the same location as your recipient.

You can live anywhere in the country. Most of your testing can be done at a lab or hospital near your home. Your surgery will take place at the the hospital.

Information on the Tampa General Hospital living donor program is http://www.tampagenerallivingdonor.org

Please feel free to ask me about my own search for a compatible donor.

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