Living Donor Process

We received a ton of information yesterday. We have done some research so it was not as overwhelming as it could have been. Because there is so much information, I will be splitting it up into a few posts. I thought I would start with the one that all of you really want to read it about, the living donation process, which is long and more involved that the process is for Lot.

First and foremost, the donor has to be very healthy and they prefer between the ages of 20 and 60. There are quite a few conditions that will exclude you from being a donor:

• NO high blood pressure
• NO diabetes
• NO heart problems
• NO cancer, even if it is in remission
• NO frequent infections (UTI's, ulcers, etc.)
• NO kidney stones
• NO smoking, drugs, or alcohol use
• Must be psychologically stable
• Have a BMI less than 32

You will not be able to participate in any high risk behaviors after the donation (BASE jumping, sky diving, etc). This is due to the fact that when there is a traumatic injury to your body, no matter where it is, the kidneys are the 1st to shut down. With only one kidney, the risk that you will have to go on dialysis for kidney failure is just too great a risk to make for an adrenaline rush. But don't worry, Lot will be under the same restrictions and more post transplant. He should avoid high contact sports where he could get hit in the hip area as that is where the transplanted kidney will sit.

There are 5 steps to becoming a viable kidney donor.

First, you will need to call our transplant services donor assistant. She will do an initial screening over the phone that should take about 20 minutes. She will give you more information during this call on how to  donate the blood for a kidney function test and blood pressure checks (3) by your doctor. These results will be sent to the donor assistant. If all these tests come out well, you move to the second step.

Second, there will be quite a few labs that will have to be preformed. There will be vials and vials of blood taken (Lot had 14 taken yesterday), which includes a creatine (kidney function) test a 24 hour urine analysis (you collect your pee in a container than needs to be refrigerated for 24 hours).

The third step is the determining factor if you can donate a kidney to Lot. This is where they do the authorization for compatibility tests.You have to have a B or O blood type with low anti-bodies that match Lot's. This test takes 2 weeks to get the results back, so if you are serious about donating, you CAN NOT drag your feet. As soon as a potential match is found, everyone else that wants to donate is put on hold until the 1st person is cleared or denied for donation.

Fourth, the potential donor goes to InterMountain Medical Center and has 2 days of tests and talking to everyone on the transplant team (6-7 people). The first day is what we did yesterday with talking to the team to make sure we are ready for a transplant and what to expect before, during, and after as well as more blood drawn. The second day is more tests, heart stress tests, CAT scans, ultrasounds, etc. Just a ton of tests. You will get to break for lunch and the hospital has a very big, very good cafeteria. It is not the stereotypical bad hospital food. They even have an ice cream bar with Farr's ice cream.

The last step is the donation itself. Once you have been declared a match, we are notified that there is a live donor and the surgery will be scheduled during regular hours. There is a risk that the surgery will get bumped for any emergency surgeries or cadaveric donor transplants. I am really hoping that this does not happen as that would be a wasted trip to Utah for us and the donor.

This process takes 3-4 months if everything goes smoothly. Lot needs to get to 107-109 kilos before he can be put on the cadaveric donor list and have a transplant. He is at 115 right now. Unfortunately, he has to give up his love for chocolate milk and whole wheat pasta and bread. He has to have white bread, pasta and rice. Which means we all will be eating that which is a major bummer because we love whole wheat pasta and brown rice more than the white.

I guess I should also state that there is no cost to the donor. Our insurance, along with Inter Mountain Medical Center, pick up the costs. I am not for sure about the first stage of testing, but everything after that is covered. You will have to pay for travel, food, and lodging to and from Utah though.

Now, if you are still with me through all of that, if you would like to begin the process of being tested, please contact us through email, calls, or texts and we will get you the number of our transplant services donor assistant and she can walk you through the process of what you will need to do. You will become very familiar with her as you will be running everything though her first.

A line keeps running through my head from The Hunger Games: "May the odds be ever in your favor."If all goes smooth, by the end of the year, our roller coaster ride will come to an end and we can hop on the smooth tunnel of love ride and sail off with only a small ripple in the water every now and then.