VoidCat
Pronouns: he/they/it/neopronouns
Imma use this thread to document my process of going through kidney donation. This is to inform folk on what being a living donor is like and what the process is. The pros and cons. So if anyone here wanted to go through it or know someone who wants to be a living donor can know what they getting into. Keepin mind im in the early stages...i have yet to be approved for donating a kidney. Im also a nondirected kidney donor not a directed one. Meaning i would be donating to a stranger I dont have anyone in mind to donate to. That is good to keep in mind here. Things may be different if you are donating to a family member or friend. Im also in the US. Process may be different elsewhere. I also am documenting so folk know how im feeling and how the process is going.
Alright so first i weighed the pros and cons. Cons obviously it's a surgery. There's medical risks. A small chance like .007% of dying. It's a very slim chance but it's a risk. You could get a hernia. Hernias are easy to repair but complications do happen. Mostly I gathered the medical risks were miniumal. Now about the emotional risks...its rough. You are giving a body part away. You can get depressed. The recipent may regret the transplant and is not grateful for it. It's a roller coaster of emotions and you'll likely need therapy during. I will lose work time and be recovering from surgery. You may get illegally fired and need a lawyer. You wont be able to donate to a family member if you donate to to a stranger if they need a kidney later on. Travel costs if you have to travel. If you are a parent(im not one) you'd have to find childcare(there are programs to cover this for kidney donors however). If you are one to travel...you cant go on an airplane for a week after. If you are planning a pregnancy dont try for it until a year after surgery if you the one getting pregnant.
What are the pros? Well a living donor kidney lasts years longer then one from a deceased donor. It starts working immediately too a kidney from a deceased donor might not. Living donors also typically live longer and report a higher quality of life then those who don't donate(this may be due to selection bias however not the donation itself. As only the healthiest people can donate a kidney they test you for everything). The regret for donating is low. I'll be extending a life. As I said complications are rare. You get top priority for a new kidney if yours were to fail. There's also no upper age limit.
Often you can get reimbursed by a program for any work time missed. The program im going through has a lot of protections in place. Take a look here of how they deal with the cons and try to offset them a bit...the program is called a family voucher program. This program is for folk who donate to strangers but there are programs availible to folk who donate to family. Also the recipents insurance covers donation on the donors end at least in the US
More details on ways the cons are offset here:
Alright so first i weighed the pros and cons. Cons obviously it's a surgery. There's medical risks. A small chance like .007% of dying. It's a very slim chance but it's a risk. You could get a hernia. Hernias are easy to repair but complications do happen. Mostly I gathered the medical risks were miniumal. Now about the emotional risks...its rough. You are giving a body part away. You can get depressed. The recipent may regret the transplant and is not grateful for it. It's a roller coaster of emotions and you'll likely need therapy during. I will lose work time and be recovering from surgery. You may get illegally fired and need a lawyer. You wont be able to donate to a family member if you donate to to a stranger if they need a kidney later on. Travel costs if you have to travel. If you are a parent(im not one) you'd have to find childcare(there are programs to cover this for kidney donors however). If you are one to travel...you cant go on an airplane for a week after. If you are planning a pregnancy dont try for it until a year after surgery if you the one getting pregnant.
What are the pros? Well a living donor kidney lasts years longer then one from a deceased donor. It starts working immediately too a kidney from a deceased donor might not. Living donors also typically live longer and report a higher quality of life then those who don't donate(this may be due to selection bias however not the donation itself. As only the healthiest people can donate a kidney they test you for everything). The regret for donating is low. I'll be extending a life. As I said complications are rare. You get top priority for a new kidney if yours were to fail. There's also no upper age limit.
Often you can get reimbursed by a program for any work time missed. The program im going through has a lot of protections in place. Take a look here of how they deal with the cons and try to offset them a bit...the program is called a family voucher program. This program is for folk who donate to strangers but there are programs availible to folk who donate to family. Also the recipents insurance covers donation on the donors end at least in the US
Information for Kidney Donors | Direct Kidney Donation
Everything you need to know if you are considering becoming a living kidney donor, including how the NKR can help you help more people with your donation.
www.kidneyregistry.org
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