Thursday, August 22, 2013
Why I'm Trying to Donate my Kidney
As many of you may already know (or maybe not), I'm looking into being an altruistic kidney donor. That means that I'm trying to donate my kidney to a stranger. I know it sounds weird and random, and I wasn't planning on really saying much about it until I knew for sure that it was happening, but I decided that I should write about it in hopes that it makes people think about different ways that they can help others. Here's my story so far...
Up until about 4 months ago, I didn't even realize that living kidney donation existed. I first heard about it while watching The Big C (an incredible show about a woman who is dying of cancer that chooses to live out her remaining time in her own unique and sometimes crazy way). The main characters brother watches his sister dying and decides to donate his kidney in an attempt to save another family from the pain that he's experiencing. A few days later, I half caught a news story about a Facebook page that tells the stories of people who need kidney transplants in hopes of pairing them with healthy possible donors. Later that night, having coincidentally heard about kidney donation twice in a short time period, I went on the Find a Kidney Facebook page and was moved by the stories of the people living with diseases that cause them to need these transplants. They're parents, spouses, grandparents, siblings, friends, and some are even children. I started to do research on what it takes to donate a kidney, who does it, how it works. Most kidney donors are either related to their recipients or dead, but altruistic donors are a growing trend, and one that's extremely needed. I found that the University of Pennsylvania hospital has a highly regarded transplant program. I pretty much knew right away that this was something I wanted to do. I'm young and healthy (as far as I know...I'm waiting on the results from my first round of testing so we'll find out soon!), there's no history of kidney problems in my family, and I have a high tolerance for pain (which should come in handy with major surgery). I'm also at a great point in my life for it...I have a strong desire to help people, I have nobody who's dependent on me, and I have a strong support system in my family and friends.
After sending the hospital my initial application, I was contacted to set up an appointment for an information session and talk with a social worker which I attended on my birthday (and also wrote about a little bit in my birthday post). After the social worker determined that I was mentally stable enough to proceed (go figure!), I set up yesterday's appointment for my first round of physical testing. I got to the hospital around 7:30am, at which time a super friendly nurse took my vitals then sent me to another friendly (and really funny) nurse who took 12 vials of blood and made me drink a crazy sugary orange soda-ish thing, for which I had to return for the next 2 hours to get blood taken for a glucose test. In the meantime I went downstairs for a chest xray and an EKG. It wasn't the most fun morning, but all of the people I've worked with have been unbelievably kind. The woman taking my blood told me stories about how the men are always squeamish and how one must not have gotten the fasting memo because after all the testing he told her that he had eaten a hoagie at 4 that morning. She was really good at her job...she gave me 3 sticks (that's how she kept saying it) and hardly even left a mark!
I also had to collect my urine for the preceding 24 hours, which was my least favorite part and looked really appealing in my refrigerator.
This is the "hat" I had to pee in before pouring it into the container. It was kind of grossing me out, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do!
So now I just have to wait on my test results (and then hopefully go back for round 2!). I understand that in sharing this now, it could be mildly embarrassing if I find out that I have some weird disease and then have to share that with all of you but I'm hoping that's not the case. And even if it is, at least a few more people are now somewhat educated on kidney donation.
I'm aware that not everybody will understand or support my decision, and I definitely don't feel like this is something that's right for everybody. It's a major surgery, with potential risks, to help somebody I've never met (and may never meet, depending on what they choose), but I've weighed out those risks and have done extensive research. I've read blogs of other altruistic donors and I know that this is right for me. I've gotten some mixed reactions, but most of them have been positive. Some people are concerned (like my parents, but they're also really proud), which is both understandable and sweet. Some people seem skeptical and look at me like I'm running away to join a cult. Those closest to me, though, have been extremely supportive and are as excited as I am. It may sound silly to be enthusiastic for something like this, but those who know me understand how important it is for me to make a difference.
So that's that...feel free to ask me any questions or voice your concerns. I hope this cleared things up a little bit.
Up until about 4 months ago, I didn't even realize that living kidney donation existed. I first heard about it while watching The Big C (an incredible show about a woman who is dying of cancer that chooses to live out her remaining time in her own unique and sometimes crazy way). The main characters brother watches his sister dying and decides to donate his kidney in an attempt to save another family from the pain that he's experiencing. A few days later, I half caught a news story about a Facebook page that tells the stories of people who need kidney transplants in hopes of pairing them with healthy possible donors. Later that night, having coincidentally heard about kidney donation twice in a short time period, I went on the Find a Kidney Facebook page and was moved by the stories of the people living with diseases that cause them to need these transplants. They're parents, spouses, grandparents, siblings, friends, and some are even children. I started to do research on what it takes to donate a kidney, who does it, how it works. Most kidney donors are either related to their recipients or dead, but altruistic donors are a growing trend, and one that's extremely needed. I found that the University of Pennsylvania hospital has a highly regarded transplant program. I pretty much knew right away that this was something I wanted to do. I'm young and healthy (as far as I know...I'm waiting on the results from my first round of testing so we'll find out soon!), there's no history of kidney problems in my family, and I have a high tolerance for pain (which should come in handy with major surgery). I'm also at a great point in my life for it...I have a strong desire to help people, I have nobody who's dependent on me, and I have a strong support system in my family and friends.
After sending the hospital my initial application, I was contacted to set up an appointment for an information session and talk with a social worker which I attended on my birthday (and also wrote about a little bit in my birthday post). After the social worker determined that I was mentally stable enough to proceed (go figure!), I set up yesterday's appointment for my first round of physical testing. I got to the hospital around 7:30am, at which time a super friendly nurse took my vitals then sent me to another friendly (and really funny) nurse who took 12 vials of blood and made me drink a crazy sugary orange soda-ish thing, for which I had to return for the next 2 hours to get blood taken for a glucose test. In the meantime I went downstairs for a chest xray and an EKG. It wasn't the most fun morning, but all of the people I've worked with have been unbelievably kind. The woman taking my blood told me stories about how the men are always squeamish and how one must not have gotten the fasting memo because after all the testing he told her that he had eaten a hoagie at 4 that morning. She was really good at her job...she gave me 3 sticks (that's how she kept saying it) and hardly even left a mark!
I also had to collect my urine for the preceding 24 hours, which was my least favorite part and looked really appealing in my refrigerator.
This is the "hat" I had to pee in before pouring it into the container. It was kind of grossing me out, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do!
So now I just have to wait on my test results (and then hopefully go back for round 2!). I understand that in sharing this now, it could be mildly embarrassing if I find out that I have some weird disease and then have to share that with all of you but I'm hoping that's not the case. And even if it is, at least a few more people are now somewhat educated on kidney donation.
I'm aware that not everybody will understand or support my decision, and I definitely don't feel like this is something that's right for everybody. It's a major surgery, with potential risks, to help somebody I've never met (and may never meet, depending on what they choose), but I've weighed out those risks and have done extensive research. I've read blogs of other altruistic donors and I know that this is right for me. I've gotten some mixed reactions, but most of them have been positive. Some people are concerned (like my parents, but they're also really proud), which is both understandable and sweet. Some people seem skeptical and look at me like I'm running away to join a cult. Those closest to me, though, have been extremely supportive and are as excited as I am. It may sound silly to be enthusiastic for something like this, but those who know me understand how important it is for me to make a difference.
So that's that...feel free to ask me any questions or voice your concerns. I hope this cleared things up a little bit.
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