Kidney Donor fun facts
Below are just a few things you may not know about being a donor:
1) As stated in another blog entry, not just one, but a team of doctors makes sure you are healthy enough to remove a kidney
2) The majority of kidneys are removed laparoscopically, making it less invasive and reducing recovery time. Doctors have you up and walking same day as surgery.
3) The remaining kidney actually grows stronger to compensate for the one removed
4) In the very unlikely event that a kidney donor should require a kidney sometime in the future, they jump to the front of the line to receive a new kidney (“if you give a kidney, you get a kidney”)
5) Donors don’t necessarily have to be from the same geographical location as the recipient. Hospitals around the world will coordinate to make arrangements for the transplant
6) Donors don’t necessarily have to be the same blood type. There is something called Paired Exchange
7) All medical expenses and many out of pocket expenses are covered
If you would like to find out if you are a potential donor or would like more information (everything is confidential) you can contact St. Michael’s Hospital Live Donor Team at livedonorteam@smh.ca or an organization Elena is also working with called Renewal at www.renewal.org (416) 628-7633. The people at Renewal are all kidney donors so can answer questions firsthand.
As a FYI, my blood type is A which means I can except directly from either A or O (the + or – don’t matter in this case)
Comments