Transplant Ball Rolling...

On Monday, October 12th, co-incidentally the twins' birthday, the transplant ball starts rolling. But first, do you understand the whole scenario?

Most importantly, what the doctors teach, is that a transplant is not a cure...it's a treatment. Things can go wrong at any time, the kidney can be rejected, even twenty years down the line. The body will try to reject it forever, so it is only the medication that prevents it from doing so. Basically then, its about receiving the kidney and doing what you can to make it last. I have been truly blessed by the fact that I have had about 18 offers from individuals, all willing to help by donating a kidney. That is overwhelming...and where I was worried at one point if and where a kidney may come from, my agony now is choosing where to harvest it!

However, a transplant works best when the donor has tissue-type matching most compatible with my own, and in this instance...family. The first criteria is blood group. I am an A, so I can take A and O groups only. Thanks to those offers from the B groups, but you are out of the running...wife included! Phew. The next step is to check immune-system matching; they have six points which they measure. The more of the six that match, the better the prospect of a healthy transplant, though they will however still go ahead even if none match. They can make anything that "looks like a kidney" work, with their meds, but the better the match the less meds required and therefore the better your long-term health. (The immuno-suppressant drugs are toxic to the body in large doses or prolonged periods).

Once all that matching is complete, and favourable, they then go into the testing phase. Both donor and recipient are subjected to a multiple barrage of probes, dyes, needles and scans to check that general health is conducive to transplant surgery. Once all clear, the op can be done in about two months!

So, my sister Leanne has drawn the short straw...being the only family member left that meets all the above criteria...for now. Nevertheless, she volunteered herself without question, and while she understandably has fears and reservations about the process; she volunteered with conviction. I am blessed.

So, this coming Monday will have us both at the hospital to start the series of health and compatibility tests.

Happy Birthday Lee!