A Kidney for D Scott

According to the literature from Ohio State, below are the steps in the evaluation process to donate.  It is a little intimidating at first, but makes total sense when it comes to Scott's health and the health of the donor (you or me 🙂).  I personally also think about it as a deep dive into my own health - many of these tests I've never had, so it will be a good way to dig up anything I don't know about (or better yet confirm that I'm healthy)! Ohio State schedules the evaluation, including 1) initial medical tests, 2) an education session for more information about the donation process, from a physical, emotional, and social standpoint, 3) meetings with a surgeon and a nephrologist, 4) a meeting with a donor advocate - this is on the social work side to ensure you understand what you are signing up for and to ensure the medical team you are doing it for the right reasons, and 5) schedule additional testing. What to expect: You will need to provide

To qualify as a living donor, you should be in good physical / mental health and free from uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS and organ disease. Age range is 18-70, and gender and race are not factors in matching. Donor candidates take a blood test to determine compatibility. In Scott’s case, he is only compatible with Type O donors. HOWEVER, if you are not Type O, you can still be an indirect donor (this is the route  I am pursuing). Ohio State can help match an incompatible donor/recipient pair & another incompatible pair with “Kidney Paired Donation”. If Scott is a match with a donor from another pair & I am a match for another recipient, OSU can arrange simultaneous transplants. This way 2 recipients receive organs from 2 donors, although the original pairs were mismatched. Kidney Paired Donation can involve multiple donors & recipients. In 2011, OSU was national recognized for a 6-way paired kidney transplant, coordinating transplan

Welcome to your weekly kidney donation education session! Thanks so much to our kind friends who have expressed curiosity!  ❤️ People with kidney disease have 3 options: 1) kidney transplant from a living donor, 2) dialysis, or 3) kidney transplant from a deceased donor. 1. The best option is a transplant from a living donor. Wait times are months instead of years & kidneys from living donors can last up to twice as long as a deceased donor organ. About 1/2 of the 250 annual kidney transplants at OSU use live donors. Often they are family members, but a growing number are friends or coworkers. 2. Dialysis is a temporary solution. People can take dialysis for years, however, it is not a cure. In our case, it would require a major lifestyle shift as it is very time consuming, with treatments 3 times a week for 4 hours each. We hope to avoid this, but may not have a choice if we don’t find a donor soon. 3. With deceased donor transplant, demand is much greater than supply.

This one will be quick...  like an addendum to yesterday's post. After publishing yesterday about the frustration of waiting, someone was listening because I got a call from Ohio State.  I graduated to the next step in my donor assessment, so as a late birthday gift to Scott, I got my labs done this morning.  Super simple - blood draw and urinalysis.  Less than 15 minutes at a lab near me. Birthday celebration was nice with the family.  Scott was feeling pretty good.💓

It's Scott's 51st birthday!  We will celebrate him with lasagna and gifts tonight when we all roll in from our days at work and school.   Today is weighing on him.  He wants to celebrate, but he is tired, his body is not living up to his expectations, and his enthusiasm is waning - doubt about finding a donor is setting in.  Not to mention kidney failure zaps most of your energy, and yet he powers through to teach 150+ needy students every day. It has been less than three weeks since we officially kicked off our search for a donor, and we have several wonderful friends who are somewhere in the range between curiosity & living donor assessment forms submitted.  We also have several friends who are willing but unable to donate due to age (70 is the max, no matter how healthy you think you are), arrhythmia medication that is nephro-toxic, and cancer history (but currently cancer free).  It is hard to focus on the possibilities that exist in the unknown, when in this s

Hi, friends. As many of you have heard recently, my husband, Scott, needs a kidney transplant.  The long term effects of anti-rejection medication for his 1994 lung transplant (which saved his life) have left him with 10-15% kidney function. Friday (10/4/19) we took the first step on that journey at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. We met with a coordinator, Finance, Nutrition, and (of course) the nephrologist. We are in great hands. Given Scott’s prior transplant, there weren’t any major surprises. We did confirm that they are strongly recommending a living donor for a few reasons (including the 4 year wait for a deceased donor match). I will be tested. We know I will not be a direct match as we are different blood types (he is O, the +/- isn’t a factor here). However, there is a kidney exchange network where multi-faceted trades can be made. Until we find a match (direct or through the exchange), I will post facts & figures related to kidney donation s