Getting me a new kidney :-)

stoofa

stoofa

stoofa

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Some of you might know that a couple of years ago I suffered from renal failure.
No real reason why, but both my kidneys shut down and I was left on dialysis.
For 2 years now I've been going to the hospital 3 times a week for 4hr sessions on a machine that basically keeps me alive.

I've been on the transplant list for just over a year now, but with the average wait 3-4 years I still had some time before my name was likely to appear.
But then my wife stepped in - "I'll see if I can be a donor".

This was towards the beginning of the year and my wife has been through test after test, physical after physical.
Like me she has halved her weight (we both knew we were getting chubby).
The final tests were done a week or so ago and we've been given the medical and legal go-ahead now for my wife to donate me a kideny.

We aren't perfect matches, tissue wise quite bad, but importantly we are blood type matches which makes the whole thing a lot easier.
So, on October 18th this year we both go into hospital and the transplant takes place, a transplant which is going to change my life so much.

I am just so damn lucky to have the wife that I've got. She never "signed up" for all this (I was pretty healthy when we met and got married) but she's been there throughout all of this, seen me had two near misses early on with my health issues (Pneumonia & Blood Clots almost taking me).
And now she is willing to go through unnecessary surgery to help make my life a little easier.

There is another point to this post - it has been bought up a few times but please, please, please get yourselves registered as organ donors.
I've provided a link:
http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_to_become_a_donor/how_to_become_a_donor.jsp

Sadly when you are gone you are gone and those organs you leave behind can make a massive difference to people like myself.
I could call myself one of the lucky ones, in theory I can live a normal length of life with kidney failure. But those waiting for hearts and lungs are in a much more dire situation.

Good health to you all!
 
My name is down, lets face it when you die, you body starts to rot, so why not pass on the gift of life, I know some people wont do it for religious reasons.
 
Afraid I'll be leaving my body to science to do whatever it is they want to do with in the hope they find something useful, as I feel that more valuable.

The very best of luck to the both of you :).
 
As someone who has suffered with various serious kidney diseases (including severe bilateral hydronephrosis with PUJ obstruction) for my whole life, along with all the major surgery it entails, I can empathise. My function's around 20% or so and thus too 'high' for dialysis, but it is declining. The point being I know the kind of thing you must be going through, and I wish you both all the best and a speedy recovery. Fingers crossed it 'takes' and serves you well. :)

I'm also on the organ donation register, but I'm not sure what use I'd be tbh. At least they could use my skin, corneas and so on. Once I'm up with the spirit in the sky my flesh is hardly any use to me, may as well change some poor bugger's life! Let us know how you get on.
 
Congrats, i can obviously relate to your journey having had my father go through this :)

Its been 10 years since my father had his kidney transplant, but is there any reason you did not do home/work (portable) dialysis as he did (CAPD at the time)?
 
I really think it should be mandatory to give your organs away when you die.
If it gives someone the chance to live then there is no reason against it.
 
Wow, this thread raised a smile on my face.

I genuinely hope all goes perfectly well with the transplant and I think your wife is a saint!

I am already down on the donor list.

Ags
 
best of luck to both you and your wife.

I know someone who went to pakistan to buy a kidney a few years ago, very sad for everyone involved :(

Thy really need to reform the organ donation system to a Opt out rather then a opt in as we have now.
 
Jez said:
Congrats, i can obviously relate to your journey having had my father go through this :)

Its been 10 years since my father had his kidney transplant, but is there any reason you did not do home/work (portable) dialysis as he did (CAPD at the time)?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the CAPD didn't work for me.
CAPD is a different ype of dialysis to the hemodialysis I have.
I can't explain the science, but with the haemo I have two needles inserted into my arm, blood is taken out, fed through a machine, cleaned and then returned to me.
With CAPD you have a tube which puts fluid into a cavity. This fluid draws the "rubbish and crap" out of the blood, then when you drain the fluid so all that is drained too.

Unfortunately it doesn't work for everyone and although I could get dialysis that way I couldn't get any "Ultra Filtration" in other words, couldn't get any fluid off.
Not wanting to go into too much detail, LOL, every drop of fluid I drink remains inside me until I have dialysis.
So if CAPD couldn't get any fluid off I just got heavier and heavier, more and more water-logged and that isn't good for the heart.
I did it for about a month before going back to the hospital dialysis.

Somebody further down asked for the link to register - I'll post it again:

http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_to_become_a_donor/how_to_become_a_donor.jsp
 
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