*Slight intro: since a couple of months before, my mum has begun dialysis to keep her kidneys going. However, it was decided that a transplant would be best. I decided to try and give it to her. It has now been 6 weeks. What follows is what occurred at the informational seminar today....*
Finally, the wait is over: Today (Sunday), me, my mum and her husband drove to a Medical Center in upstate New York to find out more of what a kidney transplant entails. First off, there are various phases that Mum (as the patient) and her prospective donors must go through. The first is ensuring that she has proper medical insurance to cover her expenses. A transplant, all told, can cost upward of $20,000 (This doesn't include the various drugs she would have to take forever to prevent organ rejection; that cost can go to over a grand a month. Nor does it cover recovery time in the hospital). There is no one that could totally cover that cost by themselves.
Anyway, the first step is called blood typing (a 3-step test when the lab tests samples of the kidney candidate's blood---as well as those of any possible donors to see whether they match). An ideal setup would be if the patient and donor were blood-related (full siblings); a half-match (between mum and child, for instance) may work too: both share at least one set of "kidney numbers". (I don't know how else to describe it.); a non-match (between hubby and wife, let's say) is possible if they share the same blood type. However, none of the setups are guaranteed: if the donor's body has antibodies in it, the patient may *still* reject the kidney. (However, the drugs to prevent that have improved in the last 20 years, so there's less possibility of that happening.)
Of course, if the patient has no one living to donate, it is still OK to get one from a dead person. However, you have to go onto a kidney transplant list. This may take up to 4 years of wait. Plus, you have to keep in regular touch, so you don't miss your chance.
Frankly, there is a higher success rate with living donor tissue (around 90 - 91 %). Other than me, one of my English uncles (31) has offered his, too. However, I'm here; I go first;> Other than us, she has other willing donors. The ideal situation is to get all possible donors here to get tested within a few days of the patient. (He'd still need to come over, anyway.)
The seminar had English and Asian docs on the panel, as well as 3 former patients, to answer our questions. So, though Mum would need to take anti-rejection drugs the rest of her life, I wouldn't need to do much---other than return to the Medical Center once each year for a followup check-up. This is to ensure I'm not having any after-surgery complications. There is very little likelihood that I could die from it. However, I would have to prevent clots during recovery, by keeping active.
I would only have to stay in hospital 3-5 days. My total recovery would take about 3-5 weeks. (Mum, as the patient, would need longer: 5-7 days; 4-6 weeks (respectively). The docs would probably use a technique where the docs insert a balloon, inflate it and remove the kidney. Apparently, I would only be left with a two-inch scar on the right side of my back. (I already *have* a scar there; I fell onto a barbell, when I was 5.) This would not prevent me from having kids, if I ever want them.
As I have no present medical coverage of my own, Mum's Medicare coverage would cover me. (Certainly, I'll apply for Medicaid, myself.) First, however, we have to make an appointment to get me (us) tested. The results may not be known for a while. The panel said that the entire process (testing--->transplant) would take anywhere from 2 to 3 months. Therefore, if I can get tested within the next 2 weeks, I'll finally be able to leave before mid-July! Yay!
Poor Mum is more worried about this than I. The frustration just came from not knowing the process, and not having anyone to ask. *sigh* Now, that's almost over. With cheap fights available, I can return quickly when (if) I'm needed. And no, I'm not scared at all; dying is only the worst that can happen. With technology and medical practices being the way they are, that's highly unlikely. (wry tone) I've escaped the possibility too many times already.
So, it may be sometime in September/October before this is all over.
All said, I figured an update wouldn't harm.
New "she's mad, ain't she?" answers welcome.
― Nichole Graham, Sunday, 23 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)