Kate - Living Donation

Kate donated a kidney to a stranger in 2014. She lost six and a half stone to help make her donation possible.

She says: "I lead a perfectly normal life, the same as I did before."

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Every day across the UK, around three people who could have benefited from a transplant die because there aren’t enough organ donors. And currently around 6,500 people are on the waiting list for a transplant. Yet, of the approximately half a million people who die each year across the UK, only around 1% (5,603) die in circumstances where their organs could be donated.

Start a conversation today and help turn an end into a beginning. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register and make sure you tell your friends and family your decision.

[jstings]

Well done Kate,
In 2012 I decided I wanted to donate a kidney and become a living donor.

There are a number is steps and tests to go through, which I wrote about on a short blog
Sadly, my kidney's are a tad on the slow side and so I'm not suitable as a living donor, but I'm so glad I tried.

If you're considering donation but are a little worried about the whole process, then please worry no more, it is a relatively easy process to go through and you are helped all along the way. There are a number of tests/steps you'll have to do but none are painful or dangerous or even that uncomfortable. There are a few blood tests, you'll need to give a urine sample, have an xray or maybe two. You'll probably have an ultrasound scan of your kidneys which I found ticklish but certainly painless and easy. You'll have to have one of more counselling sessions but these are basically to ensure you're sane and mentally ready to donate a part of your body.
There is a long test, a GFR, which is basically where they inject you with a radioactive isotope and then scan you a few times over the next few hours to see hope fast the kidney's are processing it. This is an easy process and the only drawback is it takes a few hours, so make sure you've got a good book or something else to occupy your time and you'll be fine.

There is nothing invasive, nothing painful, nothing uncomfortable during the whole process, so don't worry about it on that score. Sure, not everyone is suitable to donate a kidney for a number of reasons, but it is so worth trying to become a donor, its a rewarding process, plus if you are successful, you'll be giving simply the best gift you could ever give - in some cases its the gift of life.