As I wait for a donor, I thought I would take some time to answer all those questions that I get asked a lot. Here are the top 3 FAQ’s answered:
How is dialysis going? How often do you go?
I don’t have to go to a center. I dialyze everyday, at home, at night while I sleep. I have a catheter in my belly that connects me to a machine that directs dialysis solution into my body to remove waste throughout the night. Normal kidneys work by removing toxins from the blood. Dialysis does the same thing, except it accesses blood from another part of the body and removes toxins. Unfortunately dialysis perform some of the other normal kidney functions including produce chemicals that help your blood and bones and other essential functions for the body – which is why I get injections regularly and take lots of medication every day. My doctor is constantly tweaking my meds depending on what my blood work shows.
Where are you on the wait list?
The average wait in the Bay Area is seven years. I was placed on the wait list last June. This wait list is for a deceased donor kidney. But a patient can bypass the wait list if he has a living donor. A healthy person can donate a kidney because he can still live a normal, healthy life with only one kidney. There are other advantages to receiving a kidney from a living donor:
- A recipient of a living donor kidney doesn’t need to wait as long, and therefore is stronger and healthier for surgery.
- Kidneys donated from living donors offer better outcomes.
- Receiving a living donor kidney allows a patient to take himself off the wait list and give up a kidney to someone else who desperately needs one. More than 101,000 Americans need a kidney, but only 17,000 people receive one each year (kidney.org)
Have you found a match?
If there was only one thing I could make happen besides a kidney transplant, it would be to tell the whole world that you do not need to be a perfect match to be a donor. The degree of match is not as crucial as it used to be because anti-rejection medication have gotten so good any healthy person can be a good candidate. The donor must be in excellent health, well informed about transplantation and able to give informed consent. (ucsfhealth.org)
So do I have a donor? No, not yet. It is not known if the current potential donor will be able to complete the evaluation process.
Hello Kidney! 
Wow!!! This was so good to read again. My first thought was how fearfully and wonderfully we have been created by Almighty God!!! Truly it is a miracle that we are walking and breathing. Secondly, what an incredible gift from God that you now have a kidney that is working so great. You did not have to wait 7 years!!! Praise God, Doris! Thanks so much for sharing your story with us. God has so used you to give us a glimpse into His Faithfulness and Power.
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