Then What??

For me, the decision to become a donor was not a difficult one (once I realized I could be one). I suppose it was for a couple of reasons; I have known Craig for many years and always known him to be a wonderful person who would give the shirt off his back if you needed it and, I knew at this point that his options were becoming limited.  I would never pretend to understand how it feels to know your actions could be responsible for someone's demise, but I do know that I don't want my inaction to be a result either. That may sound like I am protecting myself from guilt, and I assure you, guilt has no power in this decision. I simply cannot find the proper words to express it, but something inside of me said, "Do it." He and his wife deserve a shot at a long and happy life, and to have kids, and more dogs, and all of the pleasures associated with that. For a couple of months of inconvenience and a bit of pain after the surgery, I think someone else's life, love and love of life, for that matter, deserve the chance! And heck, I have a spare one anyway!

The next step for me was simply to make contact with the donor coordinator, answer a few questions and have her agree that I was a good potential candidate. I received a large envelope in the mail with a requisition for blood work and a lot of information on the process, what to expect, the steps along the way, etc. The requisition was basically to see if I was a match for Craig directly. He has a high level of antibodies (98%), which makes it difficult to find a match. As he has said, it means out of every 100 potential donors, 2 could be matches.

I had the blood drawn as quickly as possible, I believe it was the day after receiving the information. Off I went to the Riverside, mainly because the information will be with the donor coordinators office by the next day. Easy peasy! Sadly, it turned out I was not a match, Craig had one antibody against my blood and would therefore reject my kidney. I sat and had a little cry because, for some reason, I had convinced myself that I would be a match and we could get on with things. I think it's like those days I convince myself the lottery ticket in my hand is a winner. I don't feel as sad when I lose, but I bet the odds are about the same.

So, the next phase will be to enter the Paired Donor Program and proceed with the screening tests. A bit of a long road, but the goal is to have everything completed by May. The paird program does a search match three times a year. The first was March, which I easily missed, the second is May, which would be ideal, and the third is in October, which runs the risk of being a little late for Craig. Fingers crossed that we can get everything completed!