mburke17
Member Username: Mburke17
Post Number: 36 Registered: 02-2011
| Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 02:07 pm: |
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Getting the call. As far as I know, there are two ways of anticipating the call that you have a donor ready to give you a kidney – the first is a call from the hospital telling you that a kidney became available due to an unfortunate circumstance, and the second is a call from the hospital telling you that they have a living donor and they want to schedule a date for the surgery. In the first instance, unfortunately someone has to die in order for you to live. Typically this is the case for those waiting for a heart transplant. Although, there are instances of using a mechanical heart…but from what I understand, those instances are few and far between. As it was explained to me by a surgeon at the hospital, when a non-living (or cadaveric) kidney becomes available, it is never planned and it could come from anywhere and not necessarily in the same city you are in. As it was explained, the surgeon will get a call from the hospital where the cadaveric organ is and from this conversation determine if it is worth pursuing. Meaning, if the deceased patient was, for example, in their mid-20’s and in fairly good condition as opposed to being in their 70’s and smoked all of their life. Once the surgeon has the details on the deceased patient and the organ to be transplanted, he said that he would then call me and together we would make a determination if we wanted to accept the organ, ultimately leaving it in my hands to decide. If the decision was to accept the organ, then the surgeon would arrange to get the organ to the hospital, and I would head to the hospital and be prepped for surgery. Although it is still conceivable that I could get a call from the hospital for a cadaveric kidney (and possible pancreas)…it would have to be a perfect match to be considered by the surgeon. Which leaves me to waiting for the call in the other scenario – having a possible living donor. To see the remainder of the entry, please visit http://michaelburketransplant.blogspot.com Thank you. |