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Message |
Kelsey
Member
Username: Kelseygwynne
Post Number: 1
Registered: 05-2012
| | Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2012 - 12:08 am: | 
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I don't know the person I'm thinking about donating to. A friend posted a link on Facebook about a professor in my state with 5 kids that needs a healthy donor--who WOULDN'T consider it. I am 21, healthy, have the same blood type. My only worry is that I am only 5'5--he is 5'11. I don't know how much of a problem this would be.
Here are my main concerns:
I'm afraid my friends and family may not understand why I would do this for someone I don't even know and will try to discourage me.
I have school in August--if the operation isn't a good amount of time before then, what if I can't do it?
I'm not really worried about health risks or anything. I'm young and strong and I know it'll regenerate and be fine. I just don't know how to convince everyone else of that and I don't know if I'm crazy for wanting to do this for someone I've never met. It just seems right. |
DonR
Member
Username: Don62
Post Number: 61
Registered: 09-2011
| | Posted on Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 03:13 pm: |
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I have to assume you're talking liver transplant because you mention regeneration. My advice is to research it thoroughly first before you make the final decision. If you have any questions feel free to ask away, either in the forum or message me privately through the site. As for the size thing, my nephew was the back up donor if I couldn't do it. He's smaller than my brother but the center told us that body size doesn't necessarily correlate to liver mass. Good luck.
Don R.
Liver Donor to Brother 07/05/2011
Penn State Hershey Medical Center
Hershey PA |
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Liver Giver
Forum Leader
Username: Beteboop
Post Number: 889
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 06, 2012 - 09:36 pm: |
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Kelsey,
You sound like a very generous and considerate young woman. I think it is incredible that you would donate your liver lobe to a stranger. Don is correct that it is the volume of the liver that determines if the donation is feasible.
Your friends and family may try to discourage you, even if it was for someone you did know personally, some of mine did. It is a serious operation and there are complications that COULD arise. That said, there are many tests to compete to ensure in the best way possible that you are healthy in everyway to donate.
It is June so not having begun the testing process you may not even be scheduled for surgery in August if you are a good candidate. And keep in mind that living liver donation can be postponed if something occurs with the recipient before the transplant (such as a fever or infection). One advantage to the living donation is that the transplant can be scheduled at the optimum time for the donor and recipient.
You are not crazy, it is a wonderful thing that you are considering doing. Please just obtain as much information as possible and talk to the transplant center soon. Ask to speak with a living donor... that is a great way to hear first hand about the experience.
I will watch for your future posts.
God Bless
Dawn
Forum Leader Living Organ Donation
Liver Donor 11/19/07 to brother Anthony
Good and bad things happen in life, but what matters, what defines us, is how we handle them |
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