Page 20 - More than a match

More Than a Match

a quick end to my pity party! Whilst waiting to be seen, I had the
chance to talk to a few people. I got talking with Carol, who asked

how I broke my ankle. She had a transplant last year and was at
the clinic for her routine check-up. She mentioned her father had
donated one of his kidneys to her and it had completely changed
her life. I asked about his donor transplant. She said it went very
well and he was doing fine. She gave me her mobile number in case I
wanted to talk or had any questions, and she wished me luck before
she was called to see her doctor. When she left, a woman who had
overheard our conservation mentioned that having a transplant was
the best thing. She came to the hospital three times a week for the

most commonly known type of dialysis called haemodialysis. Each
session takes four hours; blood is transferred from her body into
a machine that filters out waste products and excess fluids. The
filtered blood is then passed back into her body. She mentioned she
was usually exhausted after each session and needed half a day to
recover before the next round. Dialysis for her was crucial, as it
was her life support. She was among the 7,000 people in the UK

currently waiting for a kidney donor.
I met Miri, who was my clinical nurse specialist; she explained her
role as a clinical nurse was to take me through the different stages of
the donor process and medical assessments to assure the transplant
team I was a compatible donor. If I passed all the medical tests,
the details would be sent to the Human Tissue Authority (HTA),
which controls the use of organs of people in the UK. If approved
as a donor, arrangements would be made for the transplant. The
assessment process could take between three to seven months.

I was asked general questions about my health. My weight, height

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