Live vs Cadaver kidney

[aintnorock]

A friend of mine is currently being evaluated as a potential donor.  He's in Colorado, I'm in Louisiana.

The process seems like it is taking forever, just to see if we're a match.  If he is NOT a match, I'm debating whether to try to find another donor and do a swap or try to put together a chain.  But my concern is that if it takes this long just for 1 potential donor, how long is it going to take to put together a swap or a chain?  I'm running out of paid leave, and I'm at the top of the donor list, literally at the top - I've been called 4 times - twice the kidneys were no good, the last 2 because my friend had volunteered to donate.  So, I'm inactive now until our evaluation is finished.

I'm not sure I want to go through all the hassle again and again to try and get a swap or chain, plus, I don't want to put my friend through this again.

What are your thoughts about this?  I'm 61, just had a triple by-pass, and I'm not in the best of health anyway - my failed kidneys just exasperate the situation.  And yes, I'm on homo-dialysis.

[okarol]

Why did they put you on inactive? I have heard more than once that a patient was in the process of evaluation for a living donor when a call came in for a deceased donor kidney, and they were able to transplant that one.

[Wallyz]

  And yes, I'm on homo-dialysis.

Carl, I don't even want to know what that is.

[MIbarra]

  And yes, I'm on homo-dialysis.

Carl, I don't even want to know what that us.

LOL LOL LOL      I agree Wallyz...

If it were me, and this is just my opinion, I would take the cadaver kidney if it was a good match for me and the person was pretty much healthy.

[okarol]

And to prove my point - here's one on Living Donors Online http://www.livingdonorsonline.org/dcforum/DCForumID7/6210.html 

[petey]

While I was being evaluated (and, Lord, the tests they run and run and re-run on a potential living donor), the transplant team told us that if Marvin got a call off the UNOS list during that time, that would take precedence over my being his donor -- even if the call came minutes before my surgery began.  We understood that they would rather take a cadaveric donor than a live one, and we were okay with that.  The "call" didn't come, and I was Marvin's living donor.  However, Marvin was NOT placed on "inactive" during my evaluation.

[paris]

I have stayed on the active list when my potential donors were being tested.  Talk to your transplant co-ordinator and see what your status is.  The transplant team wants you to get a kidney and would tell you to take the cadaver if it is available first.  Could you be inactive because of recent triple bypass?  Sounds like there is more going on than just waiting for the evaluations to be finished.  Hope you find an answer.

[aintnorock]

I requested that I be placed on the inactive list, as I wanted the live donor, if possible.  But, as you have seen elsewhere, that didn't happen, so I'm back on the cadver list.


Homo-dialysis is when, {oh never mind}

[Romona]

I got called while I was testing donors.

[Sunny]

I recommend staying on the cadaver list even while testing live donors. I see no harm in keeping activated on the cadaver list as you never know when a perfect match might come along.