vacationing while on transplant list

[jenb]

So what happens when you get the call if you are on vacation?  Don't you have a limited amount of time to get to the hospital.  You can't say I will be there the next day can you?

[iolaire]

So what happens when you get the call if you are on vacation?  Don't you have a limited amount of time to get to the hospital.  You can't say I will be there the next day can you?

I'd say for international travel you basically probably need to give up the offer, but be happy if you were a primary for a call.  If you are in another state and can drive or fly in say 6 hours it probably would be possible but you run the risk of rushing back and then them not transplanting you for whatever reason.

Don't delay your life waiting for a transplant.  I had three and half years were it looked like a transplant was close, in that time I visited (and received dialysis treatments) Singapore, South Africa (twice), Chile, Argentina, Brussels, Montreal, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and took internal US trips.  All of those vacations added to my quality of life and I'm VERY happy I didn't stay around home because it felt like a transplant was very close. 

I vacationed extensively well on the list. Its a nice thought to think you might be able to get back on an overnight trip but not really practical.  I'm in DC, my first call was when I was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas Mexico over a Thanksgiving, they were calling fairly far down the list so I might have had time but it was not a good match.

The only time I flat out missed call was the Brussels trip where overnight 7 hours later I found the message where they wanted someone that could have came into the hospital quickly - so that missed call wouldn't have worked because I would have had to wait for say a 10 am flight back home that would take 7 hours and they wanted to do the transplant long before that.

My real call resulting in a transplant was at 5 am with them telling me to come into the hospital once they got the room ready. I had time to take a bath and use public transportation to go in (versus rushing in with the car and paying for parking).  I don't think I was actually sent down to be prepared until about 2 pm.  But they were pumping me with IV medicines starting after I arrived.

Otherwise I received a ton of alternate calls and for those it took well over six hours to figure out if I was even a valid alternate.

[kristina]

So what happens when you get the call if you are on vacation?  Don't you have a limited amount of time to get to the hospital.  You can't say I will be there the next day can you?

Hello jenb,
Having been on the kidney-transplant-waiting-list for just over two years, I have not been on vacation and always stay within a certain ratio of the hospital for obvious reasons.
I send you my best wishes and good luck from Kristina.

[Paul]

Not sure if it is the same in the US, but in the UK they ask you to tell them if you go away, and where you are going. They then calculate if it is close enough for you to come back if a transplant comes up, and if not temporarily suspend you from the list.

Of course Britain is smaller than the US, and there is nowhere in the country that is "too far". And the coastal regions of several European countries are nearer to the closest British transplant hospital than some of your homes are to your nearest transplant clinic!

[Tío Riñon]

So what happens when you get the call if you are on vacation?  Don't you have a limited amount of time to get to the hospital.  You can't say I will be there the next day can you?

I agree with iolaire.  Don't put your life on hold waiting for your transplant.  There are too many factors in play (e.g. your blood type, average wait time for transplants, etc.).  I've been on the list for 6, going on 7, years.  In that time, I've completed a degree and traveled both nationally and internationally.  Before I left on a trip of a few weeks or longer, I'd discuss my plans with the transplant coordinator nurse and we would decide together whether I might be close enough to return should I get the call or instead temporarily suspend participation.  I never lost my position on the list; just deactivated until my return.

I have now been told that I am towards the top of the list, so I will take that into consideration when I make plans.  For example, my relatives live 4-6 hours from me.  I still attended holiday gatherings because I could get back to the hospital if called.  Good luck with your decision and transplant!