Transplant Bloodwork

I received a question the other day from one of my potential donors. She had been contacted by the pre-transplant coordinator, saying that she and I would need to get our blood drawn at the same time so that they could test her for compatibility. She wasn’t exactly sure why the coordinator had not set up anything, so she asked me for some help. I called the pre-transplant coordinator on March 7 and asked her what was going on. She said that in order to see if someone was a good candidate for the testing (for transplant) that they would need to run their blood and mine at the same time, mixing them to see how my blood reacts. So, she needs fresh blood from me. I told her rather than trying to coordinate everyone’s schedule, that she should send me some blood-draw kits, and I will have the dialysis clinic draw my blood to send to her the day before a donor has a blood draw appointment. That way, my blood is fresh, and their blood is fresh, and I don’t have to drive a half-hour downtown just to have blood taken. They already have needles in my arm at dialysis three times a week, why not take advantage? She agreed to my plan, and said that she will send the kits right out.

So, that might be slightly confusing, but it’s not. It means that I don’t have to go and get blood drawn on the same day as any potential donor. I imagine it will also be easier on my out-of-state donors (though, I can’t be sure). Surely this will simplify the whole process. I want everything to go as smoothly as possible when it comes to my possible new kidney.

I am still busy at work. Being with a “new” company hasn’t changed our work-load much, but I am supposed to receive some documentation about where my job falls within the corporate structure. It should not be much different than where I am now, but it is always nice to know.

Please continue to pray for the potential donors. I am sure that God has the right kidney out there for me, I just have to wait until He shows me which one it is. I am thankful for all of the prayers and support that everyone has been giving me. I always love comments and e-mails. Thank you all for your support and for reading my blog.