Volunteering and Testing

One thing I have realised already in this process is that, to a certain extent, the potential Living Donor (LD) has to take charge of the testing process.  Unlike any other operation, you are not ill and you do not need the surgery - you are a volunteer and can back out at any time.  Part of the testing process ensures that you are indeed of sound mind and are doing it without coercion.  The transplant centre staff clearly are at pains to NEVER put any pressure on potential donors, as it is illegal and they would not want to be accused of this at a later stage.  Logically, therefore, they are not going to order your tests as though you were a patient, with the occasional reference back to you to make sure that you are still up for it.  Rather, they almost want the potential donor to reaffirm at every stage his/her decision to donate; it's as though volunteering once is not enough, you are repeatedly volunteering.  So, I guess if it all goes quiet in the process, it's time to take the initiative - phone the transplant co-ordinator and talk about the next steps. 

This could be one reason why a common theme among LDs is that the whole thing seemed to take ages.  In my case I don't actually think that we should be slow to get the show on the road as the intended recipient is not getting any better!

I think another reason for a slow process is that the medical profession likes to do things in sequence, not concurrently.  To me, it is quite reasonable that you should wait for one test result before actually doing the next expensive test, but if there's then a long wait for that expensive one, it would seem reasonable to book it before getting the results of the previous test - you could always cancel it if you fail the previous test.  I've had that sort of thing at the dentist, trying to book a follow-up appointment (typically three or four weeks) before the routine examination when you know for a fact that there will be follow-up work.  Talking of dentists, I've just had a routine check up and, as I suspected, a bridge has failed and is only held in by the adjacent teeth. At least that issue won't get in the way of donating a kidney!