I went to an event entitled "Kidney Donor Day" recently. This was held at St George's and they invited all of the 2013 donors; it wasn't the whole day of course, just an hour in the morning with presentation of a certificate each, some photos, lots of chat and some food.
There were about 15 or 18 donors there; it was noticeable that we were mostly older people, presumably because the younger ones were at work! Sarah the surgeon thanked us all ("you can only do this once"!), made the presentations and gave us some figures. She said that this had been a record year for them: there were 45 live donors last year at St George's, and 140 transplants in total; there were five non-directed donors so I presume that these are not included in the 145 as they would have been to recipients elsewhere. (I hope I have remembered those figures correctly.)
It was a pleasant way of spending a day, and seeing the staff again. However, I left with a funny feeling inside: this was completely over. I can indeed only do it once and I've done it. It does rather raise the question: what can you ever do only once (when alive), as opposed to doing something for the first time? There are a few similar medical things like having your appendix or gall bladder out but these seem entirely medical as opposed to altruistic.
I am very well and so is Tim; he wrote in a recent e-mail that "I
feel better than I have felt for I do not know how many years". We now compare creatinine levels - it seems that the two kidneys are both performing even better now they are apart! I am now getting my old energy back, and it does seem a bit harder than
it used to but there again, I am now old enough for a Bus Pass.
I will possibly post a photo of the event when they are received, and then I'll come back here for the year anniversary in October. I hope that my regular readers have found my story interesting, and that reading these experiences will benefit anyone thinking of donating a kidney. DO IT! There's nothing to be frightened of, it's a great experience and it's a wonderful gift to give.
