NEW YEAR; NEW KIDNEY!
Kidney Transplant FAQs
Understanding kidney transplant and donation is important in helping someone find a living donor.
There is no obligation to sign up to be a donor or to continue the process once you've signed up.
Regardless of if you sign up to be a donor, please distribute this website to your people in your network.
The more people who know about this opportunity, the higher chance I have at finding a matching donor.
What is a kidney (renal) transplant?
Life-saving procedure in which a donor kidney is surgically implanted into a recipient. The donor kidney takes over the function of two failed kidneys in the recipient.
How do you get a donor kidney?
There are two sources for donor kidneys: living volunteers or deceased volunteers.
Living donor kidneys are usually available faster than deceased donor kidneys and have better outcomes. The average wait time for deceased donor kidneys is 3 years. Therefore, Carolyn is seeking a volunteer to donate one of their kidneys to her.
You do NOT have to be in North Carolina to donate to Carolyn! You can live anywhere.
What happens if I sign up to be evaluated to donate? Am I obligated to donate?
There are three main steps to kidney donation:
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Sign up to see if you are eligible to be a donor.
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If the team deems you eligible, you will then undergo a donor evaluation that is covered by the recipient's insurance. You can stop this process at any time without any consequence.
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If you are a match, you will then confirm you want to proceed with the procedure. You will work with the doctors and Carolyn to schedule the procedure.
Will I be ok if I donate my kidney?
There is always a risk with surgery, but the transplant team does a thorough evaluation of you and both your kidneys to ensure that the risk to you is minimal.
If you donate a kidney, your remaining kidney will take over all the renal function, and you should live a healthy, normal life after the procedure.
What will happen to Carolyn if she doesn't receive a kidney from a living donor?
Carolyn's goal is to find a living donor before she needs to go on dialysis. Dialysis can be very challenging to quality of life and daily activities, and Carolyn is keen to maintain her daily activities and lifestyle as much as possible.
If she is unable to find a living donor, she will continue to be listed on the deceased donor waiting list. It is unknown when or if she would receive a donor kidney from this pool of kidneys.
Carolyn is actively searching for a living donor before needing to go on dialysis and to minimize her wait time and maintain her quality of life.
