My surgery went fine. I like to tell everyone the surgeon said I had ‘favourable anatomy’! My recovery in hospital was fine – my pain was well controlled. I was only sick once and I was up and walking around a few hours after the operation. I did have an infection a couple of weeks later and had to go back to hospital – I’d say that hospital experience was hard as I felt worse than before my operation! Otherwise, I set myself clear goals to return to fitness and running. At nearly 12 weeks I ran (walked) my first parkrun and returned to work. I got my first personal best at 6 months and ran a marathon at 9 months post-donation. Nowadays, it has no impact on my life whatsoever.
I was pleased to hear from my recipient and know they are doing well. This was an added bonus as I didn’t expect to hear anything, knowing it is anonymous. After the donation, my recipient is now living life without dialysis, which was lovely to hear as that’s of course the ultimate goal of donating.
To anyone considering organ donation, I’d say if you are determined then do it. My main tip is to bear in mind that the team’s job is to explain the risks. This can seem off putting, but don’t be afraid to chase them if you have any more questions or worries. Also, I wasted time with a centre who had no interest in using younger donors, although no rule against it, so if you are a younger donor like me then perhaps ask about their views on age before choosing a centre.
Georgia is also a Buddy in the UK Living Kidney Donation Buddy Support Service. Visit our webpage on the service if you would like to speak to her, or someone else who has experience in living kidney donation.
