I had heard about kidney donation as a thing you could do, but hadn’t known that you could donate to someone you didn’t know until 2016-17. My dad had mentioned it in conversation and I thought it was a great idea.
I think you should always try to help people and leave the world a better place than you found it, so I really wanted to look into it for myself.
I contacted the living donor coordinator at the Belfast City Hospital and made an appointment to chat it all through.
My dad responded really well when I told him I was considering donating. He was very supportive and proud. I think he told everyone he’s ever met! My partner and friends were all supportive too, I think they were reassured that so much care was taken to make sure I was healthy after as well, so that helped with everything.
After some information and some thought, I decided to sign up. I have fibromyalgia so was concerned it would be affected but was assured it wouldn’t be – and so far, it hasn’t!
All the tests were done in a day, and I was found to be suitable. I always say they tested everything bar my eyesight and IQ! I was really impressed by how thorough everything was and how much care they took with making sure that I was suitable, but also would be healthy after donation as well. There was also a meeting with a psychiatrist later on, to make sure I was mentally fit enough and not being coerced etc.
They explained the ‘chain’ system and how it benefits more people, or that I could do a 1:1 type thing, and I opted for the chain.
I had my surgery first thing in the morning on World Kidney Day in 2018 (which was not intentional!) and came through it well. I found out after I’d donated to a guy around my age in England and my donation kick started a chain that saw 3 donations!
