Paul and Teresa: We have been very fortunate in many ways. We have both worked as doctors in the NHS and overseas. We have been well and healthy all our lives and have a supportive family. It has made us very conscious of our privilege and the corresponding responsibility we have for those who have not been so lucky.
In the course of our professional lives we have come across many people with kidney disease. Dialysis is a crucial treatment for those with end stage kidney failure but we know that a kidney transplant is better still and is the gold standard treatment because it provides the chance of a normal life. We had seen the impact of a transplant first hand and also knew that, after the operation, the vast majority of donors remain healthy without significant problems.
Beginning The Process
Paul: I saw an article about the change to the law making non directed donation possible in 2007 and knew at once that it was something I wished to consider. I made contact with the transplant coordinator at Guys Hospital and the ball started rolling. I knew that some otherwise healthy people are unable to donate and I was concerned that I might be one of them but fortunately all the tests were satisfactory.
It was a bit laborious trekking up to London for all the investigations but they were not painful or difficult. I was a bit apprehensive about the mental health assessment which I was told was mandatory but it turned out to be a relaxed conversation and not an intrusive interrogation.
After nearly 8 months I was given the go ahead and had my surgery in April 2008. It was not comfortable at the time but I recovered quickly and was back at my desk job after two weeks without any problems. I was (gently) told off at my follow up at 6 weeks because I had been doing some heavy gardening work. I have had my occasional check ups and can say that the surgery has had absolutely no impact on my health.
Teresa: Any anxieties I may have had were resolved by seeing Paul make a quick and uneventful recovery and for me the question was not ‘if’ but ‘when’?
I waited until our youngest child finished school and in 2012 I began the assessment process. My only regret is that I was not able to join a ‘chain’ as part of the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme. This is the way that a non directed kidney can potentially lead to one or more additional transplants.
Initially I felt a bit self conscious when talking about my donation but rapidly realised people were genuinely interested and that it was the best way to promote the cause.
Our Lives Since Donating
Paul and Teresa: We have discussed our donation from time to time but it has not changed us or how we lead our lives in any fundamental way. We have since been back working overseas in Sierra Leone as well as in the UK and also have busy lives helping to look after our grandchildren.
Neither of us have had contact with our recipients and we don’t know where our kidneys went. We are happy with that. We did not want anyone to feel any kind of obligation towards us and are content to feel that we have donated into a system which needs more donors than it has access to. Of course we hope that there are two individuals who have benefitted but that is enough and we remain grateful that we have had the opportunity to be donors.
Paul 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.
