We were fortunate enough to be able to proceed with the kidney donation pre-emptively, before he needed to go on dialysis. I wasn’t the best possible match, but was advised I was good enough and that living donation is the “gold standard” for kidney donations, so it was worth moving forward.
Deciding to donate was absolutely a no brainer. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had a spare kidney! I feel it was not only life changing for my husband, but for me as a person. I was fortunate enough to meet two other donors who had donated to their partners and their support was invaluable. If you are thinking of donating, I would say try and find someone who has done it before making up your mind. It will really made a world of difference.
The experience of testing and assessment took a few months. Nothing unpleasant, blood tests and scans of my kidneys and bladder to make sure I was in tip top health to proceed. We were allocated our own respective donor- and recipient-nurses who answered every question we had. We always felt 100% supported by the renal team, they could not have been kinder. I tried to get as fit as possible before my surgery as we were told this does aid recovery time afterwards.
