Living Donor

I am seriously considering attempting to find a living donor. The statistics at Columbia Presbyterian in NYC are good. They say they have done 220 living donor transplants since the inception of their program, though I do not know how many of those were parent to child.

Obviously, the wait time is not an issue - Scheduling and my MELD score would dictate the date of transplant.
And the wait time for cadaveric donors in NYC is absurd.

(Frankly, and I am just musing aloud here, if I did go for a cadaveric donor, I think I would seriously have to consider going outside of NYC where the wait times are more reasonable)

In any event, I am interested in knowing how one goes about asking people such a delicate question. There must be some sort of best practice. Each of the members of my immediate family are not eligible, for various reasons, except for one blood relative, one in-law and my son, who is nineteen.

After that, I would be talking to cousins and second cousins, as well as good friends. My good friends know how sick I am, but frankly, my extended family is not close. OTOH, we love when we all get together, and I feel there is a strong kinship bond, but in day to day living, we are not close. The thing is that I know I would give a piece of my liver, or a kidney, to virtually anyone who was desperate for one. To me, it is a non-issue - to give of myself to save another person.

In fact, my dear paramour gave a kidney to his last girlfriend. Then they broke up. She was a jerk, but he feels no regrets, as he saved her life and I agree he should feel very good about his sacrifice to save another person.

Does anyone here have any information they could share with me regarding finding a donor?

I know that this is just one of about a scajillion different issues regarding a living donor situation, but for now, this is what is bothering me, and I cannot find an online source for the nitty gritty of this amazing possibility.

Thank you all for your help, and feel well.
fyi, I still feel crappy from the nasty bacterial infection that landed me in the hospital for 11 days. I've been out six days and recovery is slow.
Susan

Your 19 year old son , if he matches up with you, would be the best candidate. If he's healthy, at his age, he'd be back to normal in a month. I knew a young woman who received part of her 21 year old brothers liver. He was back to school in 3 weeks. I met her, right after my transplant. She had auto immune hepatitis. That was the first time I'd heard of AIH.

You do need to be aware that there is about a 1% chance of a living donor not surviving the taking of a graft. Good odds, but it would be the donors choice...

Why not Mt. Sinai?

Thanks, Moxiesbuddy.

I don't feel great today, so I will respond to others later.

Susan

Thanks all for your kind and thoughtful responses. I've been out of the hospital over a week, and I would say I feel about 50% of normal. But what is normal, really?

In any event, I talked with my liver MD at Sinai and he said we can have the living donor discussion when I go back for a follow up. He also said my (in my opinion) slow healing process was to be expected. Others had said the same thing, but somehow it sounds better coming from the MD.

I still have the IV antibiotic Picc line thing. Between taking the diuretics and urinating repeatedly, and then doing the IV drugs twice a day, I am pretty much continually reminded that I am sick. Grr. I have stuff to do, and I am too tired to do it.

OK, bad mood rant over.
Susan

Carol

OOOOooooo! For the winter....ah. Sounds divine.

Susan