Organ Donation
Altruistic donation is when you offer to donate an organ for the benefit of a stranger. This is at present anonymous in the UK but in other countries you can 'choose' who you donate to.
I would like to explain my situation and how this might be the only option open to me.
I have been on dialysis for 15 years and as it stands I am unlikely to receive a donation from the current donor scheme. This is more due to my own body rejecting organs than the lack of them, although there is still a severe lack of donors in the UK.
I was approached by a surgeon several years ago about the posibility of a family member donating an organ but this didn't appeal to me as 1, I was nieve and thought after my first transplant I wouldn't wait that long and 2, there should be enough organs that living people didn't need to donate. How wrong I was!
For about 9 years I resisted asking for a living donor until a surgeon, Mr Kingsmore spoke to me about how it was a noble effort not taking a living donor but there would be a time where I could be called for a transplant but my body wouldn't be able to survive the operation. I was relatively young so thought this was just scare tactics, I would be fit enough, but after a few scans on my heart I realised that he may have a point.
This is where my brother stepped in. He offered to donate a kidney, to do whatever it took for me to no longer have to attend dialysis 3 times a week and live a relatively normal life.
He has subjected himself to a bettery of tests but found that I couldn't accept a direct donation from him. this was probably harder on him than me as I had sort of come to terms that I would be on dialysis the rest of my life.
We were then faced with alternatives such as desensitisation. this involved me travelling to Coventry for tests which, if successful would allow my body to be 'cleansed' of antibodies and therefore allow the kidney to be transplanted. Unfortunately this wasn't possible as my antibodies were simply too high.
The next option, and possibly the last option is the paired donor scheme. This is where people in a similar position to myself can 'swap' donors. If we could find a couple in a similar position, their donor couldn't donate to them, we could swap donors if they were a match. Personally I think this is harder as it isn't just about finding me a donor but also making sure that my brother could donate to the other dialysis patient.
This leds me to why I am writing this blog. I watched a programme called My Kidney and Me where Tom Cledwyn decided to become an altruistic donor. He faced the questions that anyone would ask. Why?
His attitude was that he only needed one kidney to live and if he could help someone else then why not. It is a massive decision and not one to be taken lightly, there are numerous tests and psychological tests to be carried out first, but one that would change his life and the person receiving the organ forever.
Through this programme I found Tom on twitter and had to congratulate him on a totally selfless act. I have now spoken to several people, either waiting on a kidney or have donated, including Natalia Aggiano (recent Pride of Britain winner). They have shown that there are more people like Tom out there and that over 120 people have made this choice in the UK alone.
For years I have admitted that it's unlikely for me to receive a donation due to my antibodies but Natalia and Tom have made me believe that there may be a chance for me to lead a normal life again. Whether that is through an altruistic donation or a change to the law then it could happen.
I am now in a position that rather than accept defeat, that this is my life and I have to just get on with it, I am speaking to other family members about it. It will always be their choice and one that I would accept if they were against it but it still gives me a glimmer of hope for the future.
There are sites which can probably explain this better than I can, such as http://www.giveakidney.org/, which explains how 300 people die each year while on dialysis and waiting for a kidney.
All I can do is try and raise some awareness about donation and it doesn't have to be a card in your pocket for someone to find when you die, it can be a decision you make just now!