Transplant Assessment Clinic - Derriford

Yesterday Mum and I went up to Derriford Hospital for the Transplant Assessment Clinic.  We left home at 9:30 and made our way up to Plymouth.  Derriford Hospital is HUGE!  It is like a bus terminal as you walk in as there are just sooo many people everywhere!

Firstly we had a transplant seminar which explained:

• Where the organs come from (the types of living and dead donors)
• How you are matched for a kidney (if from the transplant list)
• What happens before, during and after the operation
• What to expect post op (many tubes inserted into you)
• How long you are likely to stay in hospital (on average 10 days)
• Rejection of the kidney
• The many drugs you have to take for life and their lovely side effects!

There was loads of other info, but this is some of it which I can remember at the moment.

After the seminar both Mum and I were weighed, measured, had our blood pressure taken and loads of blood taken.  I think Mum had six vials taken and I had four.  Not ideal when your anemic!!

Next Mum saw the Consultant Nephrologist and I saw the Surgical Consultant.  We could not see the same person or go into the meetings together due to the conflict of interest and the Doctors also need to ensure that I am not forcing Mum to donate to me!!

Mum had a general check over by her Doctor and a chat about how things are going to be for the Donor.  At the seminar there was another lady who had already had all of the tests and she was able to put Mum's mind at rest that all of the procedures were very unintrusive and none were at all painful.  Mum is booked to be back at Derriford on the 2nd November to have all these tests to ensure that she is fit and well enough to donate to me. 

My appointment with the Surgeon didn't last very long.  I had already had all but one of the tests required to ensure that I was healthy enough to have the operation.  I only had one procedure left which was to ensure that my veins were adequate for the kidney, I thought this was a proper procedure but all this involved was the doctor poking me in the top of the legs and underneath my knees ensuring he could feel a strong pulse!!

So I am now activated on the transplant list!  I could be called at anytime if a kidney becomes available, although they have said that if I had a kidney from a dead donor, being young,they would prefer me to have a younger kidney to ensure that it has a good chance of lasting a fair period of time.

One thing that I wasn't aware of until I became ill with kidney disease is that a kidney transplant does not last forever, the hospital calls it a treatment rather than a cure, this is because the average time a transplant lasts is ten years, although there are some which have lasted for thirty years.

Finally Mum had an ECG and a chest x-ray.  We were both extremely impressed with the service we had a Derriford as we hardly had to wait around in any of the departments which we visited.

At the end of the day I asked if we were still aiming for a December operation or if it was more likely to be January, I was hoping for December but the Surgeon said January :-(  Oh well, what difference does a month make?  Its just Mum had said that if we had the operation done in December, she was going to book us into a hotel for Christmas and I was looking forward to that!!  Maybe I can convince her that we do it anyway ;-)