I think the part about this that makes me think the most is that making this decision, when thinking about all the facts, just seems like such an obvious one. Unfortunately obvious and popular aren't even on same street.
I feel immensely better now that I have sought out others in the living donor community. Turns out, there's more than I thought and I most definitely am not alone.
Slowly I'm beginning to make friends with other living donors and it swells my heart tremendously and only solidifies this decision.
Before the first tests can be ran, you have to speak with a transplant social worker and that discussion happens on May 31st.
I have seen the question "Why don't you wait until you're dead and donate then?". Well, it's easy, the success rate for someone to have a successful transplant with a cadaver donor is less than with a living one.
Maybe you need something a little closer to home. Do you know someone who suffers from diabetes? An estimated 21 million Americans have diabetes, but another 41 million people have the prediabetic condition of high blood sugar, putting them at high risk for developing the disease in the near future.
Type 2 diabetes, moreover, is being diagnosed more frequently in children, something that was virtually unheard of 25 years ago. A lot of people waiting for kidneys are under 18. These are kids with their whole lives ahead of them.
It is an epidemic and unfortunately diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44 percent of the new cases.
The odds are very good that someone you know will need a kidney at some point.
Admittedly being a living donor isn't the sort of thing that everyone is cut out for. You can start by becoming an organ donor upon your death. One organ donor can save eight lives! Head to OrganDonor.gov and sign up as a donor in your state. Organ donation doesn't violate any religious beliefs of any major religion and virtually all religions view organ donation favorably. Think of it this way, if you think you've been a miserable little turd and have doubts about facing your maker, this might help your odds. Just saying.....
Even if you aren't ready to make that leap, consider donating blood. Everything help. It really does.
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