How will I get the right kidney?

Finding the right kidney is rather like finding the right partner in life; the more people you have to choose from, the more likely you are to find someone with the right match.  This is where UK Transplant comes in.  UK Transplant acts like a matching agency.  It keeps a secure database of all people in the UK who are waiting for kidney transplants (and other organ transplants), their names, addresses and, most importantly, their tissue types.  Whenever a kidney donor becomes available anywhere in the country, UK Transplant is informed and their staff, who work round the clock, search the database for the person whose tissue type has the closest match to the tissue type of the donor.  They immediately inform that person’s local Transplant Centre who set the wheels in motion for him or her to come into hospital for the transplant operation.

As soon as you have decided to go for a kidney transplant, your name and details will be added to the UK Transplant database.  Then begins the wait.  It could be weeks; it could be years; but always remember, the system is designed to find you the best kidney.

Whilst you are waiting, you will also have to attend the South West Transplant Assessment Clinic for regular blood tests to check that your antibodies remain the same.  An infection or a blood transfusion may alter your antibodies.  It is important that your file on the UK Transplant database is kept up to date to avoid the risk of a donor kidney being sent that is not compatible with your current antibodies.

Once you have recovered from your initial excitement, it is best to try and put the prospect of your transplant to the back of your mind and get on with your life in exactly the same way as you have been doing up until now.

Just keep a bag packed and put any other emergency arrangements in place in case you are called by the hospital, put your employer in the picture and let the Transplant Centre know if you are going away on holiday.