...right, bear with me.
As an only child this is rough for me as most things in life have been all down to me, so I've just ploughed through. These days, unfortunately (or maybe not), my life is mainly down to others; a fact which really irritates me (you have to be an only child to understand, it's not a dig).
As some of you (like me) frequent fliers on GOT Airlines may know, either through some of my posts on here or maybe via a random DM conversation, I was diagnosed a little over a year and a half ago with Stage 4 kidney disease. I've always been active and had spent the last 18 years of my life spending a good amount of time outside, working in the famed Arizona heat, so I knew something was wrong and, one day, took myself down to Urgent Care; things obviously snowballed from there. I was at Panera the next morning getting breakfast when, as soon as sitting down in my car, the Doc called me directing me to drop everything and go to the nearest ER. Time stopped for a good 2-3 minuites that morning, staring out my car windshield on one of the typically amazing spring (for us) morning's we get here in March.
Now this morning (11/10/25), after having yet another educational Zoom class with the Mayo Clinic, this time about having a "living donor", I finally decided to make this post. You see, and I didn't know this as I only go down the self-medicating route on the internet very generally, but the mortality rate for people on dialysis is typically 5 years. In my head, I thought if push came to shove I'd just be on it until I was in a pine box but nope. Now, there are 5 stages of kidney disease (mine was caused by high blood pressure in case you're wondering, so get yours under control) and typically you're on dialysis (what is dialysis?) once you hit stage 5. Needless to say it's advantageous if I can find a living donor as kidney disease, like Carl's mesothelioma, does not get better. Your liver can heal itself with time but if your kidney's go you're on the downward spiral, hoping your diet and lifestyle change slows the progression, which it has for me (been stable ever since I got out of the hospital approx 1.5 years ago, thankfully). Hopefully you understand that I'd like to find a donor before I reach stage 5.
I've asked the question in past Zoom calls with Mayo if cross-pond donation is possible and, to my surprise, it is. My immediate family/friends members (small pool) have not been compatible and we all have an idea why (my uncle has prostate cancer for instance, a reason for instant rejection; others were lifetime smokers etc), so I have to try elsewhere and broaden the horizons, so to speak. Thus, here I am, hating myself for feeling like I'm begging. I've always been approached by people asking for money, even back when I was a young adult and didn't have any myself but still managed to find some spare change, or a few dollars as I finally started to be rewarded for working my *** off so, needless to say, I've had to put a lot of hope on the karma plate even though I'm asking for more than they were at the time; how I wish it was just a few dollars.
Via the donor program, you can usually get financial assistance for any time spent off work, travel/lodging expenses, testing etc but you won't be paid for your kidney (you can understand the trouble with that). You typically spend one full day/night at the hospital for the procedure and then you're released, with a 4-6 week recovery period depending on your work situation. The whole process is obviously completely voluntary, and can, at your behest, be completely anonymous. You can also back out at any time, up until the point of going under anesthesia, so don't feel pressured (I know, I know..."YEAH, RIGHT!"). All your info is obviously confidential, too.
I thank you all for your continued patience during this TL;DR moment; may the netiquette gods be pleased with your behaviour today.
"Wait, wait wait!", I hear you say.
"Like you, I feel overwhelmed! Where do I start?"
I'm glad you asked...
www.mayoclinic.org
I asked them what of my info I can give out and this was one of my care team members' response.
"We recommend that you do not share your MCN number in any public or online forum. If someone is interested in becoming a living donor, they can contact our transplant team directly, and we will guide them through the process without needing your personal information to be posted online.
Thank you for choosing Mayo Clinic for your care-
Isabella R.N., CCTN
*Portal messages are monitored Monday-Friday, excluding holidays, and you can expect up to a 4 day response time.
*If this is a medical emergency, call 911.
Rob
aka GSG (knobhead in private, I'm sure)
As an only child this is rough for me as most things in life have been all down to me, so I've just ploughed through. These days, unfortunately (or maybe not), my life is mainly down to others; a fact which really irritates me (you have to be an only child to understand, it's not a dig).
As some of you (like me) frequent fliers on GOT Airlines may know, either through some of my posts on here or maybe via a random DM conversation, I was diagnosed a little over a year and a half ago with Stage 4 kidney disease. I've always been active and had spent the last 18 years of my life spending a good amount of time outside, working in the famed Arizona heat, so I knew something was wrong and, one day, took myself down to Urgent Care; things obviously snowballed from there. I was at Panera the next morning getting breakfast when, as soon as sitting down in my car, the Doc called me directing me to drop everything and go to the nearest ER. Time stopped for a good 2-3 minuites that morning, staring out my car windshield on one of the typically amazing spring (for us) morning's we get here in March.
Now this morning (11/10/25), after having yet another educational Zoom class with the Mayo Clinic, this time about having a "living donor", I finally decided to make this post. You see, and I didn't know this as I only go down the self-medicating route on the internet very generally, but the mortality rate for people on dialysis is typically 5 years. In my head, I thought if push came to shove I'd just be on it until I was in a pine box but nope. Now, there are 5 stages of kidney disease (mine was caused by high blood pressure in case you're wondering, so get yours under control) and typically you're on dialysis (what is dialysis?) once you hit stage 5. Needless to say it's advantageous if I can find a living donor as kidney disease, like Carl's mesothelioma, does not get better. Your liver can heal itself with time but if your kidney's go you're on the downward spiral, hoping your diet and lifestyle change slows the progression, which it has for me (been stable ever since I got out of the hospital approx 1.5 years ago, thankfully). Hopefully you understand that I'd like to find a donor before I reach stage 5.
I've asked the question in past Zoom calls with Mayo if cross-pond donation is possible and, to my surprise, it is. My immediate family/friends members (small pool) have not been compatible and we all have an idea why (my uncle has prostate cancer for instance, a reason for instant rejection; others were lifetime smokers etc), so I have to try elsewhere and broaden the horizons, so to speak. Thus, here I am, hating myself for feeling like I'm begging. I've always been approached by people asking for money, even back when I was a young adult and didn't have any myself but still managed to find some spare change, or a few dollars as I finally started to be rewarded for working my *** off so, needless to say, I've had to put a lot of hope on the karma plate even though I'm asking for more than they were at the time; how I wish it was just a few dollars.
Via the donor program, you can usually get financial assistance for any time spent off work, travel/lodging expenses, testing etc but you won't be paid for your kidney (you can understand the trouble with that). You typically spend one full day/night at the hospital for the procedure and then you're released, with a 4-6 week recovery period depending on your work situation. The whole process is obviously completely voluntary, and can, at your behest, be completely anonymous. You can also back out at any time, up until the point of going under anesthesia, so don't feel pressured (I know, I know..."YEAH, RIGHT!"). All your info is obviously confidential, too.
I thank you all for your continued patience during this TL;DR moment; may the netiquette gods be pleased with your behaviour today.
"Wait, wait wait!", I hear you say.
"Like you, I feel overwhelmed! Where do I start?"
I'm glad you asked...
Living-donor transplantation - Overview
www.mayoclinic.org
National Kidney Registry | Facilitating Living Kidney Donation
The National Kidney Registry helps people facing kidney failure by facilitating paired kidney exchange and making living kidney donation safer and easier.
www.kidneyregistry.com
I asked them what of my info I can give out and this was one of my care team members' response.
"We recommend that you do not share your MCN number in any public or online forum. If someone is interested in becoming a living donor, they can contact our transplant team directly, and we will guide them through the process without needing your personal information to be posted online.
Thank you for choosing Mayo Clinic for your care-
Isabella R.N., CCTN
*Portal messages are monitored Monday-Friday, excluding holidays, and you can expect up to a 4 day response time.
*If this is a medical emergency, call 911.
Rob
aka GSG (knobhead in private, I'm sure)
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