"Kidney Donation-Part 2"

So, once I realized that this was something that I definitely wanted to pursue, I asked Masud's (the recipient) wife, Sharmin, what I needed to do.

She informed me that they were currently going through testing with a local person (Phoenix, AZ). She told me that the Mayo Clinic would only test one possible donor at a time. She said for me to pray that that person was a match. I told her that they were in my prayers.

About a week later, she emailed me saying that she just found out that the other person "was not a match-cannot donate". Those were her exact words. Can you imagine what a letdown that is to a family that is praying for a miracle? She also asked if I was still interested. Still interested? Of course!

Immediately I wrote back to her and told her that I was still very interested and needed to know what the first step would be for me.

She called her tranplant coordinator at Mayo Clinic and then emailed me back. She said that I would be working with my own tranplant coordinator at Mayo and her name was Maya. I was given her phone number and asked to call her. I called her immediately. I had to leave a voicemail. About 3 days later, I talked to Maya. She told me that the first step was a phone interview about my medical history. She said that someone would be calling me soon.

So, for the next few days, I waiting for that call. It was stressful. When the phone finally rang, of course I was pulling into my driveway. My kids were fighting and I was trying to calm them down. Thankfully, the lady on the other end of the line was very patient.

For about 30 minutes, she asked me about everything medical thing that has ever happened to me. It took a while to tell her all that. Despite my extensive medical history, I remain pretty healthy. All the bad parts have been removed. I was informed that the next step was for someone to review my interview to see if I sounded healthy enough to proceed to the next step, blood tests.

About a week later, I got that call. They were sending me a package in the mail and I was to take it to a local lab and have my blood drawn, then Fed-Ex it back to the Mayo Clinic. It was an odd process to me.

I went to Willis-Knighton Pierremont to the hospital lab. They drew the blood for me. They didn't even charge anything to do it. I thought that was nice. Once I left there, I realized that there were some very specific instructions on how to package these vials of blood. Instead of going back into the hospital, I went across the street to my ob/gyn's office. They have a lab inside. I told the ladies there what I was doing and they helped me package everything up the correct way. Thanks ladies! I then Fed-Ex'd the package overnight to Mayo Clinic.

Now came the hard part. I had to wait a little over a week to find out if Masud and I were a match. The chances of two strangers from different nationalities being a match are very slim. I'm not sure what the odds are, but I think it's like 1:500,000. So, I prepared myself for the fact that we probably wouldn't be a match.

I was shopping in Old Navy when I got the call. It was Maya. She said, "Melissa, I have some good news! You were a perfect match to Masud. You can proceed with the next step."

Wow! I was stunned. I called Sharmin, Masud's wife right there in Old Navy. She was so excited. She couldn't believe it. She said, "I've always felt like I was talking to my sister, so I can see how you two would match."

Well, after a little bit of celebrating, we had to wait yet again. This time for the phone call to come to set up scheduling for all the medical tests that will need to be done to make sure I'm healthy enought to donate.

We got that call much earlier than expected. Within 1 day of finding out we were a match, the tests were scheduled. I did find out that I would have to fly to Phoenix, AZ to do the tests. I have to meet with the surgical team, have many psychological tests done, MRI's, CT scans, X-rays, blood tests, etc., etc., etc..

So, I leave June 22 for 4 days. If I pass all the tests, they will then schedule the surgery. I'm hoping to have it done this summer. The sooner the better. I would like to be able to be here when my youngest son starts kindergarten and my other son goes into 3rd grade.

Until then, everyone keep this family and me in your prayers. Please pray that the doctor's will find that I'm healthy enough to donate. Also, pray that Masud's health will remain good enough to make it to the surgery.

I'll keep everyone updated.

Please feel free to leave comments or ask any questions by clicking HERE. Or, you can email me at melswanson@gannett.com.