That Time I (Maybe?) Gave Away A Kidney – Part 3 (Prepping For Big Kidney Day)

January 11, 2015

Aurora holding a big clear jug of urine by her face, looking off to the side
Oh, don’t mind me… I’m just bringing in a big jug o’ urine (from the 24 hour collection)

Time for another installment of this Wednesday/Sunday night series!

Picking up from last time

On June 19th (2014), almost a year exactly (one week shy) of when I’d been initially rejected, UCLA confirmed they got the fax records from Dr. Doshi’s office.

We could now officially start the process! …After I was approved to start.

My kidney donor coordinator said she’d need to present my case at the weekly donor selection committee meeting. (I didn’t realize we got submitted to committee at the beginning as well as the end.) Anyway, the committee said proceed!

At OSU, I had to do tons of tests leading up to Big Kidney Day. At UCLA, Big Kidney Day was basically next on the docket! (Though there were some tests we’ll talk about in a sec.)

Also, Big Kidney Day was split into two days here. (I think it’s just ’cause there’s so much, and that makes scheduling more manageable.) You also get actual appointment times with each person you’re meeting.

At OSU, all patients were put in exam rooms at a donor center. The specialists rotated, coming around to us. At UCLA, we went to the various specialists around the hospital.

I don’t know that either way is necessarily better (from where I’m standing). Of course I’m leaning toward UCLA’s way, because I loved my experience there. So, my judgement is clouded by that.

Think before you speak sign
In the UCLA lab, I saw this lovely sign that I don’t always necessarily follow, but I probably should!

As I mentioned, there were a couple of simple things to do before Big Kidney Day. I needed to do one 24-hour urine collection. Thankfully, the UCLA lab was open on weekends, which made any lab work very easy to do without affecting work.

Also, UCLA would need a copy of my most recent pap smear from my gynecologist (though that didn’t have to be in before Big Kidney Day, just sometime reasonably close to it).

I also needed to fill out a couple of questionnaires I’d been sent about my health and habits.

So I guess, listing the stuff out, there really were a few things to do. Nonetheless, they all still seemed pretty small in comparison to the multiple trips to the lab for various blood draws, plus the three 24-hour urine collections (and the whole flying to Ohio thing) for OSU’s Big Kidney Day prep.

So, I peed in a container, filled out my questionnaires, and got half days approved at work (two days in a row! whoa) for the 2-part Big Kidney Day at UCLA.

And this is where we’ll pick up next time.

I'd love to hear from you! So whaddya say?