Kidney Donation Introduction

Welcome to The Kidney Project, a blog about my journey through a live kidney donation. Let me start by saying that I am an accountant. I am in no way, shape, or form a kidney expert. This blog is not designed to be a technical resource about kidneys or transplants.  There are plenty of technical resources online.

Instead, this blog is meant to bring you along on my journey. I have found that there are not a lot of resources available for those considering becoming a live donor that describe for them what the live donor process is like for the person donating the kidney.

I have also found that there are a lot of misconceptions about donating a kidney. As my friends and coworkers have found out about my decision, I have heard everything from fears of my impending death to absolute certainty that kidney donation means that I will be on dialysis the rest of my life. Several of these individuals expressed that they would love for me to blog as I go through this process to better educate those who know nothing about kidney donation. I hope this blog will help fill both of those needs.
In the weeks that follow, I will describe how I came to the decision to donate, the steps I went through in the testing phase to find out whether or not I was a match and fit to donate, what the actual surgery was like, and then bring you along as I recover. I will also give periodic updates after recovery to report in on any longer term effects of the process. My friend Candi, the transplant recipient, has also agreed to do some guest blog entries to share the experience from her perspective.

There are three ways to keep track of new posts.  The first is to click on Follow up in the upper left hand side of the screen and new posts will pop up in your Blogger Dashboard.  This will only help if you check in with Blogger regularly.  The second way is to click on "Like" under the Find us on Facebook box on the right hand side of the blog.  New blog posts will show up on your Facebook homepage.  The final way is just to check back often.

So, once again, welcome and thanks for joining me in this journey!