if someone is in need of a new kidney or liver, due to damage, disease or what not, saying "just go on the organ donor list" doesnt always help... the problem with that is that most people are not matches. If a kidney becomes available due to the death of someone who signed their organ donor card, it doesnt gurantee any success.
My mom died waiting for a kidney transplant. She was on the wait list for 7 years, and there were 3 opportunities that arose.
But when a kidney becomes available, depending on your criticality, ie how badly you need a replacement kidney, they fly up or send over more than one person that needs it. The reason they do this is to make sure the donated kidney matches a person the best. They can tell a lil bit by blood type of the donor etc... but they do this to ensure the best possible match.
If you are in dire need of a organ replacement and one becomes available, there is generally only a 24 hour window of opportunity, sometimes less. So the way it works is you get a phone call at anytime. You need to be easily contacted when the hospital calls saying they have a fresh kidney available from a donor. In fact we had 7 people on teh contact list in case the hospital couldnt get through to the main house line, we had neighbours, friends, relatives etc on all that contact list to make sure that someone could get the message out. So when you get the call, time is of the essence, and i remember the last call, they send an ambulance to pick you up, take you to the airport and medivac you to wherever the kidney is in the country (US and Canada, we share when you get to a certain critical level), but at the same time, another person who desperatly needs a kidney is also called and sent up. Once you arrive at the hospital iwth hte kidney they usually know by then who would be the best match. Unfortunetly my mom was never the best match and the other person got it... this happened 3 times.
Finding you are a match is worth more than any lottery ticket, its your ticket to being able to live again.
120,000 grand is a pittance to pay to ensure that, whether it be right or wrong.
My mom died waiting for a kidney transplant. She was on the wait list for 7 years, and there were 3 opportunities that arose.
But when a kidney becomes available, depending on your criticality, ie how badly you need a replacement kidney, they fly up or send over more than one person that needs it. The reason they do this is to make sure the donated kidney matches a person the best. They can tell a lil bit by blood type of the donor etc... but they do this to ensure the best possible match.
If you are in dire need of a organ replacement and one becomes available, there is generally only a 24 hour window of opportunity, sometimes less. So the way it works is you get a phone call at anytime. You need to be easily contacted when the hospital calls saying they have a fresh kidney available from a donor. In fact we had 7 people on teh contact list in case the hospital couldnt get through to the main house line, we had neighbours, friends, relatives etc on all that contact list to make sure that someone could get the message out. So when you get the call, time is of the essence, and i remember the last call, they send an ambulance to pick you up, take you to the airport and medivac you to wherever the kidney is in the country (US and Canada, we share when you get to a certain critical level), but at the same time, another person who desperatly needs a kidney is also called and sent up. Once you arrive at the hospital iwth hte kidney they usually know by then who would be the best match. Unfortunetly my mom was never the best match and the other person got it... this happened 3 times.
Finding you are a match is worth more than any lottery ticket, its your ticket to being able to live again.
120,000 grand is a pittance to pay to ensure that, whether it be right or wrong.
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