emotional support

[MrsR2558]

after donating a kidney is it common for donors to wonder if they will survive and live a full energetic life?

[DSKdonor NKF Ambassador]

Hello. Are you asking because you already donated and feel this way or are you asking in anticipation of your donation?

If it's because you've donated already, PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE - medical doctors (your transplant team + therapist).

If you are just asking in advance, the feeling is NOT common as most people ask that in advance (yeah) and understand that there are only a few, very specific "restrictions" post donation and in most donors, there are no issues post donation and are able to live a full, energetic life!

[FixitJosh in reply to DSKdonor]

Hi,

I donated almost two years ago, May 4, 2021. Since then, I have traveled to Alaska, Turkey, Italy, taken many hikes across the Adirondack Mts (NYS), and also the Appalachian Mts (NC), as well as last fall I hike the Camino Frances in northern Spain for 6 weeks, racking up over 500 miles! I turn 70 next month, and I do not plan on slowing down one bit! If the center you are working with accepts you as a donor, and you want to do it, then do it. It was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life to give life to someone who otherwise would have been on a machine for his natural life. Honestly, I think I felt more joy giving the kidney than he did to receive it, though he was eternally grateful, for sure. We have more plans to travel, walk another Camino, etc.,, etc., etc. Go for it.

[Philly57 in reply to FixitJosh]

Hi Josh. I donated in November 2020 when I was 57. Not much time has passed for you and me since our donations. I still have some fear that I could have problems in the future. I think it is normal to have a sense of loss of health after donating a kidney. My creatinine is now 1.35 and my GFR is less than 60. I avoid NSAIDs and I try to remember to stay hydrated. To answer MrsR2558 honestly, I would say that I am a little nervous about my future health. I believe that must be a normal feeling for anyone who has donated a kidney, despite what DSKdonor says. It does not mean you shouldn't donate, but for me, it is a real feeling.