Living Organ Donation

Over the past years I have been drawn more and more to doing what I can to help the people around me who need it. It has become something I love. The Donation Gardens was the first truly larger scale project that I was able to get off the ground and since then my path has led me to something very singular, organ donation.

My decision to become a living organ donor happened as many such things do, in a sweeping motion that seemed to need almost no effort from myself. I was reading and doing research online when I came across the Trillium Gift of Life website and noticed one of the links on there to the living donor page. The page itself told of the possibilities of the process, yet was very vague on how to initiate it. I went on my way for a few months, not looking to the website but always thinking about it.

After these months I decided to put out an email to Trillium to see what it was about. A day later I had a response with two email addresses, one for living Kidney donation, and one for living Liver donation. A day after that I had sent and received emails from both of the doctors with info for their respective departments. In a matter of days I had my first appointments set up in Toronto for testing and the process was underway, with what seemed to be a will of its own.

 The process, which seemed very alien to me, was not very well documented online and I could not find any accounts of previous donors about the process of donating itself. All of the accounts were of the actual surgery and recovery period. I decided to make a video blog about the donation process, how it happens, the things that have to be done and the impact one emotional, social, and financial environments. I have since been posting these vlogs on Youtube and am happy that some people have seen them. Hopefully they will help others who are faced with the decision of becoming a living donor.

I must say that this experience isn't how I had thought it would be. This is particularly true of people reactions to this whole process, from my decision to the surgery itself. Of the people I have told about it only a small handful have had a positive reaction. The majority of people actually react by talking at about how they cannot do it for one reason or another. Another common reaction is saying that it is a bad idea, that Im not thinking it through, or that I can donate when I am dead! Haha!

The financial consequences of doing this is such that I may lose my job when I go in for surgery. I haven't been able to confirm that my employer will keep me on the books when I’m in recovery, or that Ill be guaranteed any hours when I am back from the recovery, 8-12 weeks after surgery. There has also been a withdrawal from some of the closest people to me financially and physically. It has been challenging in this regard, mostly because of a sense of loneliness that comes when you are doing something without the support of those closest to you.

There has been a lot of support during this process however. My sister has driven me down to the hospital when I have had appointments, and her friends were kind enough to let us stay there over night. There is also a very good support system in place at the transplant clinic whose job it is to make sure you are doing OK with everything emotionally and financially.

This has been a grand journey for me thus far. A recipient still has to be found and a surgery date set. But I am looking forward to the whole process being played out. I wish every person who is currently waiting for an organ the best and pray that there will be someone there to aid them in their journey. I love you and thank you for reading this.

Peace

~Danial McCoy