Happy Kidneyversary!

One week ago today, January 15, was the 1 year anniversary of me donating my kidney to a total stranger (my "kidneyversary"). It's been a crazy year; it feels like yesterday and also like years ago. I'd like to give you all some updates, and then reflect on my experience.

To celebrate my kidneyversary, Jill and I went out for a socially-distanced dinner with her parents at a restaurant about halfway between us. They surprised me with a delicious cake with a kidney drawn on that read "Happy Kidneyversary". My recipient celebrated with her family and had a similar cake as well.

The day before my anniversary, I had my 1-year follow-up appointment with my donor coordinator at the hospital. This appointment was to check in and make sure everything's still going well in my recovery. And everything is indeed going well. I plateaued a while ago, though I still have a slight discomfort around my appendix area like I've mentioned before. 99.9% of the time it doesn't bother me, but sometimes it does (but not much). My coordinator said that it was most likely scar tissue on either my abdominal wall where they cut it open to get to my kidney, or my appendix, or both. She said that it's not an issue though, as long as it doesn't get worse with exercise or when I exert myself. So, I'm going to keep an eye on it. But other than that, everything's been great health wise. I've been exercising (mostly walking) pretty much every day, drinking at least 64 fluid ounces of water every day, and trying to keep a healthy diet. My next appointment will be around my 2-year anniversary and will hopefully be in-person. Hopefully it's an uneventful year!

My coordinator asked me if I would be interested in talking to prospective donors about my experience. I agreed, so she signed me up to potentially do that in the future. I want to help anyone who is considering donating and make the decision easier for them, whether they decide to donate or not. She also asked me if I would do it again if I could, and without hesitation I said "yes". Honestly, this process has probably been one of the more rewarding experiences of my life, and even with the complications, I would easily do it again if I could.

The past few weekends, including the day after our kidneyversary, my recipient and I played Animal Crossing online together. That's been really fun, and it's given us a chance to get to know each other a bit. The game's chat feature isn't very robust, so even though it's really hard to have a conversation in the game, it's still been fun to spend some time with her virtually. I've played the game a lot more than she has, so I've been helping her get things set up and finding fossils to put in her in-game museum. I'm excited to see how she progresses through the game.

The past year has really been crazy. January 15, 2020, the day I went in for surgery to donate my kidney, both feels like yesterday and like years and years ago. I still remember so clearly being on the hospital bed being wheeled to the operating room, and after getting there, having someone rub my shoulders as I fell asleep. It has been a truly unforgettable experience, both when things were going well, and when they weren't (I'm looking at you, appendix). But even with all the complications, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Like I mentioned, this has been the most rewarding experience of my life, and being able to help someone in such a huge way means the world to me. Everything I went through: the pain, appendicitis, weeks-long constipation, everything was so worth it.

I know being a live organ donor isn't for everyone, but if you've ever thought about it, and you are able to, I would encourage you to look into it. My experience hasn't been the smoothest, but knowing the impact I've had on my recipient's life makes everything I've been through worth it. If being a living donor isn't for you, please consider becoming an organ donor upon your passing. Staying at the Transplant House, I met so many people whose lives were changed after receiving organs from deceased donors. And speaking of the Transplant House, also consider donating to or volunteering at organ donation organizations, non-profits, or toward research. I can recommend the organizations I was involved with during my process: The Penn Transplant Institute at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHoP), the Clyde F. Barker Transplant House, and the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA).

Thanks again for reading everyone, and I hope you and yours have a great and healthy New Year!