Info On Being A Living Kidney Donor

You could possibly be tested as a kidney donor match for Maci if you are:
Blood type A or O
Under the age of 40(ish) but at least age 18
Have a BMI less than 30
Do not have any health issues (no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no history of kidney problems and are in good health)
Also, due to Maci's small size, the transplant surgeons prefer a smaller kidney which would typically be from a female or a small male. 

Anyone meeting the above initial requirements wishing to proceed with further screening and possible testing as a potential match for Maci should contact Melissa Moore, Transplant Coordinator for the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute here in Memphis. Her number is 901-516-8466. She is extremely busy so if you get voice mail, please leave a message with your name, contact number and that you are interested in being a living kidney donor for Maci McCarrens and she will return your call. 
She will ask you some questions about your medical history.  If you are a potential candidate for donation, the next step is to have your blood drawn to test as a match.  Blood type compatibility alone does not make someone a match.  There is a bit more involved in being a match but I will spare you the boring stuff.  If you are a match, there are a series of tests that have to be done which will be explained to you.
This is all CONFIDENTIAL and we are not told anything, updated or given any information.  Unless someone specifically and directly tells us that you called, you had blood drawn, etc....we do not know.  They are not allowed to provide us any information.  If it turns out that someone is a match and wishes to donate, we are simply told there is a donor available and surgery would be scheduled.  We are still not given detailed information.  If someone calls and is excluded as a potential donor based on medical history or for any other reason, we have no idea unless you tell us. 

THANK YOU to anyone who is interested in pursing potential donation.

Just a little background on how a kidney is transplanted.  Maci keeps the two kidneys that she was born with.  Typically they are not removed unless they are causing problems and hers do not.
The new kidney is placed in her abdomen and hooked up to a blood supply, making the new kidney work and function as a healthy kidney. 
Since nothing is removed, you are adding a new kidney in a space where you aren't "making room", just adding an organ.  A kidney is about the size of your fist.  If your fist is huge, then in theory, so is your kidney.  The bigger the kidney, the more space it fills in the abdomen.  The bigger the kidney, the more blood supply is needed which causes the heart to work more to supply blood to the kidney. 
If Maci were to have a huge kidney (from a larger size man) transplanted it would risk her little heart from having to pump so hard to keep blood going to and from the huge kidney.  This is why the surgeons prefer a smaller kidney.

"I praise the God who gives.....and takes away."  ~Casting Crowns Praise You In This Storm

Isaiah 40:31  But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Matthew 21:22  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Resting today. (12/29/2013)