The journey to becoming a donor is no walk in the park. I mean, there are a ton of tests. Which is obviously a good thing since you and everyone else want to make sure everything is 'right.' Each tests is the decision maker on whether or not you move forward or not. I passed all of them with flying colors....at least that's what the Dr's said. Guess, I'm healthier then I thought I was... ;-)
We (my sister and I) started this journey under Kaiser Permanente. Being members of this hospital made taking the tests alot easier for both of us. I was assigned a coordinator and I believe my sister had her own as well. My initial test was a simple blood test. This was to see if we had the same blood type.
[When my sister first found out she was in need of a transplant, we asked anyone and everyone if they were interested in taking the blood test as well. We sent emails and letters to our families and friends just in case anyone was interested in becoming a possible donor...thanks to those who responded with their kind words and to those that took the tests...]
The results came back in about a week or so and WE MATCHED! Honestly, when I first took the blood test, I didn't know what to expect or how to react if and when the results came back. What if they came back negative? How would my sister react?? Stress is not good for a person in her condition. I didn't even know what type of blood I had. Well, I do now....it's B+. We both have B+. When I found this out, that we were a match, I had a feeling in my gut that I was going to be her donor. Although I had mixed emotions at the time, something told me that I was 'the chosen one.' It's hard to explain but I knew....
It was now time to start the rest of the testing...
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