Thursday 16 August 2012

A perfect cross-match!

I know it's only been a week and a day, but since my sister asked me this morning if I heard anything from the hospital, I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. I hate waiting, and the suspense is unbearable.

So after lunch I decided to phone Ray Trevitt in the hope he had some good news. He looked on his PC but there was no information logged. He generously told me he would phone the lab and find out if they have any information if I don't mind holding. Mind?! I thought almost out loud! Yes please Ray!

When Ray finished his conversation with the lab, he told me: "It all looks good" in a very calm voice. "What does that mean?" I asked, desperate for a full explanation. Ray then told me that the cross-match is a complete negative. Meaning there was zero reaction/ rejection between our cells. He told me there is usually some degree of reaction, but in this case there was none. This is the best result we could ask for, because it means that Pieter won't need to take any immune suppressants to stop his body from rejecting my kidney. It also dramatically increases the life expectancy of his new kidney, possibly beyond 25 years!

We're just waiting on the tissue type match results, but given that we have a 100% match for two out of the three most important tests, I'm confident it will come back as a 100% match as well.

In the meantime I've booked my appointment for my kidney function test for this coming Tuesday 21 August 2012. This will complete the tests, and when they give this full marks as well, the last hurdle is the interview with the board who will ultimately decide if the transplant can go ahead.

If they ask me to explain why I want to do this for a man whom I've met only two months ago, my answer will simply be: "Explain to me why I shouldn't."

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