Kidney transplant process

[Meagain24]

Hi all

My mum has said she will test to see if she can be a donor for my partner. She went for an initial blood test and they have followed up with a letter that says they have been advised by the transplanting unit to hold off any active work up at the moment. They will be back in touch if the recipients status changes.

This has really made me worry that there is a concern with my partner? The last letter we received said he was suitable for a transplant. The last blood test he had showed his kidney function was the same as a few months ago - but it is very low (around 27)

Could this just be that because his function was ‘stable’ last time there’s no point in doing her tests yet? I just assumed they would get someone ready because his function is so low as opposed to not doing any further tests at the moment.

Would be grateful to hear from anyone who’s been through this process/ knows someone who has

Thanks

My husband had his transplant 7 years ago. From what I remember, the donor team got initial tests from those that volunteered, ruled some out based on blood group then kept the potential person on hold because my husband was well and stable. They wanted to get his own kidneys to last as long as he could tolerate. It was less than 10 on his transplant day. When he was getting less well, the donor process started again and went ahead before dialysis was needed.

I’m no expert, but that was our experience. Memories of that time are hazy now. Other hospitals may operate differently.

@ElfieGudrun thanks, that’s helpful to understand that they often pause testing. I just thought they would at least find out if they are a match now and then run tests closer to the time to check their suitability at the time. They didn’t mention if the blood type matched at all, just that if the recipients status changes they’ll be in touch. Recipient hasn’t been told of any issues so can only assume they mean once his function has declined further