2 - one died, one is healthy as a horse now.

My uncle gave his brother a kidney. Unfortunately, the uncle that received the kidney was supposed to quit drinking alcohol and did not... he dies a short time later.. The uncle who gave the kidney is alive to this day, he is about 70.

Well yea , in the TV dramas .. ;)

No, I have never had a kidney transplant...but I do know someone who just had one a couple of days ago. She is actually a memeber here on AB, but I don't know if she wants to remain anonymous about it or not...so I won't say her name. You might know who it is though. I hope everything turns out alright.

I don't think so, there was one time I woke up deep in mexico in a tub full of Ice and a wierd scar. But I don't recall ever getting one.

I don't know anyone personally. But one of my sports heroes, Sean Elliott of the San Antonio Spurs, had one a few years back. He went on to help the Spurs win their first NBA Championship!

Well, I'm sorry to hear all this Sheryl. I do think it would be wise if we had an awareness campaign out there promoting living donors. I'm sure a lot of people would be willing to help out if they knew more about it. There are all sorts of public service campaigns about what we should not do (drunk driving, drugs etc) but hardly any about things we can do to benefit society. At least I've never heard anyone promote a living donor program. Anyway, I wish you all the best. I'll bet Sean Elliot has some sort of foundation for this. I'll check it out.

My aunt used to work in the medical field designing anti-rejection drugs for transplant patients. I do not personally know these people but I did watch a transplant operation take place, it was very calm and straightforward (both for the donor and the recipient - they were related and the donor alive in this case). The operation did not take too long, and the patients recovery went well. I know their recovery went well as I saw them in the paper a few months later (they were from my local area), I don't know about the longer term recovery though. I presume if he is on the waiting list then you have exhausted the possibilities of family being appropriate matches. I'm sorry for this situation Sheryl, and sorry I don't know more information on this one. I am also not sure what your donor rates are like in the US, here in Australia they are not good. Good luck and best wishes to your husband.

I knew a girl who needed one. She was the neice of an old friend of mine. He suggested the to the parents to put an add in the paper. They did, and of the responses they got back, only 2 or 3 didn't want any money to do it, and one of those was a perfect match. I don't talk to the friend anymore, but I last I heard she was doing fine.

I don't know anyone, but after reading all your comments, I did some research. While I doubt that I've uncovered anything you haven't already found yourself, I'm going to include some links for you to review. Matching Donors http://tinyurl.com/252nkr Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin claim to have a wait list averaging 2 1/2 years, with some receiving a kidney in as little as 1 to 5 months. http://tinyurl.com/2eduyj "Computer scientist Tuomas Sandholm, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., makes a difference. Dr. Sandholm designed computer software that finds multiple matches. Algorithms already exist for two-way paired donation, but Dr. Sandholm's program keeps doing the math. It calculates the most efficient way to exchange the kidneys, resulting in multiple possible combinations. For example, donor A would donate to patient B, donor B would give a kidney to patient C, donor C would go to patient D, and so on -- up to four or five-way swaps, where the last donor would give an organ to patient A. Sandholm's algorithm is already being used successfully -- last December, a network of 55 transplant centers began using the software." Check with your doctor to see if this software is available at your clinic! http://tinyurl.com/youf9x I hope this helps.

I don't but a good friend of mine had a double-lung transplant...twice.

I have had one :-) Has changed my life :-)

I am 32 years old and was transplanted on 12/2/08 after 8 years of dialysis. Everything going well so far.

My bosses mother had one of her heart valves replaced with a pig's heart valve because it was leaking.

I knew this gal in Sydney who had a heart transplant, and what she loved MOST about the procedure, was that it didn't cost her anything. The government's health care system paid ALL of the costs. Sure wish we had something like that in the USA, even if it meant our taxes would triple. +5

Yes, a good friend had a kidney transplant.

No..but I live near one of the best Heart Transplant Hospitals:):) The Cleveland Clinic...Best of the Best...:):)

I had a liver transplant.

I had a best friend who had two kidney's transplanted in his life time My hubby & I had another friend we like to call the million dollar man, heart, both lungs ,a kidney and who knows how much blood, he is alive and well today I had two friends waiting for liver transplants, its a long list

Yes my little sister. I donated a kidney to her in June this year. Shes doing really well, and i must say it was the best thing i have ever done.