Table 4.
Advice Given by Living Donors and Recipients
| Themes | “The best advice I could give someone else who is thinking about getting a living donor transplant or being a living donor is…” |
|---|---|
| Recipients | |
| Stay hopeful while on dialysis | “…never lose hope sometimes hope was the only thing that I had and they really hung on to that and it worked out I also encourage everyone to try not to let dialysis get in the way of things.” |
| Share your need for a kidney as widely and as much as possible | “…don’t be afraid to announce your need, let other people know that you have this disease. It doesn’t mean that you’re actually asking someone for a kidney, but as you announce your need and that you have kidney failure, just let the need be out there.” |
| Be your own advocate for living donation | “…keep learning about kidney disease. Go on all the different websites, talk to people, talk to kidney donors, if you know any, talk to people who have received a kidney, and when you learn more about the disease, you will be in better control of your health…Those things will give you a sense of control and will put you in a better place mentally and I think when you’re stronger mentally, your body will be stronger um as you’re fighting disease and as you’re waiting and the better your outcome will be. So, keep going, keep staying strong and get connected with people.” |
| Donors | |
| Do your research to stay informed about living donation | “…do your research, research the hospital that you’re thinking about going to and then just research all of the statistics on living kidney donation stories of other people, support groups get as much information as you can.” |
| Build a community to support you through LDKT | “But gosh, just talk to people. I would talk to recipients. I would talk to donors. There’s a really great living kidney donor network out there. There’s a social media component of it, Facebook, whatnot. And really, we’re all there to answer questions and walk people through it…there are some mentoring programs that I’ve been involved in, that you get to sit down and talk to folks who are getting ready to go in for that surgery about what your experience was like, and so many resources there.” |
Abbreviation: LDKT, living donor kidney transplant.