Part Three: Results

I'm not allowed to take my cell phone into work, and was surprised with a voicemail from the SLU Kidney Transplant Coordinator when I returned to my car in the evening.

It all seems so simple when you hear it in a voicemail like that. The crossmatch is negative (which is positive) so we can move on with more testing.

That's it?

I don't know what I was expecting. Bells and Whistles and Trumpets and a Parade complete with Marching Band. Or perhaps a sit-down discussion with a stern-looking doctor or a coordinator in an office somewhere... carefully reviewing and explaining my blood test results and what lies ahead.

Instead, I feel fortunate that I've taken it upon myself to get educated about all that is involved with the donation process. Perhaps I should be grateful that they are moving things along so swiftly (without the need for any sort of explanation)... but I can't help but feeling rather uninformed right now.

There was no verification of the results of my home-blood-typing-test (0+), no mention of the tissue-matching test or if they even did it (not that it matters as much... but still), not even a real explanation of what the "crossmatching" involved, or it's significance. Nope, just that they'd already done the crossmatch and it was negative (which is positive)... so lets all move on with our lives.

Presumably, the stern-looking doctor and the warning that I could potentially die comes later.

Until then, I'm kind of feeling less like a person and more like a possibility.

The coordinator is out of town until Monday, and I'm to call her and make arrangements for further testing upon her return. Next up, a 24-hour urine collection, an EKG, and some other stuff that they told me too fast over the phone and that I can't really remember.