Transplant assessments are normally booked over three to four days at the hospital. If you prefer, you can choose to have your assessment done more slowly, meaning that it may take three to four weeks to do everything.
You will usually be a day patient on each of those days (you will not stay overnight). You will get a list from the transplant office telling you when your tests and meetings are scheduled.
Coping with your transplant assessment
We understand that having a transplant assessment can be very overwhelming, especially if you are not used to meeting a lot of different healthcare providers in a short time.
You already have an idea of how many new people you will meet and that each of them will be sharing a lot of information with you. This information is important to know, but it can be hard to deal with all at once.
Here are some suggestions that may help you cope more easily with your assessment.
- Be prepared! Watch the videos and read the information about the common tests during your assessment and about transplant surgery before you go for your assessment.
- Use your phone or the long or
short version of your health journal to write down any questions you might have. Be sure to ask your questions when you have your assessment and make a note of the answers.
- If you think it will be difficult for you to do the assessment all at once, and you live close to the hospital, ask your transplant co-ordinator to spread your assessment over a few weeks or a month. If you live far from the hospital, there may be not as much choice, as your parents may not be able to make the journey several times.
- Ask your transplant co-ordinator if you can be introduced to a teen mentor. This is someone who has already had a transplant and who has agreed to talk to other teens. You could either talk to them on the phone or Skype or else text or email them. You could also arrange to meet them in person.
- Talk to your social worker or your adolescent medicine specialist if you would like some extra support. Although you meet them during the transplant assessment automatically, they are available to you before or afterwards too. Ask your nephrology clinic nurse to set up a meeting with them if you think it would help you.
Questions to ask your transplant team
Can you think of some questions you would like to ask your transplant team?
Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- How long will I be in hospital when I have my transplant?
- Will it hurt when I wake up?
- Can my friends visit me?
- Can my parents stay with me in the hospital?
- Can my dog visit?
- Will I feel better after I have my transplant?
- What will my life be like when I have my transplant?
When and how you get your assessment results
Your transplant nurse will collect all your results and discuss them with the transplant team. This usually takes three or four weeks after all the tests are done.
Either the transplant co-ordinator or your nephrologist will contact you and your parents if you need to have any other tests or meetings before your surgery.
Once your nephrologist says it is time for you to have your transplant, the transplant nurse will arrange to have your name put on the transplant list or will schedule your living donor transplant surgery.