Transplant assessments are normally booked over three to four days at the hospital. 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 and where to go.
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 your 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.
- Ask your transplant co-ordinator or social worker if there is a teen mentor they can introduce you to. This would be 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 text or email them. You could also arrange to meet them in person.
- Talk to your social worker, nurse or child life specialist if you would like some extra support. Although you automatically meet them during the transplant assessment, they are available to you before or afterwards too.
Questions to ask during your transplant assessment
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 results
Your transplant nurse will collect all the results from your different tests and discuss them with the transplant team. This usually takes two or three weeks after all the tests are done.
Once the transplant team has reviewed your results, the transplant nurse will call and discuss the team’s recommendation with you and your parents.
