Welcome to the third installment of my weight loss series. That’s right – I’m on a mission to lose about 1lb by getting rid of this extra kidney I have.

Now before you start wondering if I have a 3rd kidney…I don’t. BUT what you may not know is you only need one kidney to lead a normal life. In fact many people are born with only one and never have any idea. It often isn’t determined until an autopsy is done.

Kidneys (like most of our bodies) are very efficient. If we view the average, healthy person as having 100% kidney function, we only actually need about 40% to lead full, active, healthy lives. In fact: kidneys are SO efficient that once I donate one, the remaining kidney will likely grow bigger and gain an additional 10-15% efficacy.

This means that pre-surgery I’ll have 100%, post surgery I’ll have about 50%, and once my remaining kidney adapts, I’ll live the remainder of my life with about 60-65% kidney function.

Some of the considerations for potential donors are the risks, lifestyle changes, and feasibility of the time of work or your normal routine in order to undergo testing, surgery, and recovery.

There are 2 major lifestyle changes a donor is asked to make:

1. Drastically reduce or eliminate the use of NSAIDs (ibuprofen). These are tough for the kidneys to process and they need to be used very sparingly after donating a kidney. Use of Tylenol is still A-OK!

2. Many doctors warn against participation in sports with aggressive physical contact.

With both limitations there are a group of people who may need to disqualify themselves (or their transplant team may) due to these required lifestyle changes.

If you have migraines, bad knees, or another condition that can only be treated with Motrin or ibuprofen, you’re likely not a great candidate.

Baseball, basketball, and soccer are all still ok. My doc gave me the ok to ski and snowboard. If you’re a boxer, MMA fighter, or similar – and unwilling to give it up – you’re likely not a great candidate.

Sports such as football, hockey, and rugby are frowned upon by many doctors. I play rugby. Before my marathon appointment, I researched the incidence of renal trauma in rugby players. When we began discussions on this part of the risks, I told the nephrologist (kidney doctor) that I play rugby. I told him that I had researched the risks and frequency of traumatic renal injury in rugby players and that it was a lower risk and frequency than renal trauma in car accidents. As I could demonstrate that I had done the research to truly understand the risks, he accepted my choice to continue playing after donation but advised I needed to wait until the following year.

This week I received the results of my more comprehensive testing. My donor coordinator called me to discuss them and I’m good to go! Clear chest X-ray (to check for TB), kidneys look great (with no stones!), perfect EKG, etc.

At this time, my donor coordinator will now present the case in its entirety to the transplant panel tomorrow. If the panel determines that moving forward is the right decision, it will come down to a matter of timing.

Timing is determined by the donor and the surgeon. That means if you have a busy season at work, a preferred time of year, or an expensive vacation planned – you can still consider donation. YOUR schedule is the primary consideration.

I’ve let my Donor coordinator and the remainder of the team know that sooner is better for me. This is for a primarily selfish reason: I LOVE snow. I teach skiing and snowboarding and my season typically begins around the second week of December. I’ve been told that I will need a full 8 weeks of recovery before I can consider skiing or riding.

This means ideally I’ll have the surgery (at the latest) by the first or second week of October. The secondary benefit to this is my recipient will have a chance of feeling better soon!

Look for the next installment as surgery day draws close!