I’m James Carder from Cumming, GA and I became a living kidney donor on 9/29/23 at 62 years of age. I donated my left kidney via direct donation to my college friend and fraternity brother Dan. Dan and I have known each other since 1980 and were both members of Sigma Nu fraternity at Jacksonville State University. After graduation we went our separate ways and started the next chapters in our lives – careers, getting married, starting families and so on. As it turns out, Dan and I ended up living in the same community and began reconnecting again over 14 years ago. For the past year or so we’ve gotten together once a month over breakfast to catch up life, family, and friends.
In May of 2023, during one of our breakfast meetups Dan confided in me that he was dealing with end-stage kidney failure and was in need of a kidney transplant. Dan had been approved and placed on the transplant list at Piedmont Transplant Institute in Atlanta, GA. Once Dan told me this news, I honestly don’t remember much more of his conversation as I was already in my mind trying to figure out how I could become a donor. With the support and love of my wife Beth, I took the next step on this incredible journey. On May 31st, I placed a call to his donor coordinator and explained who I was, my connection to Dan and that I was interested in becoming a donor.
Throughout my adult life I’ve tried to stay active and take care of my overall health. While not a hardcore athlete, as a weekend warrior I’ve completed several local 5K road races, ran the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA a couple of times, finished a 10K road race as well as a half-marathon. In the early 2000’s I became interested in triathlons and completed several sprint distance races throughout north Georgia. My fitness level fell off somewhat until 2018 when I joined my local Orangetheory Fitness studio and began getting back in shape. I focused on building my overall cardio endurance as well as increasing my strength through traditional weightlifting as well as body weight exercises. With my fitness and conditioning significantly improved, in April of 2022 I completed my first Spartan Obstacle Course Race.
My initial conversation with the donor coordinator was mainly addressing my concerns about donation at my age. She assured me that it’s more about the overall health of the donor, not necessarily the age that’s a consideration. The research I was doing on my own confirmed this as well, so that helped alleviate those concerns. My first step in the evaluation process was answering a general health questionnaire, once approved this led to some basic lab work. Once the initial blood work and labs were completed the next step was a full day of testing at the transplant center. This included lots of blood draws, chest x-rays, BP checks, a CT scan with contrast and a stress test. More tests were needed over the following months which included and 24-hour urine collection, an echocardiogram and a 24 hour at home BP monitoring. As I progressed through each test, the results showed everything was positive and well within the normal ranges. My testing and evaluations were done in secret, my wife was the only one who knew I was doing this. We didn’t even tell our adult children that I was going through the eval process. My reasoning not to share this information in the early stages was not to cause them any undue stress. I also didn’t want to raise any false hopes with my recipient in case a test result would happen to rule me out of consideration.
With the positive results of my tests, I felt confident that I would be approved to be a donor. The only remaining tests to complete were to confirm my blood type as well as a cross match. My blood work showed I’m type O Positive, which means I’m a universal donor and my cross match was negative. This meant that I was indeed a match for Dan and could donor my kidney directly to him. As the donor, I was given several surgery dates from which to choose. My goal once approved was to select the soonest date
possible as Dan was on the verge of having to start dialysis. I wanted to keep that from happening, so the surgery date was scheduled for 9/29.
Throughout the evaluation process Dan and I continued to get together once a month over breakfast. I would ask him pointed questions on how he was feeling and what his lab results were showing. His kidneys were declining rapidly, and he was preparing himself mentally to start dialysis. Again, he was not aware that across the table from him was a potential living donor. Overall, my testing and evaluation process took almost 4 months, although it felt much quicker. I received my formal approval from the transplant center on Friday, Sept 1. That same day the hospital called Dan to inform him a living donor had been found and a surgery date was being scheduled. With him still not knowing I was the donor; my wife and I went to his house to break the news and show him my confirmation letter. Needless to say, it was quite an emotional experience for all of us.
My surgery was on 9/29 at 7:30am and went extremely well with no issues at all. I was awake and in my room on the transplant floor by 11:45am. The nurse tried to get me up and walking that afternoon, but I was lightheaded so just walked to the recliner and sat there for a while. By that evening I felt stable enough to take my first walk down the hallway and was able to stop in Dan’s room to check on him. After surgery I was not in any real pain at all, it was just more of an overall soreness in my midsection. I was on solid foods by the next morning and was able to get up and move around on my own. I took several walks up and down the hallways and rested or napped as needed. Luckily, I never had any issues with nausea or gas pains post-surgery. I was discharged on Sunday around lunch time and back home comfortably in my recliner that afternoon.
At home my recovery consisted of frequent short walks around our neighborhood with naps as needed. I was given no restrictions other that not lifting more than ten pounds for at least 6 weeks. I returned to Orangetheory on 10/16 about two weeks after my discharge. I initially took it slow and walked on the treadmills and then added back in light jogging as well. By late November I started back weight bearing exercises using light dumbbells. My focus has been to go slowly and see what movements feel good and which ones don’t. I feel confident I will eventually return to my previous level of fitness but do not want to risk any setbacks.
As I approach the 9-week mark from surgery, I don’t feel any different after donation other than dealing with some mild fatigue. This is generally related to how active I’ve been on any particular day, and I rest as needed. I feel blessed that I was able to donate my kidney to my friend and would not hesitate to do it again. I truly believe that at 62 years old I am in the best shape of my life. I’m also convinced my fitness level is what allowed my recovery to go so smoothly. If my health, fitness and overall conditioning wasn’t at this level, it’s very doubtful I would’ve seriously considered donation.
My story wouldn’t be complete without the love and support of my wife, children, family and friends. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t thank the nurses, surgeon and extended medical team for taking such great care of me on this journey.
