Give Life, Get Support = DonorPlus
Donation protected
Do you know what it would be like to be a living kidney donor?
Imagine a person who has kidney disease having to ask friends and family the question ‘I need a kidney to live, would you think about helping’. It’s so overwhelming for everyone involved, and most people instantly think, ”yes”, out of a human desire to help.
The journey from that step for a donor is following the lead from a hospital in blind trust and trying to do as much research around what it would mean for you, all the while still thinking about the person you are doing this for.
Did you know that everyone can live with one kidney!
After the operation you hope it all goes well and that you are returned back to your life without much impact. In most situations this occurs, but at the same time 83% of people who have gone through the donation feel like they were underprepared for the experience.
Donors have given someone their lives back and often don’t want to burden people with how they might be feeling with fatigue, sense of loss and struggles around finance due to not being able to return to work as quickly as they thought. They should feel a sense of euphoria as they have just saved someone’s life.
Donors give their kidney without expecting payment, adulation or hero worship. It is a gift of life.
I wanted to create a mobile app that helped people from that very first question “could I donate” all the way through to post operation where you have access to a community of fellow donors that you can talk too.
We have a chance to help donors “be prepared” and to know what to expect, plan for the process and events and engage with their family, friends and donor-to-donor community throughout their journey.
You have the chance to help us achieve this – helping those who give life, get the support they deserve. Please donate any amount as every donation counts, share with your network so that it reaches everyone we can possibly reach.
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My Story
5 Years ago, my sister-in-law shared with us that she needed a kidney. It didn't come as a complete shock because we knew that she had ongoing kidney problems, but like a lot of things in life, when you hear those words it still comes as a bit of a surprise.
Here I am with my sister-in-law/recipient
My partner and I both offered to get tested, as did other family members and the first thing most of us realised was that we didn't know where to start! Information was hard to find. There is an entire team of people supporting the recipient but as the donor I often felt that I was just being told to go from one blood test to another and then an scan and so on without fully understanding what, apart from my kidney they really wanted me to do.
Tests, tests and more tests
I felt that becoming a Live Kidney Donor was probably the best health check I could ever get ! What I found was that I was always waiting for a phone call or email to tell me that I have passed the last test and now I was onto having another one. You don’t really get told what the tests mean or have any understanding of how long they will take. I never knew how many tests were ahead of me or when they would be required. It sometimes made it difficult at work juggling everything.
I am good at waiting - usually!
And then there are the meetings. A seemingly endless time spent in waiting rooms. What about the cost of hospital parking (!) as well as how much time I spent away from work often at short notice. I also felt uncertainty about when we could take holidays and didn't want to miss anything important. Nothing prepares you for the time spent in waiting rooms. Even with an appointment you don’t know when you will see the specialist or even if there are other donors around you that you could talk too.
A Better Way …
Throughout it all I kept thinking that there needed to be a better way for Living Kidney Donors.
A way that the process could be better mapped for us, a way of killing time in the waiting rooms, a way to connect with other donors. For me it would be useful to have been able to keep track of my costs, especially those hospital coffees! Something that could have helped me understand the process, know what was going to happen and that I could share my experiences with my close friends, my GP and my loved ones.
I have decided to build an app for Living Kidney Donors, called DonorPlus
Our prototype – DonorPlus
I’m very excited by this opportunity to create an app that will positively impact the lives of donors. My partner and I have taken a sabbatical from our careers to build this app as we wanted to put all we had into this solution.
The Living Kidney Donor app aims to provide support to donors about what they are about to undertake, immediate information around activities they are doing, checklists that help them plan and links to family, friends, their GP and donors.
This app will improve the donor experience and I need your financial help to achieve this goal.
So far ….
So far we have a website (www.donorplus.org) and Twitter account and a Facebook page.
We have engaged with Kidney Transplant teams around Australia seeking their help in researching the design with previous and current kidney donors.
We have also been speaking to hospital teams and other research organisations on how this can add value to their systems in supporting the donor.
In September we ventured to the USA to develop the application under the Techstars Startup weekend where we learnt a great deal and validated the need in the global markeplace.
All of this is to let people know that I am creating the app and to build awareness about support that Living Kidney Donors require for a better experience.
The DonorPlus app is about creating something that potential and existing living donors can use. The app will be FREE to Donors.
Please help fund me to build this app and get the message out to other Living Kidney Donors worldwide?
No-one should die waiting for a kidney
Our 5 year anniversary dinner with our partners - how good is life!
Imagine a person who has kidney disease having to ask friends and family the question ‘I need a kidney to live, would you think about helping’. It’s so overwhelming for everyone involved, and most people instantly think, ”yes”, out of a human desire to help.
The journey from that step for a donor is following the lead from a hospital in blind trust and trying to do as much research around what it would mean for you, all the while still thinking about the person you are doing this for.
Did you know that everyone can live with one kidney!
After the operation you hope it all goes well and that you are returned back to your life without much impact. In most situations this occurs, but at the same time 83% of people who have gone through the donation feel like they were underprepared for the experience.
Donors have given someone their lives back and often don’t want to burden people with how they might be feeling with fatigue, sense of loss and struggles around finance due to not being able to return to work as quickly as they thought. They should feel a sense of euphoria as they have just saved someone’s life.
Donors give their kidney without expecting payment, adulation or hero worship. It is a gift of life.
I wanted to create a mobile app that helped people from that very first question “could I donate” all the way through to post operation where you have access to a community of fellow donors that you can talk too.
We have a chance to help donors “be prepared” and to know what to expect, plan for the process and events and engage with their family, friends and donor-to-donor community throughout their journey.
You have the chance to help us achieve this – helping those who give life, get the support they deserve. Please donate any amount as every donation counts, share with your network so that it reaches everyone we can possibly reach.
===============================================================================
My Story
5 Years ago, my sister-in-law shared with us that she needed a kidney. It didn't come as a complete shock because we knew that she had ongoing kidney problems, but like a lot of things in life, when you hear those words it still comes as a bit of a surprise.
Here I am with my sister-in-law/recipient
My partner and I both offered to get tested, as did other family members and the first thing most of us realised was that we didn't know where to start! Information was hard to find. There is an entire team of people supporting the recipient but as the donor I often felt that I was just being told to go from one blood test to another and then an scan and so on without fully understanding what, apart from my kidney they really wanted me to do.
Tests, tests and more tests
I felt that becoming a Live Kidney Donor was probably the best health check I could ever get ! What I found was that I was always waiting for a phone call or email to tell me that I have passed the last test and now I was onto having another one. You don’t really get told what the tests mean or have any understanding of how long they will take. I never knew how many tests were ahead of me or when they would be required. It sometimes made it difficult at work juggling everything.
I am good at waiting - usually!
And then there are the meetings. A seemingly endless time spent in waiting rooms. What about the cost of hospital parking (!) as well as how much time I spent away from work often at short notice. I also felt uncertainty about when we could take holidays and didn't want to miss anything important. Nothing prepares you for the time spent in waiting rooms. Even with an appointment you don’t know when you will see the specialist or even if there are other donors around you that you could talk too.
A Better Way …
Throughout it all I kept thinking that there needed to be a better way for Living Kidney Donors.
A way that the process could be better mapped for us, a way of killing time in the waiting rooms, a way to connect with other donors. For me it would be useful to have been able to keep track of my costs, especially those hospital coffees! Something that could have helped me understand the process, know what was going to happen and that I could share my experiences with my close friends, my GP and my loved ones.
I have decided to build an app for Living Kidney Donors, called DonorPlus
Our prototype – DonorPlusI’m very excited by this opportunity to create an app that will positively impact the lives of donors. My partner and I have taken a sabbatical from our careers to build this app as we wanted to put all we had into this solution.
The Living Kidney Donor app aims to provide support to donors about what they are about to undertake, immediate information around activities they are doing, checklists that help them plan and links to family, friends, their GP and donors.
This app will improve the donor experience and I need your financial help to achieve this goal.
So far ….
So far we have a website (www.donorplus.org) and Twitter account and a Facebook page.
We have engaged with Kidney Transplant teams around Australia seeking their help in researching the design with previous and current kidney donors.
We have also been speaking to hospital teams and other research organisations on how this can add value to their systems in supporting the donor.
In September we ventured to the USA to develop the application under the Techstars Startup weekend where we learnt a great deal and validated the need in the global markeplace.
All of this is to let people know that I am creating the app and to build awareness about support that Living Kidney Donors require for a better experience.
The DonorPlus app is about creating something that potential and existing living donors can use. The app will be FREE to Donors.
Please help fund me to build this app and get the message out to other Living Kidney Donors worldwide?
No-one should die waiting for a kidney
Our 5 year anniversary dinner with our partners - how good is life!
Organiser
Kaye Price
Organiser
Bentleigh VIC
