If you are considering, or desiring, donating your kidney to a friend who is incompatible, the paired exchange program is worth looking into. It's an ingenious miracle program!
I was told that once all the tests were completed, we could set an operation date, often within just a couple of weeks. I was really hoping that meant we'd be able to be scheduled for after Christmas and before New Years Eve, just because I was excited for my tiny recipient to start feeling better. When I asked, they said that normally it might be that soon, but 1) that's when a lot of people want to schedule surgeries, because they're taking the time off work anyway, and 2) there was a six-kidney-exchange happening then, which was very exciting! You only need one compatible pair, if one is found truly compatible both ways, but they will link however many is needed to complete the circle so that everybody wins.
A kidney exchange happens when a recipient has a willing donor, but the donor's kidney is not compatible with their chosen recipient, usually because of an incompatible blood type. For instance Type O blood can donate to every other blood type, but they can only receive Type O blood. Type AB can receive from any blood type, but can only give to Type AB. The coordinators find one or more of these type of recipient/donor pairs until they have the perfect linkage (like a chain circle).
This group had been waiting for the missing link for several months, and that link showed up, so they scheduled them in right away. That doesn't mean that all the recipients and donors were in the same hospital at the same time, but it does mean that the doctors had to be coordinated in order for kidneys to be transported in the right order. I think they did have a full 2 pairs (that's 3 kidneys and 4 people in surgery, scheduled for our hospital that day.
More information about Paired Exchange Programs can be found at http://www.matchingdonors.com/life/index.cfm?page=p030
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