To begin the process of being considered as a donor, call the
Mayo Clinic Living Donor Information line at 866-227-1569 (hours: 8-5 Central time, Monday through Friday). Bob's May Clinic ID is 09-078-831.
They will ask you some informational questions, and then
refer you to a transplant nurse who will ask you a series of medical
questions (health, diabetes, hepatitis, previous operations, etc.).
Presuming there are no complications arising from that conversation,
they will send you a blood, and perhaps a urine testing kit that would
be fulfilled locally (at a Quest center, or the like).
This would then be sent by the testing center directly to Mayo, where
they would analyze it for compatibility, not just for Type O, but for a variety of other compatibility factors.
Assuming all that is positive, they would ask you to come to either
Phoenix, Jacksonville or Minneapolis (not sure which) for you to take
what amounts to a complete physical exam to determine your suitability to be a donor.
As we understand, all the medical costs, other than the initial blood
test, are covered by Bob's insurance. By law, he is not allowed to pay, in
any way, for a kidney. However, he is allowed to reimburse all out of
pocket costs, including travel, lost wages while being tested or doing
the transplant operation, which he would, of course do.
The donor process is one that is designed to make sure you are pretty resolute about being a kidney donor. As such, they are a bit gruff in their manner, as opposed to trying to be appealing or sales-y. Throughout the process, they will be totally confidential, and continuously have you reaffirm your intentions. This is both for your protection, as well as to find out any "false positives" as early in the process as possible.
Depending on factors such as your availability, the Mayo candidate testing process could be expedited to determine compatibility within a month or so.
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