• Can't decide? There are many pros and cons associated with kidney donation.The small person image by jura from Fotolia.com
  
  If you have ever donated blood, you were probably filled with satisfaction that you contributed toward saving someone else's life. However, donating blood only takes a few minutes and when you are done, you can hop off the table and walk home. Donating a kidney is an incredible opportunity to perform a good deed, but the intensive process requires a lot more thought and consideration. While there are many pros, there are a few cons that are important to consider before you decide to put yourself through the process.
  
  

You Will Save Someone's Life

• Perhaps the most obvious benefit of choosing to donate your kidney is that you will save someone's life. There is no greater gift you can give to someone else than the prolonging of his life, and this thought should provide you with the incentive to keep going if the process gets tough. You will feel satisfied with the knowledge that you have literally given a physical piece of yourself to someone else so that he can continue to live.
  
  

You Will Be a Hero

• Not only will you feel satisfied with your own altruism, but the recipient of your kidney will hopefully be extremely grateful as well. You will forever be the person that saved he life and she will always owe a debt of gratitude to you. Friends and acquaintances who hear about what you have done will also show their admiration to you and you will probably get many compliments about how brave and caring you are.
  
  

The Hospital Staff Will Support You

• Of course, this pro can vary from place to place, but in general, the hospital staff and doctor performing the procedure will be quite supportive of your needs at this time. They understand that you have probably come to this decision after a lot of agonizing and that you might be nervous about the surgery. They will probably greatly respect your decision to go ahead with the procedure and will treat you compassionately and without pressure.
  
  

Surgery Carries Risks

• While the chances of complications are rare, they can occur. Know that you are putting yourself at risk when you subject your body to elective surgery, so you need to feel comfortable with the risk factors before you agree to go through with the process.
  
  Some complications that may occur are numbness around the incision area, lung infections, blood clotting in your legs or pelvis, excessive bleeding and hernias around the incision area. Most of these complications are treatable and non-life-threatening, but if they make you nervous, discuss them with a doctor before making your final decision.
  
  

You May Not Get the Thanks You Want

• When you decide to donate, make sure that your main, underlying reason is completely altruistic and mostly because you want to perform a selfless good deed. If you are donating your kidney because you want the praise and thanks of the recipient, then you may be sorely disappointed if he doesn't not perform as expected.
  
  While some recipients will be effusive in their thanks, others may be more shy or even embarrassed that you had to undergo surgery on their behalf. If you donated your kidney because you expected a big thank-you, you may be angry or resentful if your recipient falls under the latter category. Of course it is nice to be appreciated for what you have done, but it is possible that it will not happen.
  
  

It Will Require Time Off

• As with any surgery, donating a kidney will require time off of work for the actual procedure and for the recovery, which can take anywhere from about a week to a few weeks. Even when you are up and about, you might not feel like yourself for a few months or longer. Make sure you have enough sick days and vacation days to cover all of the time you will miss because most companies will not consider this a reason to give you paid leave. You should also be financially comfortable enough that you can afford to miss this much time from work.