docs; who goes thru more pain? the (living) organ donor, or the recipient?
 

all things equal, who suffers more? recovery time? i know the recipient expects a lifetime of meds..but i'm talking recovery stuff...

I'd say the recipient has a rougher time. The donor has pain, certainly. But they're a relatively healthy person to begin with, and they don't have to take all the anti-rejection meds which are multiple and pretty powerful. And even from the pateints' perspectives it's a lot easier to whack out an organ, than to sew it in and expect it to live and function.

IIRC removing a kidney is more invasive that plumbing one in. It's very high up in the lower back and when the surgeon installs the new kidney, it is placed in an easier to access location.

The dude that has to pay the bill.

I've not done any transplant anesthesia since training 13 years ago (and then only limited renal stuff) but it seems entirely reasonable that a well placed and managed epidural catheter/infusion would go a long way toward easing the initial days of surgical pain.

Donated a kidney to my sister a number of years ago (10?)... at that time it took me a lot longer to recover than it did her. I believe there are less invasive ways today. Either way well worth it.