Amymisk,
I don't know how long ago that surgery was done, but I hear things have changed quite a bit. A friend from school (a biker before a racoon/ rabbit combo got the best of him and his front wheel) was telling me about how kidney transplants have changed over the years, and he would be an expert seeing as how he had one a while back. Basically without getting into too much detail, a much smaller incision is made into the donor and in a way that the donor can help relieve the pain following the surgery. The result- a much better recovery for the donor and someone gets a kidney. Everyone is happy, especially Python, Python's son, and Python's brother.