Dear family and friends,

Some of you may know that my wife has kidney disease. Over time, her kidney disease has gotten worse causing her kidneys not to work well enough to keep her alive. This is what she is facing now, and her treatment options are limited to dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant.

Right now she is working five eight hour days a week. When she gets home from work she does peritoneal dialysis treatments. One treatment session last for five hours and she needs to do them seven days a week. These treatments are what is  keeping her alive.

“Update!!” After doing dialysis for two years she is still working but her treatment has changed. Now after coming home from working an 8 hour work day she has to do four dialysis  exchanges. The extra exchanges amount to eight and a half hours hooked up to the dialysis machine.

This is no way for a human being to have to live…You would think that with the millions of people in this country we could find just one person that matched her and would be willing to save her life. This is really serious. Please we really need somebody to step up.

Without them she would die a slow agonizing death. The answer is a living kidney donor transplant which would give her more freedom and the ability to live a longer, healthier, more normal life. A living donor transplant would also give her more time to do the fun things she enjoys most, like spending time with her family and friends.

However, finding a living kidney donor for a transplant is not easy. There are 92,000 people, just like her, who are on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney. Time is not on her side. Some wait for years, in fact 14 people a day die while waiting for a kidney. The average wait time is Three to five years or longer for a kidney from a deceased donor.

Asking a family member or a friend to consider being a living kidney donor for her is difficult, but it greatly improves her chances of getting a transplant. A living kidney donation typically lasts twice as long and has better function than one from a deceased donor.

You might not know a lot about living kidney donation – I know I didn’t before kidney disease affected her life. Understandably, some people are afraid of the surgery and what living with one kidney will mean for them. Here’s some basic information about living kidney donation:

• You only need one kidney to live a long, healthy life.
• Most donor surgery is done laparoscopically, meaning through tiny incisions.
• The recovery period is usually fairly quick, generally two weeks.
• The cost of your evaluation and surgery will be covered by her insurance.
• You will have a separate team of healthcare professionals to evaluate you as a living kidney donor. Their job is to help you understand the risks and benefits and look out for YOUR  best interests. 

Thank you for taking the time to read her story. If donating a kidney to her is something you would like to consider, I would be happy to tell you more about her story and explore the process of determining if you are a match for her. You can also contact her transplant center directly at 480-342-1010 or go online to mayoclinic.org/livingdonor.

You can also learn more about living donation on the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) website: www.kidney.org/livingdonation or by contacting the NKF’s free, confidential helpline at 855.NKF.CARES (855.653.2273) or nkfcares@kidney.org. If you want to talk to someone who’s already donated a kidney, NKF can also help.

I completely understand if living kidney donation is not for you, but you can still help her! Consider being an organ donor after death. Also, please help her by sharing her story with others. At the very least we can increase the public’s awareness about kidney disease and living kidney donation. These simple steps can truly help everyone on the waiting list. I remain hopeful that she will soon receive a new kidney.

Thank you!
Greg Goodman