In the Find A Kidney Blog, you’ll find both education and inspiration in your search for a living kidney donor, including tips from experts who have conducted a successful search and personal stories from people who have been in your situation and were able to find a living donor for a kidney transplant.
When I was 25 years old, I was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). The first indication that something was wrong was when I went in for a physical and they told me I had high blood pressure. They put me on high blood pressure pills. I didn’t know anything about kidney problems till later. PKD is such a silent situation—you don’t have any symptoms …
If you are looking for a living kidney donor, your family is often the first place to look. Not only are family members more likely to be a good match, they are also more likely to be willing to donate. In a 2019 survey of 10,000 US adults by the Health Resources and Services Administration, …
My kidney transplant journey began about a year before COVID, when I started feeling pain in my kidneys. I used to go in for lab testing every three months because I have been diabetic for many years. The next time I went in and told them about my pain, my physician said the pain was …
If you’re looking for a living kidney donor, you may be wondering what role blood type plays in kidney transplantation. Does your kidney donor have to have the same blood type as you? Can someone donate a kidney to you even if they are a different blood type? The truth is that while blood type …
My kidney failure started in 2002, but I wasn’t told until 2011. In 2011 I got pretty sick—I couldn’t even get myself off the coach. I went to the ER and they thought I had meningitis, so they put me in the hospital. A doctor came in and said they did my test wrong: I didn’t have meningitis, but I was in kidney failure. I said, “What?” He told me to just call my regular doctor and walked out. I was crying so hard I couldn’t breathe. It took me …
If you’re preparing for a kidney transplant, you might be wondering about support in the days and weeks afterward. You will definitely need a caregiver after your kidney transplant, especially in the first few weeks. A caregiver can provide both practical and emotional support as you recover from major surgery. What Does a Caregiver Do …
My kidney transplant journey started when I was 12. I had several symptoms, including swollen legs and high blood pressure. I was treated with steroids, but it didn’t work—I was still getting worse. My mother was my champion at first, searching for doctors and looking into what to do. My parents decided to fly from …
If you’re looking for a living kidney donor, spreading the word through local or national news organizations can be incredibly effective. A story in the media can connect you with potential donors and raise awareness about your journey in a way social media alone sometimes can’t. Here’s a step-by-step guide to reaching out, along with …
When we were living in Texas, I had a bout of gout. I’d never had it before in my life, and I didn’t think anything of it. After we moved back to New York, where we have lived most of our lives and raised our kids, I developed this horrible winter itch, which I thought …