In the United States, there are more than 108,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant and almost 95,000 of them need a kidney. Do you know how many American adults over the age of 20 have chronic kidney disease? Unfortunately, more than 37 million. Each March, we bring awareness to National Kidney Month to share the importance of kidney health. One in three Americans are at risk for kidney disease. Let’s bring hope to those waiting for a second chance, celebrate those who’ve received it and honor the heroes who have given the ultimate gift.
Even though Nevada Donor Network does not facilitate living kidney donation, we would like to share the story of a Nevadan who selflessly gave the gift of life to someone desperately waiting for their second chance through organ donation. Meet Michelle, an Advocate for Life and altruistic living kidney donor.
She shared, “It’s always fascinated me how one small, split-second choice can change our lives so drastically. For me, that happened on 7/2/2019. I was on my lunch break at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) when I visited the gym to get a workout in. I often scrolled Reddit while on the treadmill to make time go by faster and I stumbled upon a thread called, “I donated my kidney to an anonymous stranger- ask me anything!” I read the story which inspired me to learn more about kidney donation and become a living kidney donor myself. I remember thinking “We can do that? We can just tell a surgery center to give our kidney to whoever needs it?” I, like most people, was under the assumption that donating a kidney was an arduous, life altering process that only happened because someone we loved was in need. I was truly shocked to hear the opposite. They weren’t living in fear that their remaining kidney could fail at any second. I estimate it was about thirty minutes after reading that I received a confirmation email from The National Kidney Registry, informing me that my questionnaire had been submitted. One year later, on 7/1/2020, I’d be donating a kidney to a stranger at University of California, San Diego. Initially, after extensive testing I was approved to donate on 1/15/2020, but precautions began related to the COVID 19 Pandemic and two months later, the world shut down. My team was unsure when elective surgeries would resume. In early May, I received a call saying that they were again moving forward with my donation process. The surgery was successful, and my donated kidney began working immediately. I had a very rough recovery, and I spent an extra night in the hospital. I was in significant pain, and no amount of Zofran curbed my nausea. No time in my suffering did I regret my choice. After checking out of the hospital, I recovered one more week in the hotel before heading home to Las Vegas. To this day, I know nothing about who received my kidney. I think about them often and hope they’re doing well. Nearly five years later and at 32 years old, I’m proudly part of the statistic of living donors with a fantastic quality of life. My bloodwork is perfect, and my remaining kidney has picked up the slack flawlessly. I talk about my donation proudly in hopes of inspiring others just as that stranger on Reddit did for me. I’m currently training for my first half and full marathons. My goal, is to run the New York City Marathon while spreading awareness for organ donation.”
Were you inspired by Michelle’s story? Learn more about living donation here!