Donating one of your kidneys to save another person’s life is a special act of heroism. Could part of your life’s purpose be to meet this moment?
MEET JASON
Jason is 48 years old, married, and has an 18-year-old daughter, Alicia, who just graduated from High School. He has an infectious sense of humor and cares deeply about his family, his faith, and his country. He served in the US Army and the Army Reserves for 7 years. He earned his Masters Degree in Business and loved working with businesses before his kidneys began to fail him.
Jason was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy 11 years ago. Unlike more traditional kidney diseases, his immune system is literally attacking his kidneys and aggressively shutting them down. He has courageously battled this disease with medication, a strict diet, and undergoing dialysis three times a week. If he does not get a transplanted kidney within the next 12 months, his prognosis is not good. If you have an O+ or an O- blood type, you could be THE ONE!
To be evaluated as a potential kidney donor, you must be:
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18 years and older (with the exception of emancipated minors)
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At or able to reach a BMI below 35 before surgery.
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A nonsmoker or able to quit at least six weeks before surgery.
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Not pregnant.
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In good physical and mental health
Jasons Struggle to Find a Donor
Various friends and family members have been tested, but were either not compatible or were declined due to age and/or other health issues.
Over 93,000 people in the United States are currently waiting on a kidney donation; over 2000 of these individuals are Veterans. The average wait for a kidney from a deceased donor is 5 years, and Veterans are literally dying waiting for kidneys. Living kidney donors would enable people like Jason to bypass this long wait. When a donor makes a living kidney donation, the odds of the transplant being successful go up dramatically because living donor kidneys have a better chance of being accepted by the recipient’s immune system. And the kidney lasts longer: Living donor transplants last 15 to 20 years on average, compared to 10 to 15 years on average for deceased donor transplants. We have found a living donor for Jason, but they are not a “match”. So we need to find someone with an O+ OR O- blood type to be a living donor “swap” for Jason.
