imagine it’s Monday morning and you’re
getting ready for the week ahead
but you awaken to feelings of profound
fatigue as though you never slept and
your mind is not clear or crisp and you
wonder how you will get it all done you
leave the house and you start the drive
but you’re not headed to work or school
instead you check into the local
dialysis center where you spend the next
four hours hooked to a machine with a
series of filters designed to clear your
blood of the very toxins that cause that
fatigue and that mental fuzziness on
your way out
as you say goodbye to the staff they
respond see you in two days and that’s
what life with kidney failure is like
just to live you have to come back every
two days and repeat the process over and
over again to make your situation seem
even more impossible you learn that 10
out of every 100 kidney failure patients
will die on dialysis each year even
worse
the only cure kidney transplantation it
has a supply and demand problem more
than a hundred thousand people are in
need of a kidney transplant but fewer
than 11,000 deceased donor kidney
transplants are performed each year from
the shadows however emerge family
friends even strangers they’ve heard
your story and your plight and they are
ready and willing to give you the gift
of life they’ve learned about living
kidney donation and that most people can
live a healthy normal life with just one
kidney in fact they’re ready and willing
to give you their kidney living donor
kidney transplantation will cure your
kidney failure and eliminate your need
for dialysis one
doctors begin testing their blood to
make sure they’re a match for you one by
one however they are eliminated from
donating to you because of blood group
and tissue and compatibilities there are
no matches and you are left to wait for
a deceased donor kidney to become
available the wait you ask how long 8 to
10 years and you remember 10% of kidney
failure patients will die each year
waiting you feel so alone wondering if
you too will die while waiting you’re
not alone many individuals in need of a
kidney transplant have a willing but
incompatible living kidney donor
in fact almost half of people who
volunteer to be a living kidney donor
will not match their intended recipient
this is because of differences in blood
groups and tissue types you wonder is
there a solution there is a solution in
fact it’s what I do
I’m part transplant surgeon then part
matchmaker if you will
I take living donor and recipient pairs
that don’t match because of age
differences size differences or
differences in blood types and tissue
types and I facilitate kidney exchanges
so instead of receiving a kidney from
your original donor you receive a kidney
from a total stranger and in return your
original donor gives to someone else in
need while it may seem complicated we
actually borrowed a page out of the
airline industry’s playbook in fact our
optimized computerized algorithms
designed to identify the most number of
potential matches and therefore
transplants are actually based on the
same applied mathematics algorithms that
airline industries used to keep
airplanes from crashing into each other
during flight you see unlike the human
brain the
optimized computerized algorithms can
process all possible matches and choose
the combinations that will result in the
greatest number of transplants to
participate our recipient simply needs
someone a spouse a parent a friend
willing to donate a kidney to a total
stranger on their behalf these
individuals may begin as complete
strangers but with the help of a loved
one willing to donate in honor of them
they can change each other’s lives come
with me to a hospital ward filled with
patients in need of transplants and
their living kidney donors desperate to
help them we’re making surgery rounds
we’re walking room to room checking on
the patients answering questions and
making sure they’re ready for surgery we
knocked on the first door and we enter
to find Caitlyn a rising high school
senior in black belt in karate who
suddenly fell seriously ill and had few
options
Caitlyn joined the ranks of the more
than 100,000 Americans in desperate need
of a kidney transplant at Caitlyn’s side
is her dad Earl
who’s ready and willing to give her the
gift of life Earl indeed is both a blood
group and tissue match for his daughter
Caitlin but his 25 years her senior and
Earl knows that by participating in the
exchange Caitlin stands to benefit by
receiving a kidney from a much younger
stranger and just a few doors down we
entered a fine pastor Derek pastor Derek
has been waiting some time to donate his
kidney in honor of his friend Michael
with whom he was not a tissue match you
see Michael already received his kidney
transplant as a part of a different leg
of the chain Pastor Derek is simply
paying the gift forward by donating in
honor of Michael and in so doing is
keeping the chain alive and passing the
gift of altruism on to the next person
in need and just next door although
neither of them knows
is Alison a wife and mother of three who
will be receiving the pastor’s gift of
life this young mom is receiving pastor
Derrick’s kidney because her cousin
Courtney with whom she was not a blood
type match came forward and volunteered
to donate a kidney on her behalf and
although none of them realizes it cousin
Courtney’s kidney is destined to provide
high-schooler Caitlyn a fresh new start
on life in fact a 20 year younger kidney
than her dad Earl could have given her
and in Caitlyn’s honor Earl will donate
his kidney setting off the next series
of exchanges and just like that a string
of strangers changed each other’s lives
simply by changing the conversation from
donating directly to their loved one to
donating in honor of their loved one
although they all began as strangers the
relief and gratitude are palpable and
you can see edged into each of their
faces the realization that they have
each become a part of something bigger
than themselves in one day multiple
lives were changed two transplants were
made a reality and no one was left to
wait for a deceased donor kidney to
become available so simple yet so
profound donor exchanges like this one
have the potential to revolutionize how
we match those in need with potential
donors and could double the number of
live donor transplants performed in this
country each year from 6,000 to 12,000
that’s six thousand more live donor
kidney transplants that’s six thousand
fewer people waiting for a deceased
donor kidney to become available it’s
also sick
thousand more deceased donor kidneys now
available for those who can’t identify a
living kidney donor it’s a win-win yet
we have never realized the full
potential of living donor exchanges in
this country why might you ask well
what’s missing is one centralized
selfless system in which every living
donor and recipient pair participates
and joins a movement a crusade to save
lives
simply put we must change the
conversation we must move from an opt-in
system in which living donor and
recipient pairs only participate when
absolutely necessary when their blood
groups and tissue types don’t match to
an opt-out system in which we assume
altruism in which every living donor and
recipient pair participates regardless
of compatibility yes it begins by
believing the best in our fellow man it
begins with the assumption of altruism
and igniting a movement to eliminate
incompatibilities as barriers to live
donor kidney transplantation it begins
by changing the conversation from
donating directly to your loved one to
donating in honor of your loved one join
me help me change the conversation
help me advocate for and create a single
national living kidney donor exchange
thank you
you
getting ready for the week ahead
but you awaken to feelings of profound
fatigue as though you never slept and
your mind is not clear or crisp and you
wonder how you will get it all done you
leave the house and you start the drive
but you’re not headed to work or school
instead you check into the local
dialysis center where you spend the next
four hours hooked to a machine with a
series of filters designed to clear your
blood of the very toxins that cause that
fatigue and that mental fuzziness on
your way out
as you say goodbye to the staff they
respond see you in two days and that’s
what life with kidney failure is like
just to live you have to come back every
two days and repeat the process over and
over again to make your situation seem
even more impossible you learn that 10
out of every 100 kidney failure patients
will die on dialysis each year even
worse
the only cure kidney transplantation it
has a supply and demand problem more
than a hundred thousand people are in
need of a kidney transplant but fewer
than 11,000 deceased donor kidney
transplants are performed each year from
the shadows however emerge family
friends even strangers they’ve heard
your story and your plight and they are
ready and willing to give you the gift
of life they’ve learned about living
kidney donation and that most people can
live a healthy normal life with just one
kidney in fact they’re ready and willing
to give you their kidney living donor
kidney transplantation will cure your
kidney failure and eliminate your need
for dialysis one
doctors begin testing their blood to
make sure they’re a match for you one by
one however they are eliminated from
donating to you because of blood group
and tissue and compatibilities there are
no matches and you are left to wait for
a deceased donor kidney to become
available the wait you ask how long 8 to
10 years and you remember 10% of kidney
failure patients will die each year
waiting you feel so alone wondering if
you too will die while waiting you’re
not alone many individuals in need of a
kidney transplant have a willing but
incompatible living kidney donor
in fact almost half of people who
volunteer to be a living kidney donor
will not match their intended recipient
this is because of differences in blood
groups and tissue types you wonder is
there a solution there is a solution in
fact it’s what I do
I’m part transplant surgeon then part
matchmaker if you will
I take living donor and recipient pairs
that don’t match because of age
differences size differences or
differences in blood types and tissue
types and I facilitate kidney exchanges
so instead of receiving a kidney from
your original donor you receive a kidney
from a total stranger and in return your
original donor gives to someone else in
need while it may seem complicated we
actually borrowed a page out of the
airline industry’s playbook in fact our
optimized computerized algorithms
designed to identify the most number of
potential matches and therefore
transplants are actually based on the
same applied mathematics algorithms that
airline industries used to keep
airplanes from crashing into each other
during flight you see unlike the human
brain the
optimized computerized algorithms can
process all possible matches and choose
the combinations that will result in the
greatest number of transplants to
participate our recipient simply needs
someone a spouse a parent a friend
willing to donate a kidney to a total
stranger on their behalf these
individuals may begin as complete
strangers but with the help of a loved
one willing to donate in honor of them
they can change each other’s lives come
with me to a hospital ward filled with
patients in need of transplants and
their living kidney donors desperate to
help them we’re making surgery rounds
we’re walking room to room checking on
the patients answering questions and
making sure they’re ready for surgery we
knocked on the first door and we enter
to find Caitlyn a rising high school
senior in black belt in karate who
suddenly fell seriously ill and had few
options
Caitlyn joined the ranks of the more
than 100,000 Americans in desperate need
of a kidney transplant at Caitlyn’s side
is her dad Earl
who’s ready and willing to give her the
gift of life Earl indeed is both a blood
group and tissue match for his daughter
Caitlin but his 25 years her senior and
Earl knows that by participating in the
exchange Caitlin stands to benefit by
receiving a kidney from a much younger
stranger and just a few doors down we
entered a fine pastor Derek pastor Derek
has been waiting some time to donate his
kidney in honor of his friend Michael
with whom he was not a tissue match you
see Michael already received his kidney
transplant as a part of a different leg
of the chain Pastor Derek is simply
paying the gift forward by donating in
honor of Michael and in so doing is
keeping the chain alive and passing the
gift of altruism on to the next person
in need and just next door although
neither of them knows
is Alison a wife and mother of three who
will be receiving the pastor’s gift of
life this young mom is receiving pastor
Derrick’s kidney because her cousin
Courtney with whom she was not a blood
type match came forward and volunteered
to donate a kidney on her behalf and
although none of them realizes it cousin
Courtney’s kidney is destined to provide
high-schooler Caitlyn a fresh new start
on life in fact a 20 year younger kidney
than her dad Earl could have given her
and in Caitlyn’s honor Earl will donate
his kidney setting off the next series
of exchanges and just like that a string
of strangers changed each other’s lives
simply by changing the conversation from
donating directly to their loved one to
donating in honor of their loved one
although they all began as strangers the
relief and gratitude are palpable and
you can see edged into each of their
faces the realization that they have
each become a part of something bigger
than themselves in one day multiple
lives were changed two transplants were
made a reality and no one was left to
wait for a deceased donor kidney to
become available so simple yet so
profound donor exchanges like this one
have the potential to revolutionize how
we match those in need with potential
donors and could double the number of
live donor transplants performed in this
country each year from 6,000 to 12,000
that’s six thousand more live donor
kidney transplants that’s six thousand
fewer people waiting for a deceased
donor kidney to become available it’s
also sick
thousand more deceased donor kidneys now
available for those who can’t identify a
living kidney donor it’s a win-win yet
we have never realized the full
potential of living donor exchanges in
this country why might you ask well
what’s missing is one centralized
selfless system in which every living
donor and recipient pair participates
and joins a movement a crusade to save
lives
simply put we must change the
conversation we must move from an opt-in
system in which living donor and
recipient pairs only participate when
absolutely necessary when their blood
groups and tissue types don’t match to
an opt-out system in which we assume
altruism in which every living donor and
recipient pair participates regardless
of compatibility yes it begins by
believing the best in our fellow man it
begins with the assumption of altruism
and igniting a movement to eliminate
incompatibilities as barriers to live
donor kidney transplantation it begins
by changing the conversation from
donating directly to your loved one to
donating in honor of your loved one join
me help me change the conversation
help me advocate for and create a single
national living kidney donor exchange
thank you
you
Please follow and like us: