About ten years ago I was told me that I had Kidney problem. I had what was called Polycystic kidney disease. I inherited it from my father, as did his younger brother and sister. Two years ago his brother Brandt died from the complications related to the disease. At the time I was diagnosed I weighed 196lb with a 34 inch waist and was doing triathlons in between hopping on plains and traveling two week out of ever month build a software company. Now I weigh 160lb with a 30.5 inch waist and get tired walking a block. You know degenerative diseases are insidious the way they take little bit from you everyday you hardly know it while it happens.

 It takes years for the kidneys to degenerate to the point where they no longer work. Today my kidneys have only two percent function remaining.  Starting dialysis early this month had its own complications. My standard fistula access failed and peritoneal dialysis was not options for me. I now has a permanent catheter implanted through his chest and although this limits my activities (I can't shower or swim, for example), I can receive dialysis, which I’m now doing 3 days a week. The dialysis appears to be working and I am somewhat stable, although I currently am recovering from a kidney infection which is fairly common with PKD.

I live in San Francisco wife my wife and our two sons Marley and Cassidy. We are expecting our third child in July, and are also raising my brother’s eleven-year-old son. Raising 4 kids is a tremendous load for anyone, and my declining health is an additional burden to carry. Until a few weeks ago I had a compatible donor and was preparing for transplant surgery. My donor was a woman whom I had never met, but heard about my need through a friend of a friend. As an operating room nurse, she understood the procedure and without hesitation offered a part of her body to save my life. Although her kidney was compatible, she failed one of the medical tests and was disqualified, and I’m looking, once again, for a donor. It is important to understand that the hospital will never do an operation if they feel any doubt about the donor’s long term health.  

 
Being a Living Donor

My need is simple: I needs a compatible O-positive kidney.

All the expenses, including medical disability would be covered by my insurance. Loss of wages is covered as well.

To qualify as a living organ donor, an individual must be physically fit, in good general health, and not have high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, or heart disease. Individuals are usually between 18-60 years of age. Gender and race do not matter. The screening process to become a living donor is a long road with many potential obstacles along the way. Having the right blood type is a start, but certainly not a guarantee of compatibility or acceptance. For a step by step overview of the evaluation process check out http://www.livingdonorsonline.org/kidney/kidney4.htm.

Unfortunately all of my willing donors have the wrong blood type or have been rejected through the screening process. It's possible  I won't survive the 5+ year wait for a kidney from the organ transplant waiting list. If you or someone you know would be interested in getting evaluated as a potential donor, please contact me, and we can put you in touch with the transplant coordinator at UCSF, David's transplant center.

I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a donor, not just for me, but for anyone, to learn as much as you possibly can. The success rate for kidney transplants with living donors at UCSF is at 95% and the vast majority of donors suffer no long-term health problems.

Thank you for reading this far. I've included some links below to places with information about donating organs.

 
Living Donors Online <http://www.livingdonorsonline.org> .

United Network for Organ Sharing <http://www.unos.org/whoWeAre/> .

TransplantBuddies.Org <http://www.transplantbuddies.org/> .