David gave a kidney to a stranger and helped start a donor chain that reached even more patients than he will ever know. This is his story of surgery, quick recovery, and the purpose he found on the other side of it.
Author: Chad
Chad is a writer, kidney‑transplant recipient, and long‑time Type 1 diabetic who tells the truth about chronic illness with honesty, hope, and a little humor. After eighteen months on peritoneal dialysis and a life‑changing transplant from his donor Jeff, he now uses his story to help others feel less alone in theirs. His blog blends lived experience, faith, and practical insight for anyone navigating kidney disease, diabetes, or the long road between diagnosis and healing. When he’s not advocating for organ donation or demystifying the medical maze, he’s cheering on others walking their own hard paths — one real, human moment at a time.
TEDx Talks: Thriving Beyond Dialysis: A Journey of Hope and Resilience
Kamal Shah lost his kidneys at 24, right before he was set to leave for graduate school in the US. What followed was a transplant that failed within days, years of trial and error across dialysis therapies, and a decision to stop waiting for his life to resume. Instead of accepting a diminished existence, he co-founded NephroPlus, now Asia's largest dialysis network, built on a simple idea: call patients guests, treat them with dignity, and give them their lives back.
TEDx Talks: Breakthrough in Dialysis Treatment
Javid Akherat is not a doctor, he is an engineer, and that outside perspective may be exactly why he found something nephrologists had missed. Using computational fluid dynamics, the same tools used to model airflow and turbulence, he discovered that the body's own veins try to reshape themselves in response to dialysis, and that this reshaping can be predicted, and even prevented, before it turns deadly.
TED-ED: How do your kidneys work?
Two bean-shaped organs, quietly running one of the most sophisticated filtration systems in the human body. Every day, your kidneys process about 180 liters of blood, sorting out what stays and what goes, sensing waste, balancing fluid, releasing the vitamins and hormones you need to stay alive. This TED-Ed video from Emma Bryce breaks down exactly how that happens, nephron by nephron. It's five minutes, and it just might change how you think about the two organs you never notice until something goes wrong with them.
TED-ED: How does kidney transplant surgery work?
The first kidney transplant only worked because the donor was an identical twin. This TED-Ed video from Alexander H. Toledo covers seventy years of medical progress since, and how the surgery actually works today, in just over five minutes.
TEDX Talks: Confessions of a kidney donor
When Alyssa Bates decided to donate a kidney to her younger brother, she went looking for a manual on what life would look like afterward. She never found one, so she wrote her own story instead. A competitive marathoner who ran Boston seven times, Alyssa shares how donating a kidney did not slow her down, it gave her a finish line worth crossing twice.
TEDx Talks: Queen of dialysis describes her dependence on a machine
Maddy Warren lost both kidneys at 13 years old and has spent more than 16 years hooked to a dialysis machine every night just to stay alive. But instead of letting the diagnosis define her, she has climbed Ben Nevis, jumped out of airplanes, and become a licensed solo skydiver. This talk is about what happens when a person decides that surviving and living are two very different things, and refuses to settle for just one.
TEDx Talks: How I found an organ donor through digital storytelling
Marc Coronel was a former amateur boxer who thought he already knew what courage looked like. Then a kidney disease diagnosis put him on a transplant waitlist with a rare blood type and a wait that could stretch a decade. Instead of staying silent, he posted a simple request online and found his donor within months, not from a blood relative, but from a stranger connected through his own sister.
TED Ideas: How one kidney donation can lead to a chain of 94 transplants
One kidney, given to a stranger, set off something bigger than anyone expected. Surgeon Jayme Locke calls herself part transplant expert and part matchmaker, and the chain she helped build has already reached 94 transplants, with more on the way. This is the story of how a single act of generosity can multiply into dozens of second chances.
TEDx Talks: What Makes a Person Decide to Donate His Kidney to a Stranger
A podcast about kidney donation chains changed Ned Brooks's life in the time it took to drive to the grocery store. In his TEDx talk, Ned tells the story of donating his kidney to a stranger at 65, and the foundation, Donor to Donor, that grew out of it.
TEDx Talks: Take My Kidney…Please
Some folks talk about generosity. Dan Howell lived it out, gallon jug of chilled urine and all. In his TEDx Omaha talk, Dan tells the whole story of becoming a living kidney donor at fifty-eight: the awkward lab tests, the six sleepless nights of doubt, and the moment his mother's voice settled it for good. It's funny. It's honest. And it just might be the nudge you need to think about donation yourself.
Other Stories: Man reunites with transplant doctor who donated kidney in 2021
KSAT has been reporting on a transplant pair for years now, and this week marks five years since University Health's Transplant Institute director gave her kidney to a complete stranger. Now, he's a close friend, and the two are spreading awareness about living donors.
Kidney Heroes Giving Day is on August 18
Kidney Heroes Giving Day on August 18 is your chance to step into someone’s kidney story as the hero they’ve been hoping for. Every gift made by midnight will be matched up to $20,000, doubling your impact for patients and families facing the challenges of kidney disease. Your support fuels trusted guidance, life-changing resources, and a community no one should face this journey without.
Not Many Patients Reach Kidney Transplant Evaluation
Nearly half of the people referred for a kidney transplant never make it to evaluation. Half. (Let that sink in.) I made it through evaluation, the waitlist, and surgery, and I don't take one bit of it for granted. A new study explains why the odds aren't equal for everyone. Here's why it matters.
Bijou Phillips finds a kidney match
Bijou Phillips just got the call every person on dialysis prays for. A voucher program found her a perfect match, and her own brother stepped into the kidney exchange to help make it happen. Grace has a funny way of finding its way home, sometimes through a stranger, sometimes through your own blood.
Other News: A stranger I met at the beach gave me her kidney
A Doberman named Indie kept wandering toward a stranger on a Welsh beach, and that stranger turned out to be carrying the answer to five years of dialysis. Katie James had just joined the kidney donor register. Days later, she found out she was a one in 22 million match for a woman named Lucy Humphrey. This is their story.
My First Vacation Since My Kidney Journey Began
Nine guys, one Chicago house, a sailboat on Lake Michigan, and not a single dialysis machine along for the ride. This was my first real vacation since dialysis began, and this time, I finally had the energy to live every minute.
A Better Way to Stop Kidney Rejection?
Every kidney transplant recipient lives with the same quiet understanding: the pills never stop. But a new drug called tegoprubart may be about to change that conversation entirely.
Kidney failure is preventable
Most people don't know their kidneys are failing. That's not a dramatic exaggeration. It's just the cruel reality of chronic kidney disease. No alarm bells. No obvious symptoms. Until one day, a routine visit turns into a conversation about dialysis.
Support System: My Dad
Through my kidney transplant, my dad stepped in with strength, humor, and a kind of love that moved things forward. This is his part of the story.