Half a year with Sidney the kidney: labs, laughter, unexpected energy, and the unfolding gratitude that comes from a stranger’s life‑changing yes.
Category: Kidney Transplant
A shared space where donor and recipient reflect on the kidney transplant journey. Two voices, one life-changing bond.
Medical Illiteracy
A look at how confusing medical language can leave patients feeling lost, and how small acts of courage can help us reclaim clarity in our own care.
When the Donor Match Isn’t Perfect, a Chain Can Be
A personal look at how paired kidney donation creates life-changing connections. This is the story of how a transplant chain made my second chance possible, and how one yes can ripple through countless lives.
Confessions of a Good Samaritan (Documentary)
Confessions of a Good Samaritan follows filmmaker Penny Lane as she documents her decision to donate a kidney to a stranger, blending personal storytelling with a thoughtful exploration of the science, ethics, and emotional complexity of altruism.
Importance of Self-Care Post-Kidney Transplant
A kidney transplant changed my days into a practice of vigilance, gratitude, and self‑care. This is the story of how lab visits, pillboxes, boundaries, and small daily choices became the partnership that keeps my donated kidney safe.
My Six-Inch Scar
A six‑inch scar tells the story of my kidney transplant; how a donated organ, a living donor’s courage, and months of uncertainty became a path toward healing. This is the story held in that line of skin, the memories it carries, and the life it makes possible.
About Kidney Transplant Care Teams
I was blessed with a care team made up of my parents. Their support made me wonder how other transplant patients walk this road and who stood beside them. I'm gathering comments from a post-transplant Facebook group. What I've found so far reminded me that a kidney transplant is never a one-person story. It rises or falls on the strength of the people who choose to help.
Thinking about my Kidney Donor
A transplant recipient searches for words worthy of thanking an unknown donor whose gift reshaped his life.
Kidney Transplant Breakthroughs
A look at the latest breakthroughs in kidney transplants and kidney disease research, from universal‑match organs to regenerative therapies shaping tomorrow’s care.
Kidney Transplant – Stats (2025)
A snapshot of 2025 kidney transplant activity, highlighting record‑setting programs, shifting national trends, and the ongoing need faced by over 91,000 waiting patients.
Three Months Post-Kidney Transplant
A three‑month reflection on healing, renewed strength, and the small everyday miracles that mark life after transplant. A story of returning energy, widening freedom, and the steady grace found in each new day.
Things to Have Known Before a Kidney Transplant ~ Jack Fassnacht
This candid reflection from a two‑time kidney transplant recipient pulls back the curtain on the everyday realities that don’t always make it into the medical brochures.
Lifelong Challenges After a Kidney Transplant
Life after a kidney transplant becomes a lifelong classroom where healing, vigilance, and gratitude shape each day and teach me how to live with care and intention.
First Kidney Transplant (1954)
A brief history of the first successful living‑donor kidney transplants, from early attempts in Paris in 1952 to the groundbreaking 1954 Boston procedure between identical twins that earned Joseph Murray a Nobel Prize.
Two Months Post-Kidney Transplant
Two months after my kidney transplant, life is opening up again. Medications are shifting, scars are fading, and I am finding my way back to myself through writing, small freedoms, and the victories.
Anti-Rejection Medications 101
A look at the serious world of immunosuppressants, BK virus surprises, and the daily balancing act every kidney transplant recipient knows well. This classroom-style post breaks it down.
Life After My Kidney Transplant
Life after transplant is a new normal filled with gratitude, humor, resilience, and hope in everyday victories.
The Search for a Living Kidney Donor
The search for a living kidney donor is a journey of near misses, patience, and hope, revealing resilience, & the generosity of those willing to try.
The Hurdles of Kidney Transplant
A kidney transplant is more than surgery. It is referrals, travel, paperwork, caregivers, matches, and the courage to keep hope alive.
From Kidney Diagnoses to Transplant Recovery
A journey through kidney dialysis, answered prayers, and a transplant. Revealing resilience, gratitude, hope, and God’s grace in every chapter of life.