Family & Friends –
For those of you who read about my 20-year diabetic journey back in November; you read how my diabetes has caused a few other health issues.I’ve been receiving kidney dialysis treatments for the past year. The dialysis has sustained my kidneys while I await an organ transplant.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) accepted me as a transplant candidate, and I have been added to their donor waitlist. However, kidney recipients typically face a 2-3 year wait, necessitating prolonged dialysis. A waitlist kidney, while an option, is not the most ideal type of kidney to receive.
A living kidney donor is the best solution. Kidneys from living donors provide a longer life span and enable pre-planned, not immediate, transplant operations.
Hence this post. Here are three options for my family and friends to consider.
1. If you’re interested in exploring if you’d be a donor match, please complete this online form: https://secure.nebraskamed.com/livingdonor. If you decide to get tested and are a match, UNMC will guide you through the next steps. Please note: I won’t be notified. I never have to know you got tested as that choice is yours.
2. If the idea of donating a kidney isn’t for you, that is okay. I’m seeking advocates (aka champions) who can keep their eyes and ears open for people in their circle who are altruistic in some way and pass along the link (and/or this website) above with my name (or send me a message).
There are many stories out there of someone receiving a kidney in some unique way after sharing their need for the transplant. If you are someone who prays, please add me to your list.
3. If you haven’t registered to be an organ donor through the National Donate Life Registry, I’d encourage you to do so. The waitlist is long, and there are many people (like me) in need of life-saving organs.
To keep my humor in all this, I have to say: At the end of the day, this is to avoid me talking to some black-market dealer in some alley.
Please message me directly if you have any questions.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I’ll post updates here.
Sincerely,
Chad J. Bring
Blood type: A+