If anyone is willing to help my friend Bryan here, please find his info and story below for a kidney transplant!
Dear Family and Friends,
As you may or may not know, I have End Stage Kidney Disease/CKD Stage 5 CKD from Polycystic Kidney Disease, and was recently started on dialysis. I already have had many complications including hospitalization. My nephrologist (kidney specialist), Dr. Rastogi, has recommended that I get a kidney transplant. Having a new kidney to replace what my own kidneys can't do anymore will give me the greatest chance of living a good long life. I want more than anything to have the freedom and energy that comes with being healthy.
I could get a kidney from the deceased donor waiting list, but in Los Angeles, the wait is 8-10 years on the current list I’m on. There are almost 100,000 people on the waitlist already, so I may have to wait a number of years before I could receive a matching kidney from a deceased donor.
I am glad I have the option of dialysis to keep me alive while I wait, but it takes a lot of time, and can cause more health problems for me. I am hoping to get a transplant sooner rather than later.
It is possible that I could get a transplant from a living donor within the next year if someone would be willing to donate a kidney to me. Living donors don't need to be biologically related to me, and now with the exchange program don’t even have to have the same blood group.
The donor candidates undergo a thorough evaluation by the transplant program. They are only accepted to move forward if they are healthy and have minimal, if any, risk factors or issues themselves. Dr. Rastogi is the Medical Director of the Living Kidney Donor Program at UCLA and is an amazing resource of information. Please consider attending his monthly kidney education program given at UCLA, especially the Dec 11th one which will specifically address Living Kidney Donation. The flyer is attached. I have attended these events and they are truly amazing. In addition to Living Kidney Donation, you will learn more about how to stay healthy.
For these reasons, I am asking for your help in spreading the word. You are under NO pressure whatsoever to donate. If you would be like to learn more, please go to the following resources
for information.
Attend UKEEP
http://transplants.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=59
http://transplants.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=54&category=4
If you would be willing to help share my need for a living donor with your community of friends and family, I would appreciate it. It’s very hard to bring this topic up with people myself. It may be possible that one of them, or someone that they know, would want to help me or someone else.
Finally, if you feel called to do so, you are invited to consider becoming a living donor for me. Please remember you are under NO pressure from me to do so. I know that this is a personal decision that isn't right for everyone. If you want to learn more, the websites I mentioned above have videos of actual living donors sharing their experiences. I have been for fortunate enough to talk to two living donors that went through the process at the UKEEP Event. Both were just extraordinary people. Please know that if you are not able to consider living donation, it will not affect our relationship or how I feel about you.
If you have more questions, or would like start the process of being a donor, please contact my Nephrologist Dr. Anjay Rastogi at ARastogi@mednet.ucla.edu or myself, not a doctor Bryan Taylor at kidneybryan@gmail.com
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for caring so much about me…
With Love,
Bryan
