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In January, 2014, John received the diagnosis that no one wants to hear – he was in end-stage renal failure due to hypertension. This meant that John’s life was going to change in a big way. In order to continue to live, John needed to start dialysis treatments, 3 days a week, every week for the rest of his life, or until he receives a transplant. Now, John is only 51 years old, and undergoing dialysis for the rest of his life is hard to imagine. Patients with renal failure also have a compromised immune system, meaning they are prone to infections and illnesses more so than a healthy individual. Dialysis treatments also leave a person feeling very tired. Usually a dialysis day is a day that nothing gets done…..just dialysis and rest. That leaves only 4 days out of 7 where a dialysis patient feels well enough to do things.
The average life expectancy for a patient on dialysis is generally five years. Kidney transplantation has come a long way in the past few years. Patients who receive a kidney transplant typically live longer than those who stay on dialysis. A living donor kidney functions on average, 12 to 20 years, and a deceased donor kidney from 8 to 12 years. But transplants are expensive. Insurance doesn’t cover all of the expenses of transplants. Since John lives in Pennsylvania and his transplant hospital is in Maryland, John will need a lot of help to cover the costs of his anti-rejection medications because his insurance will not cover the costs of prescriptions from a non-resident state. This seems like an awfully cruel situation to be in – he might be able to get a transplant, but won’t be able to because he can’t pay for the medications he needs.
Updates (1)
January 7, 2020
In January, 2014, John received the diagnosis that no one wants to hear – he was in end-stage renal failure due to hypertension. This meant that John’s life was going to change in a big way. In order to continue to live, John needed to start dialysis treatments, 3 days a week, every week for the rest of his life, or until he receives a transplant. Now, John is only 51 years old, and undergoing dialysis for the rest of his life is hard to imagine. Patients with renal failure also have a compromised immune system, meaning they are prone to infections and illnesses more so than a healthy individual. Dialysis treatments also leave a person feeling very tired. Usually a dialysis day is a day that nothing gets done…..just dialysis and rest. That leaves only 4 days out of 7 where a dialysis patient feels well enough to do things.
The average life expectancy for a patient on dialysis is generally five years. Kidney transplantation has come a long way in the past few years. Patients who receive a kidney transplant typically live longer than those who stay on dialysis. A living donor kidney functions on average, 12 to 20 years, and a deceased donor kidney from 8 to 12 years. But transplants are expensive. Insurance doesn’t cover all of the expenses of transplants. Since John lives in Pennsylvania and his transplant hospital is in Maryland, John will need a lot of help to cover the costs of his anti-rejection medications because his insurance will not cover the costs of prescriptions from a non-resident state. This seems like an awfully cruel situation to be in – he might be able to get a transplant, but won’t be able to because he can’t pay for the medications he needs.
Won’t you please help John? Helping John will give him a second chance to live his life to the fullest and will enable him to get back to work and live a joyful life.
Family and friends of John are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation. John has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.
For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.
Thank you for your support!
