Some of you may know my husband, Dayle Hess, is in End Stage Renal Failure. He is currently on kidney dialysis that is keeping him alive. He undergoes 9 hours of peritoneal dialysis at night. 7 days a week. Doing at home dialysis every night helps clean his body of the toxins his kidneys used to get rid of. People on dialysis age twice as fast as normal people. A donated kidney would give our family so much more time for our children and grand-kids and life in general.
However finding a kidney for transplant is not easy. There are 100,000+ people pm the waiting list. Some wait many years and may die while waiting. The average time is five years or more from a deceased donor. However there is another option: receiving a kidney from a living donor. A deceased donor kidney can be good and working for up to 8 years. A live donor kidney is good for around 20 years.
Asking anyone, family, friends or people I don’t know is difficult for me, but a living donor improves his chances of getting a transplant that lasts longer and has better function. The longer someone is on the list the faster they age and once they reach the age of 75 they are no longer eligible for transplant.
You may not know much about living kidney donation so I am including some of the basics.
1. You only need one kidney to live a long healthy life.
2. Most surgeries on the donor are done laparoscopically (small incisions)
3. Recuperation period is fairly quick (about 4 to 6 weeks)
4. The cost of the evaluation and surgery will be covered by his insurance. The hospital can give you extensive information on this.
5. You would have a separate team of healthcare professionals to evaluate you as a living donor. Their job is to look out for your best interest.
6. You can also learn more about living donation through NKF (National Kidney Foundation) and talk to someone who has donated.
I, his wife, tried to donate my kidney but because I am in stage 3 kidney disease, I do not qualify. In 2020 both my husband and I were diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease. Within a month, my husband was diagnosed as being in end stage renal failure. After seeing many doctors we found out his kidneys failed because he ate so many peanuts. What a shock! We did not know peanuts were high in oxalates which caused the damage to his kidneys.
We are just looking for some help so we can live the rest of our years having a more normal life where we can grow old together and enjoy life to the fullest. Please, if anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated. Please help save a life by sharing my story with everyone you know.
Thank you, God Bless
Sandra Hess
If you are interested in being a live donor please call : The Transplant Center Memphis TN at 901-478-2813 and ask for the Donor coordinator Melissa.. Let them know you would like to donate a kidney for Dayle Hess. Or you can call the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City and ask for donor coordinator Hillary White at 913-588-2552 or 913-588-3961. Dayle Hess is listed at both.
Family and friends of Dayle Hess are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.
Dayle 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!
