Chris was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was young and with that comes a multitude of health issues and complications, including the possibility of kidney failure. Seven years ago, Chris learned that he was suffering from kidney failure and his sister, Kim, lovingly donated one of her kidneys to him. All was well for a while, but Chris has recently learned that the donated kidney has failed. Usually a familial living organ donation should last for close to 15 years; unfortunately, we are only at year seven. Although unlikely, sometimes this can happen as the body reacts in mysterious ways. All our doctors have told us that while this is unusual it can happen, and no one could have foreseen this outcome or made this prediction.
Over the course of those past seven years Chris worked hard, fell in love, got married and started to build a life in South Carolina. But now all of that is in jeopardy because the kidney transplant has failed. Due to the transplant failure Chris needs dialysis on a daily basis. Due to the physical strain of dialysis Chris is unable to continue his independent contractor career or maintain regular employment.
Chris has completed the rigorous testing and evaluation process at MUSC (The Medical University of South Carolina), one of the largest transplant facilities on the East Coast, in order to be a transplant recipient…and he was APPROVED!
I have been also approved to be a ‘paired’ donor match. Unfortunately we are not blood type compatible; but I can donate to someone else in need. This will help to speed up the process in finding Chris a viable kidney match for his transplant. This journey is long, but we are moving forward. And this is where I/we are asking for help.
Chris’s family is trying to raise money to help offset some of the medical expenses associated with this process and your donation can help. You can support our efforts in one of two ways: through Help Hope Live or through Go Fund Me “Kidney’s for Chris Comer”. Both of these efforts will play a critical role in helping Chris to recover and maintain his health and independence. Help Hope Live and Go Fund Me assure fiscal accountability of funds raised for the recipient and are tax deductible for donors. Donors can be confident in the fact that all funds donated are used to pay or reimburse for medical related expenses. Any size donation will help, will make a difference, and will be cherished.
Another way to support our efforts is in ‘Giving the Gift of Life’ through the MUSC living donation program. You might not know a lot about living donation and understandably, some people may be afraid about the surgery and what living with one kidney will mean for them. Here’s some basic information about kidney donation:
• You only need one kidney to live a healthy, long life.
• Most donor surgery is done laparoscopically, meaning through tiny incisions.
• The recuperation period is usually fairly quick, generally two weeks.
• The cost of your evaluation and surgery will be covered by my insurance. The hospital can give you extensive information on this.
The very first step for a potential donor to start the process is it to fill out the living donor health history form. It can be completed by visiting the MUSC website. Simply click “Register as a Donor” towards the bottom of the page. muschealth.org
If you choose to investigate to be a living donor match, you will need to enter Chris Comer’s name as the recipient and note that the organ match is for a kidney.
Thank you in advance for any support that you can provide our family.
Click the link below to see a local news story about someone’s living donation story and the living donor program.
abcnews4.com
