Kidney Transplant Stories

Many other people have already been through the kidney transplant process. Reading their stories could help you make a decision in your own process.

Do you have a story you'd like to share? By submitting your story, you agree to share your experiences with the general public through the KidneyLink website and print materials, as well as with interested media. Submit your story.

Bonnie

I don’t feel like a hero, I’m just a normal person. I can’t run in a burning building and save lives, I can’t climb through earthquake rubble and pull victims to safety. Me, I’m just a 52 year-old wife and mother who gave an extra organ to someone who needed it. If I can do it, just about anyone can.

Marcia

I have been on dialysis for over 10 years, during that time, I had two method of dialysis: hemodialysis, peritoneal, and a transplant. These three methods all have pros, and cons. I have a hard time with all three, then I read a report about a woman in England who had a lung transplant grown with her own tissue, she is more active and have the joy of not taking steriods the rest of her life, immediately I became hopeful, hoping this will be the same for kidneys.

Mike

In dec. of 1999 I mike went to see a doctor who shortly called me back in saying I was very sick. I then was sent to a nepholigist who said I must start dyalisis and then maybe get on the kidney transplant program. I started dyalisis within a week. Was on dyalisis for about a year had family checked for matchs, mother and father both were good match's chose mother.

By Bella English | Globe Staff, March 28, 2010

Last December, Andrew Levey donated a kidney so his wife Roberta Falke, who has PKD, could take part in a three-way paired kidney exchange or "swap." On March 28, the Boston Globe shared their story. Click here to read the article and leave a comment.

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At The Farmer House, Everyday is Christmas

By Barry Rozner | Daily Herald Columnist

He was sitting in a hotel lobby at Disney World when his wife passed within a few feet of him.

And kept on walking.

"She was coming in from out of town to meet me," Ed Farmer remembers. "I called to her and she turned around. She looked right at me and didn't see me."

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The Ride of Your Life

By Kelly Hayes
New Freedom, PA

Finding out that you or your loved one need a kidney transplant is similar to riding a roller coaster. However, when you know what to expect, surround yourself with a core group of supporters and work hard to communicate, the ride becomes less jerky and the curves more smooth.

Anthony
Boston, MA

It seems like a lifetime ago, the summer of 1980. I was 28 years oldand in terrible pain. As it happens I needed my gall bladder removed. When the sonogram was read I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). When the doctor came to see me, he explained that I had a disease which was both inherited and potentially fatal, and stated very firmly "you must not have any children." OOPS, to late already had a 9 year old son. Who by the way has PKD, he was diagnosed after a sports injury when he was 14 years old.