Tuesday, June 18, 2013

KIDNEY STORIES: MY SISTER NEEDS A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT


This is my sister Patty and she is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. She is in end-stage renal failure and has been living on a dialysis machine since Jan 2012 . She has no family match. Please click below on "About" to read more information.
Description
Please help!! My sister Patty is a loving wife and mother of 4 beautiful and supportive children - 2 boys and 2 girls who are her world. Patty comes from a large family with 5 sisters, 3 of whom are not a compatible match and 2 who are not medically eligible to donate. Our mother is heartbroken that that she can't save her daughter because she is too old to donate at 86 and our father is not al...ive. Her loving husband, her 4 children and multiple people outside of the family have been tested, and sadly, no compatible match. I had hoped so much that I could donate my spare kidney to her immediately, and it was devastating news to learn I was not a compatible match. In desperation to save my sister's life, I've created this page to reach out to the public to ask if you - or anyone you know - would ever consider donating a kidney to my sister if you matched or could participate in the paired exchange program via the National Kidney Registry?

Since I can't donate a kidney to her, I and other family members are participating in a "paired exchange program" in which the National Kidney Registry is trying to find someone out there like my sister needing a kidney who one of us may match and can donate a kidney to, and at the same time find someone who matches my sister willing to donate a kidney to her. It is more than a year that we are participating in this pair exchange and the Registry has not been able to find a compatible donor for Patty and she cannot sustain life on a dialysis machine. Her love and passion for life is enormous, but dialysis makes her sick and her anemia leaves her with little energy to enjoy a life of quality.

If you, or someone you know, would be willing to be tested to see if you are a match for my sister and have the heart to donate one of your kidneys if you are, please call JANICE GLIDEWELL , TRANSPLANT MANAGER, at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh at 412-359-6558. Her email is JGLIDEWE@wpahs.org. My sister's name is Patty Chapman.

Patty was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure and uncontrolled hypertension of unknown etiology (cause). She has been living on a dialysis machine since January 2012. We have no known history of kidney disease in our family and doctors have been unable to determine what caused her condition. The waiting list for a cadaver (dead) kidney is very long - approximately 4-5 years or more, and Patty will not live this long. A number of people outside of the family have been tested but still no compatible match.

Patty needs a donor whose blood type is either B or O. It doesn't matter where you live in the USA or Canada to be tested, and It's okay if you don't know what your blood type is. The transplant center can test your blood (for free, of course). When you call Janice she will ask you some questions about your medical history which will help determine if you could be a potential donor, and if so, you would then be asked donate a few tubes of blood to determine your blood type and whether you match. All testing is completely free.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions you would like to ask.

If you wish to learn more, please visit the National Kidney Registry for information on how you can help. http://www.kidneyregistry.org/index.php

Pay it forward! Even if you have no interest in being a kidney donor, you can still help Patty enormously by sharing this information with others. Clicking on "Like" and "Share" will help spread the word. The most effective way of spreading this information is by sharing the link to this page on your own Facebook (by clicking "Share"). Please consider being a kidney donor to my sister, and even if you can't "share your spare", please help me to reach as many people as possible with this urgent plea in the hopes that someone can save Patty's life. It only takes one Hero!!
Thank you so much!!
 
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