In the Find A Kidney Blog, you’ll find both education and inspiration in your search for a living kidney donor, including tips from experts who have conducted a successful search and personal stories from people who have been in your situation and were able to find a living donor for a kidney transplant.
Having been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in 2011, I knew a kidney transplant was in my future, though the timing remained uncertain. PKD doesn’t run in my family, making my case unusual as I inherited it without a familial genetic link. In a remarkable turn, my brother stepped forward to donate his kidney […]
Finding a living kidney donor for a kidney transplant can be challenging, but there are many unusual and creative ways to find a donor. In addition to setting up a microsite and sharing your story with friends and family, here are some more unconventional ways to find a living kidney donor. Tap Into Niche Groups: […]
If you are a kidney patient searching for a living kidney donor, sharing your story through interviews can be a powerful way to raise awareness and potentially find a match. If someone asks to interview you about your donor search, whether for a print or online article, a TV spot, or a podcast, these five […]
Colleen Gielda-Smith, Living Donor Patient Navigator, Penn Center for Living Donation
When you are looking for a living kidney donor, you may be wondering how long the kidney donation process takes from start to finish. Having this information can not only help you prepare but also give you important information to share with potential donors. How long a kidney donation takes depends on a number of […]
My kidney journey began almost a year into my career as a nurse. In 2020, I graduated from nursing school. I’d chosen nursing as a second career. I always wanted to be a nurse, and in my late 20s I was able to start down the path to becoming one. Unexpectedly, I began my career […]
All my adult life, I was in finance. In the early 2000s, there was a real boom in the market, so I made a lot of money as a young adult—probably more than any young adult should make. With all that money comes a lot of irresponsibility. In many cases, when someone is doing well […]
If you have been diagnosed with kidney disease and informed you need a kidney transplant, you may be wondering how to go about finding a living kidney donor. If you have been approved for a kidney transplant, you will need to join the national waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor. However, finding […]
More than 90,000 people in the United States need a kidney transplant. In most cases, a transplant using a kidney from a living donor is the best option. Searching for a living donor requires a great deal of work, however, and kidney patients can’t do it all alone. A kidney donor search champion is someone […]
Melissa Coleman Godfrey, Transplant Outreach Coordinator, Penn Transplant Institute
The holiday season can be a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration with family and loved ones. However, if you have been diagnosed with kidney failure and are searching for a living kidney donor, the holidays can also be a stressful and anxious time as you decide how much of your health condition to share […]