Transplant Progress Report: February 2011

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To "catch up" on my journey thus far, feel free to visit the following two links ...

My Story : Part 1  

My Story : Part 2

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UPDATE!!! February 2011:

We spoke to Cedars today and they have approved a Living Kidney Donor.

there will be a need for her to travel to LA in a couple weeks for some testing, then I start going back and forth for three weeks from OR to Los Angeles for treatments to get get me ready for surgery that is tentatively the end of March- exactly 5 years from the time I was first listed.

The mood in the house is one of possible hope, but none of us is ready and willing to commit to this too emotionlly due to the road we have travelled the last 5 years.

So, cautious optimism is the word of the day. But thankful for Sarah and her willingness to come forward and offer to help a total stranger and give a kidney.

THANK YOU SARAH FROM THE BTOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!

Now for the hard part, you will notice a bottom over there >>> that takes you to a link for our fund raising effort, We have to cover all the expenses the insurance won't, so would you consider praying about the possibility of giving a little to help us out with those expenses?

Some of the include:

- Sarah's travel to and from LA for her testing (airfare, lodging, food, cars, etc)

- Sarah travel and stay in LA for surgery

- Our travel (at least 4 trips) over three weeks prior to surgery for treatment required pre-surgery

- my one month minimum stay in LA after surgery

- family's travel to/from LA to visit post-surgery

Thank you all for your continued prayerful support of our family. I know it has been a loooooong five years.

Now- onward and upward :)

 

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My story:

Four years ago, I was placed on hold with UNOS for a kidney transplant at Denver Porter Adventist Hospital. I have been waiting for "the call" now for three long years. The main reason is that I have tested high for the "PRA" (Protein Reactive Antibody), meaning that the chances of me matching with a random cadaver donor is less than 20%.

After talking to the doctor today, we are officially ready to start testing Living Kidney Donor candidates.

I will need a living kidney donor.

This is a crucial step for me since we know that I will be a hard match.

To refresh the situation, as a transplant candidate I am required to submit a blood test every two weeks. It basically measures the level of antibodies in my blood at that moment in time.Since my levels have been so high to this point, I stand a greater chance of rejecting at least 80% of the organs that may become available through the general population.

So, it becomes a numbers game.

The more available living organs I can be exposed to for consideration, the higher the chance I have of finding one that will work.

I have been listed for a cadaver donor for more than 7 years.

Right now, they are estimating my wait for a cadaver donor to be 6-10 years.

I don't have that much time.

The best match would come from a family member. John's blood type is different, and the kids are not 18 (the minimum age required to donate) and I have no siblings. This is one drawback to being an only child.

I'm going to step completely outside my comfort zone here.

Since this started, I've been uncomfortable with asking the question of anyone, but as this disease progresses I am beginning to understand that my current treatment is not an effective long term solution. At times and in the back of my hear, I've just assumed this would all work itself through.

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For more detailed information on the process please use this link:

Living Kidney Donor

And to read the story of a friend who donated one of her kidneys,,  

Here's Looking at You, Kidney!

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We have had to begin fundraising to help cover all of the transplant costs not covered by insurance.

This includes things like travel and lodging for the donor, my housing and support for the month or more I am required to stay in Portland after surgery (since we live over 3 hours away), etc.

We have established two methods of fundraising at the moment- (February 2011)

To use Paypal, click the button below:

-or-

To use GiveForward.org, simply click here

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If you are interested in being tested as a living kidney donor, here are some of the pre-qualifying factors:

-Age range 21-70

-Body Mass Index- maximum 32

-No diabetes, High Blood Pressure (even regulated by meds), Metabolic syndrome - things like polycystic ovarian syndrome; a lot of non-steroidal anti (Advil, Motrin, aspirin) 20 over counter/mo max (like for a sports injury or something)

- No significant health history including kidney stones in last 10 years

If you meet these pre-qualifications, then please email me at "jkbach(at)comcast.net with your name, email address and if you would like, your phone number. I will confirm your email and send you some further information to consider.

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Also, another request - would you consider a link back to this post on your site, or Social Media sites? There may be someone out there beyond our scope that would be interested. Maybe not for me, but another person needing an organ transplant. We never know.

Either way, if God lays it on your heart to  participate in this in whatever way, then all glory to Him.