Dave Brussee

LIVING Kidney DONOR NEEDED

I have kidney failure. I inherited it from my Dad, and he died from kidney disease at age 60. I am 59 now, so this weighs heavily on my mind. My disease is progressive, and there is no cure. The only treatments are dialysis for the remainder of my life or a kidney transplant. While deceased donor kidneys are an option, the wait time for them can be many years. And the clinical outcomes are much better with transplants from a living donor. My family wants to donate to me, but they have been ruled out for medical reasons. And that's why I'm now reaching out to you.

Other than the kidney failure, I'm in excellent health and good spirits. But because toxins are accumulating in my blood, I have many days when I feel exhausted and nauseous. Sleep is difficult, and I can no longer concentrate on the things I used to enjoy.

I no longer work, but I try to stay busy on small projects around the house and various volunteer work. But I miss the day-to-day challenges of work. And I miss my work friends.

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The waiting list for a deceased donor kidney is long. We relocated to the St. Louis area several years ago because the wait times are shorter here than in many other parts of the country. Nonetheless, I have been on the waiting list in St. Louis for three years. As I continue to wait, I’ve placed ads in newspapers looking for possible donors. Now I’m reaching out to both my personal and professional friends by using this app developed by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and now expanded to include Washington University in St. Louis.

You can help me by learning more about kidney donation and seeing if it might be for you. Living kidney donors will live perfectly healthy lives with one remaining kidney and are carefully screened to see if they can safely donate. In fact, studies show kidney donors actually live longer than average because of the excellent medical care that they receive before, during and after the transplant. My insurance pays for all of the screening and medical costs. Please call the Living Kidney Donor Line at 1-800-633-9906 where they can answer your questions and begin the process.

Even if donation is not an option for you now, I'd be so grateful if you would at least share this post with your network and help get the word out. Thank you!

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