DONOR | Rob's Story

Rob Ortiz

LIVING Kidney DONOR NEEDED

Hi my Name is Rob and I am 36 years old. This past year I ended up in the hospital where I found out I had stage 4 renal failure and would need to go for dialysis treatment to survive. I can either continue to go for regular dialysis treatments for the rest of my life or get a kidney transplant.

I was diagnosed at a young age with IgA nephrites (also called IgA nephropathy) which over the course of my life has caused my kidneys to fail.

My wife and I recently bought a house, and we are looking forward too many renovation projects and turning it into our home. Dialysis has put our dreams on hold as well as extended vacations we were looking forward to planning. Dialysis only does a fraction of what a healthy kidney would do for my body every day.

Doing dialysis five days a week puts less stress on my body but does take a lot time out of my daily life.

A transplant would offer my wife and I more freedom and ability to live a longer and healthier life together. A new kidney will allow me more time to do the fun things I enjoy the most; like spending time with my family and friends, vacationing without worrying about scheduling treatment and taking my nieces and nephew to a baseball game and be able to enjoy a dirty water hotdog!

At this point treatment options are extremely limited. Even though most of us are born with two kidneys, we only need one healthy kidney to survive. That means you or someone else you know could save a life by choosing to be a living donor. I am currently registered on the deceased Kidney donor waiting list, however there are 100,000+ people waiting just like me.

Asking a family member or a friend to consider donating a kidney to me is not easy, but it will greatly improve my chance of getting a transplant sooner and not have to continue dialysis. I know becoming a living donor may not be for everyone, but you can still help! Please share my story with everyone you know. At the very least I want to bring awareness to kidney disease and living donation.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and helping me find a kidney!

START YOUR JOURNEY

Become Rob Ortiz's Donor

If you are considering being a living donor please use links below to contact Rob Ortiz's Transplant Center. Begin by completing the donor questionnaire

Fill Out DONOR Questionnaire
(INQUIRES ARE 100% CONFIDENTIAL)

Becoming a Kidney DONOR Find a Transplant Center near you

Yale New Haven Transplantation Center

333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520

(866) 925-3897 Email Transplant Center

Did you know?

Medical expenses for living organ donors are 100% covered, and inquires from potential donors are 100% confidential! Contact the Transplant Center to learn more about living donation.

More Donor FAQs

Share the Importance of Living Donation

There are currently 120,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the U.S. Of these, 100,000 await kidney transplants.

The median wait time for a kidney transplant is 3-5 years and can vary depending on health, compatibility, and where you live.

In 2014, 17,107 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Of these, 11,570 came from deceased donors and 5,537 came from living donors.

Every 14 minutes someone is added to the kidney transplant waitlist.

A kidney from a living donor lasts longer and begins functioning more quickly than a kidney from a deceased donor.

In 1995, kidney donation became minimally invasive with a procedure called laparoscopic nephrectomy, which only requires four small incisions. Hospital stay is typically only 3 days after this operation.

Not blood type compatible with your recipient to be a living donor? Kidney Paired Donation (the “kidney swap” program) enables incompatible candidates with a living donor to receive a kidney from a compatible donor.

Last year, over 700 living donor kidney transplants occurred using Kidney Paired Donation.

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