Bruce Clark

LIVING Kidney DONOR NEEDED

I am Bruce Clark. I first had kidney failure in 1986 after a severe pneumonia that nearly killed me. Between the disease and the antibiotics to save my life, my kidneys were fried, using my medical terminology. I recovered from the illness but my health declined over the next year and I was diagnosed with renal failure. I went on dialysis then. I was married at the time with four small children. I have spent my whole life active in the labor movement fighting for working people. I was President of my American Postal Workers Union local in Dubuque and also the Iowa State President of my union at the time and never let dialysis slow down that work. I was also an active officer of the Iowa AFL-CIO Board for many years. Fighting for social justice and against racism has always been central to my life.

In 2017 I had the honor of being inducted into to the Iowa Labor Hall of Fame and the Dubuque, IA Area Labor Hall of Fame.

After being on dialysis for 5 years, I received my first kidney transplant which was a cadaver kidney. This kidney lasted for 14 years until I had to go back on dialysis in 2005. In 2007, I was fortunate to get a second transplant from the organ donor list. That kidney has served me well for another 14 years or so.

In 2017 I retired from the Postal Service and was blessed to meet and marry Richard Alper. Richard is a retired Pharmacology Professor and had been living in Connecticut. We moved to Connecticut from Iowa in 2018.

I began having fatigue in late 2020 and my nephrologist said my second kidney was slowly giving out. In April of 2021, I had to begin hemodialysis again. For those not familiar with this it involves going to a dialysis center to be put on a machine to clean my blood for three and
a half hours Tues, Thurs, and Sat. I do pretty well on dialysis at the moment and feel better on the one hand. But Rich and I are retired and of course hoped to travel in our retirement. We both worked hard all our lives and feel we've earned the rest and fascination of travel. We took a honeymoon train trip across Canada in 2017. In 2018 we went on an Alaskan Cruise.

With dialysis of course travel is difficult. We went back to Iowa for family Memorial Day traditions this year but had to line up dialysis sessions in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids on the trip.

Any travel more than a couple days requires including a dialysis Center, which is not always available of course.

I have been evaluated by Yale Hospital Transplant Center for another transplant. This time due to some medical issues, I do not qualify to be put on the donor list. My only chance for a transplant must be a living donor. The prospect of being on dialysis the rest of my life is certainly scary. I have four amazing children and two incredible grandchildren who I want to watch grow up and flourish.

The possibility of another kidney transplant is a life changing and life saving prospect. Our kidneys play a central role in our bodies and amazingly we only need one to be at our best. It is a lot to ask of another person but if you could donate one of your kidneys to me, it would mean the world to me.

If you would consider this at all, all you have to do is call Yale New Haven Transplant Clinic at 866-925-3897. There is no obligation to move forward and they will explain everything involved to you and if you are a possible donor based on your health. It is confidential and they don't tell me who they are talking to.

So it's that simple. Bruce Clark needs a kidney and I hope you might be willing to consider becoming the living donor I need. It would be great in any case if you would help me spread the word by reposting this message and telling your friends about my situation. The wider we spread the word , the better my chances. I have spent my life trying to help other people and now I could use a hand myself. Thanks for reading this.

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