A Living Kidney Donor's Story: Lynne Jimenez Speech at the Sacramento Authors Luncheon 2007

Good afternoon. It is an honor to be here with you today.

Four years ago we learned my father needed a kidney transplant.

It was a shock -- bewildering to my parents. Overwhelming.

My mother had quietly kept my father's last remaining kidney functioning with close attention to every morsel he ate and dose of medicine he took. After we learned about his condition we dubbed her "the mad scientist".

Because my fatheer was otherwise healthy and compliant, he had the option of going on the list for a transplant. But at 76, a five to six year wait on dialysis would be deadly at the worst, debilitating at the least.

It took my parents quite awhile to work up the courage to tell my sister and me what was happening. When they did, we too, were shocked. And we peppered our parents with questions.

Then we turned to the National Kidney Foundation: first, to its web site, and then to the Northern California chapter for information.

There is nothing that makes you feel as alone as ignorance and fear. Only by allaying ignorance can you overcome fear.

The National Kidney Foundation helped our family rise from ignorance, evalutate what we learned, and then make the decision, that with the expertise of the UCSF transplant team, ultimately saved my father's life.

And now, because of the dedication of the Foundation's staff and volunteers, and the UCSF team, my parents are again active -- golfers, gardeners, volunteers -- and I, one kidney shy, am here to thank your for your support of the National Kidney Foundation today. Thank you.

The decision to give my father a kidney was not difficult. And through each pre transplant test, I gave thanks for the research and technology that gave my family the opportunity to stay in tact, because I watched what kidney disease did to my father.

Besides allowing the kidney's failure to poison his organs, it sapped his energy, it diminished his mental sharpness, it made him depressed and weak. He shrank. He turned a greyish yellow. He had to have surgery to prepare a major vein to tolerate the dialysis needles. And though dialysis rid his body of most toxins, it left him very tired. And it drained my mother. They had to drive an hour to a center, spend at least three hours there -- then drive back home, three times a week. Imagine doing that for several years. So many people do.

Every year 50 thousand people learn they need a new kidney -- someone's father, sister, mother, husband. And that number is growing. Right now 75 thousand patients are waiting for a kidney transplant, 15 thousand in california. Every year, more than 3 thousand of them die because time runs out. And with the rise in the incidence of diabetes, especially among young americans, those numbers are expected to rise.

Last year there were 17 thousand transplants performed in the U.S. About a third were from living donors. The rest were cadaveric. The survival rate after one year for those who receive kidney's from a living donor is nearly 98 percent. It's nearly 95 percent for those who receive a cadaveric transplant.

What's more, there's a new program that allows mismatched donors and recipients to be cross-matched with someone else, so a transplant can happen involving three people.

I learned you can become a living donor from the time you're 18 through 65, and that all costs related to the donation are paid for by the donor program. The donor doesn't have to take medicine or use a special diet. And here's a bonus -- well kind of -- your remaining kidney actually grows to take on its new responsibilities.

Now let me tell you how the transplant affected my father. At 7 the morning after the surgery, I dragged my tubes and bottles behind me and hobbled down the hall. I needed to know if it worked. When I peeked into my father's room...he was pink!

Pink and alert, proud of how well his new kidney was working and relieved he would not have to spend so many hours hooked up to a machine for the rest of his life.

And my mother? She was still on alert.exhausted from having carried us all across the finish line -- but finally able to hope that she and my father would have more years together.

Now you don't have to become a living donor. But I implore you to consider filling out a donor card, so that at your death you can give someone else new life. And let your family know your wishes. That's important because they will be asked to sign a consent form.

Now how did I learn all those figures about transplants and about the donor card? I know these things because the National Kidney Foundation of Northern California was there when I needed to know this -- and more. It was there for me and my family. It was there to provide money for research that allowed doctors to help me give my father what he needed. It was there to fund programs designed to ease the burden on families facing the same challenge ours did.

And here you are. Supporting this good cause. As KGO Radio's business reporter I looked into where your money goes on a national basis. According to charity navigator it doesn't go to admnistration. That's kept below 10 percent. Fundraising costs are kept below 5 percent. Nearly 86 percent of the money you give to NKF goes to programs. So you know your money's being well spent.

Kidney transplants give one person an incredible gift, and another an incredible opportunity. You may not realize it, but through your financial gift or organ donation, you have the power to save, extend, and improve another person's life. And I can tell you from experience it feels great. Thank you.