LOOKING FOR AN ANGEL | Active Grandmother In Need of a Kidney Donor

TRANSPLANT OFFERING BEST HOPE FOR SURVIVAL FOR LOCAL RESIDENT

Trish Wegner of Naperville is looking for an angel. This grandmother of three little girls has a congenital condition called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) which caused multiple cysts to form on her kidneys and liver, eventually making them not able to function. There is no cure for PKD. Eventually you either end up on dialysis or get a kidney transplant to survive. The transplant offers the best chance of survival as dialysis will wear the body down over time and can lead to premature death. In February, she was told that her kidney function had gotten so bad it was time for a transplant.

In Illinois alone, there are over 3,800 people waiting to receive a kidney. Nationally, according to 2014 statistics, 13 people die each day while waiting for a kidney transplant. The chances of survival are better if you can receive a live donor kidney. The kidney works sooner and lasts longer.

Now Trish is looking far and wide. Who can help? The donor must be under the age of 70, not have high blood pressure, other heart disease, diabetes or cancer. Although she is looking for someone with either A or O blood type, anyone can complete the donor paperwork because, if you are willing, you can indirectly help her by donating a kidney to someone else for whom you are a match and who has a donor that is a match for Trish. The transplant center calls it a “swapportunity”.

The first step is to complete the living donor kidney health questionnaire at https://www.nm.org/conditions-and-care-areas/organ-transplantation/living-donor-organ-transplantation (scroll down to downloads and click on the kidney donor health questionnaire and send that into Northwestern. They will determine if you should have your blood tested to see if you are a match. As a donor, you do not pay anything.

“I would love to watch my grandbabies grow up and not be tied to dialysis that will eventually wear my body down,” says Trish. “You never know where that angel on earth will show up and be willing to give me their kidney.” For more information, you can call or text her at (630) 283-2843.

–Mindy Kyle

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