Most of you know that my wife, Vivian Fried, is struggling with end-stage kidney disease and is in dire need of a kidney transplant.
You also know that we’ve had a ray of hope in the form of a young lady who has volunteered to be a donor and who tested as a match for Vivian.
You’d think that once you find a donor, things would be easy, but it’s not. We’ve had a lot of issues since then, to put it very mildly.
Our donor has been rejected for transplant by two different hospitals. We’re now trying to get her approved at a third hospital.
She is a beautiful person. She and her family are sticking by us, and we are forever grateful to them for their love and support.
She is actually our second donor. Our first donor was a match, but she eventually backed out due to donation fatigue.
When I say “donation fatigue,” I mean fatigue with the process. It took 18 months for our first donor get things squared away with her personal life – but family pressures finally forced her to bow out.
So now, during National Organ Donation Month, I’m asking for help. Our second donor may not work out. If that happens, we’ll have nowhere to turn if nobody else steps up. 20 people die every day waiting for a kidney transplant.
I understand. It’s a huge decision. But there are a lot of misconceptions out there surrounding kidney donation:
– First, you only need one kidney to live.
– Second, you don’t need to be a match for my wife. You just need to volunteer to be a donor and be entered into the National Donor Exchange Program. That expands the pool of resources, and it just might free up the kidney that Vivian desperately needs.
We’ve set the record for registrations at the Miami Transplant Institute. Lots of people have signed up to be tested for compatibility, but it still isn’t easy. Lots of potential donors get rejected for various reasons.
Now, my wife is Wonder Woman. She’s a superstar to keep soldiering on through all of this. But it’s taking its toll. She’s very weak at times, and we’ve changed everything to accommodate her dialysis sessions. Often when she comes home, the only thing I can do is tuck her into bed, kiss her on the forehead, and tell her how much I love her.
I need you to help her, if you possibly can.
Please call the Miami Transplant Institute hotline at 305-355-5433 and tell them you want to get on the list to be tested as a donor candidate for Vivian Fried.
Click here to watch my full update on Vivian Fried’s search for a kidney transplant.
