Kevin Aniess needs a kidney to live.
WILL YOU BE HIS HERO?
Kidney Donation Needed for Hardworking Family Man
A letter from the heart written by Kevin’s daughter Dawn
Growing up, my dad was a hard worker. He was a businessman and always had a good job. While he didn’t need to, he took on extra side hustles to give my family the best life he could. When I was a kid, he really wanted to buy me a full set of World Book Encyclopedias as he felt learning was important. However, they were very expensive. In order to make sure I could have a set of my own, he sold sets to others in order to earn a free set for me. He always made sure I had every opportunity he could give me.
When my dad wasn’t working, he was a loving and dedicated family man. He was always home for dinner, took my mom on a date every Saturday night, and planned fun family activities every weekend whether it was going to the movies, a Phillies game, or an amusement park. We went on nice family vacations each year. He was an involved dad showing up for every dance recital and school show I was in and taking an interest in my daily life.
After I got married and had my own family, when my dad wasn’t working, my parents had a busy life going out to dinner, to see shows and concerts, and traveling. In the last several years, my mom started developing several health issues that became exacerbated during the pandemic. My dad retired and became her full-time caretaker. Sadly, my parents suddenly could no longer live the active life they loved.
Unfortunately, my mom passed away in May of 2024 after a strew of health issues and ultimately, going into kidney failure. After being a loving and dedicated husband to his best friend for almost 45 years, with much resiliency, my dad started making a new life for himself. He started traveling again and became more involved with his grandson. He was finally creating a new life for himself as a widower when a week before Thanksgiving of that same year, he ended up in the hospital in complete kidney failure related to an autoimmune disorder. Immediately, he started on permanent dialysis three days a week and canceled his several upcoming travel plans. Again, he was faced with another major challenge and without the support of my mom.
As he has become used to dialysis, he has started to find ways to live his life again. He says while he may be in his early 70’s, he feels 50 with a desire to enjoy many more years of spending time with his family, especially his grandson, and having fun. While dialysis is currently keeping him alive, unfortunately, it is only a temporary solution. A kidney transplant would provide him with a longer and more fulfilling life. Please consider the altruistic act of being a kidney donor.
Why Be a Living Kidney Donor?
Becoming a living kidney donor can save a life by giving a recipient a transplant that is often healthier, lasts longer, and eliminates the need for a long wait for a deceased donor kidney. For the donor, it can be a rewarding experience that provides personal satisfaction and helps a loved one or even a stranger. Living donation can also reduce the recipient’s wait time, reduce the burden of dialysis, and allow for more control over the scheduling of the surgery.
BENEFITS FOR THE RECIPIENT
Shorter wait time
Recipients can avoid the long wait for a deceased donor, which can be several years.
Improved health outcomes
Kidneys from living donors are often healthier and have better long-term survival rates than those from deceased donors.
Freedom from dialysis
A transplant can eliminate the need for dialysis, or prevent a person from ever having to start it.
Scheduled surgery
A living donor transplant can be scheduled, allowing the recipient and their family more time to prepare for the surgery.
BENEFITS FOR THE DONOR
Personal satisfaction
Donors often report a sense of purpose, relief from caregiver burden, and happiness from helping another person.
Free medical evaluation
The donation process includes a thorough medical evaluation that can identify any underlying health issues the donor may not be aware of.
Improved family life
Some donors report a better quality of life for their entire family, who can enjoy activities together without the restrictions of dialysis or end-stage kidney disease.
BROADER
IMPACT
Frees up organs for others
By removing someone from the deceased donor waitlist, a living donor frees up an organ for another person who does not have a living donor.
Increases organ availability
The organ shortage is significant, with over 90% of people on the organ transplant waitlist needing a kidney. Living donation provides a critical option to save lives.
Questions & Answers
The criteria can vary depending upon different circumstances, but a general rule of thumb is:
- Physically Fit
- In good health with no major medical problems
- Most often between 18 and 70 years of age
For many people being a living donor can be a life-changing experience. Donors say they feel more clarity about their lives and are grateful for the chance to help save a life. Not everyone can be a first responder and save someone’s life when an emergency happens, but almost everyone can become a living donor and give a stranger a life that they would not have without your compassion and generosity.
Kevin has a blood type of A+ however don’t worry if you don’t have the same blood type. The reason is that in order to be a perfect match you would need to have the same blood type and tissue type. That is why the non-profit United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) keeps a database of all individuals and their specific genetic makeup. If you are not a perfect match then your kidney will be offered to an individual who is your closest match and because you mentioned my name I would move to the top of the list and get the next available matched kidney. This is called a Paired Donation. So in effect you are actually saving two lives with one kidney.
You have two kidneys, one on either side of your spine, just above your waist. Each kidney is about 4 or 5 inches long and about the size of a large fist. Most people are born with two, but you can live a normal life with just one healthy kidney.
Nobody wants to have a failed kidney but because you were a living donor you are lucky because then you would automatically move to the top of the transplant list and not have to endure the typical 5-7 year wait while on dialysis. Donating while healthy is kind of like kidney insurance. Also, your medical bills will be covered for your lifetime for any kidney related issues.
In the United States it is illegal for a anyone to pay you for your kidney or any other vital organ.
The National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC) is a program to offer potential and actual living organ donors help with the costs associated with becoming a donor. This includes transportation, lodging, meals, lost wages, and dependent care This reimburses you up to $6000.00. You will receive a credit card from NLDAC to pay for travel expenses and direct deposit or a check for lost wages and child care. The financial coordinator at the transplant hospital will go over all this with you.
The recipient’s insurance pays for the cost of the living donation. The donor does not pay any out-of-pocket expenses for testing, donation surgery, hospital stay and follow-up appointments.
There are currently around 90,000 people in the United States on the kidney transplant wait list. The average person on the list has to wait between 5-7 years to receive a kidney. That is a long time to be on dialysis and every year thousands of people are removed from the waiting list because they become too sick to make it through a transplant and unfortunately many of those people will die waiting for their chance. That is why it is a blessing to receive a kidney from a living donor.
More than 98% of transplanted kidneys from living donors are still working well one year after transplant.
Most of us don’t even like to ask for a ride. The idea of asking someone we never met to be a living kidney donor seems unthinkable yet one out of four people say they would be willing to donate an organ and about 90 to 95 out of every 100 donors say they would not change anything about their decision to donate. They would make the same decision to help someone.
Inquire
Yes, I am interested in being a kidney donor!
The kidney transplant coordinator from the transplant hospital will contact you directly to discuss the process and answer any questions that you might have. Please note that completing this form does not oblige you in any way to move forward. Thank you.
