How You Can Help

Matt needs your help. . .

The purpose of this site is to tell Matt's story and create awareness about his needs. In this section, you will find there are a few different ways you can help us on our mission. Please know that if being a kidney donor is something you would consider, you will not suffer any financial loss. All of the medical-related expenses are covered by Matt's health insurance and the funds we raise will go toward ensuring you don't incur any travel or time off work related expenses.

LIVING DONATION

The most promising option for Matt at this time is to find a living donor. The likelihood of long-term success with a living donor organ is much greater than that of a deceased donor organ. Plus, it could help Matt avoid years of dialysis treatment while waiting for a deceased donor organ. Generally, the longer one undergoes dialysis, the more his health deteriorates.

A living kidney donor no longer needs to be a close relative, it could be a friend, a co-worker, an acquaintance or a complete stranger for that matter! This is good news for Matt since, unfortunately, none of his family members have met the requirements for donation. Basically, any healthy individual with his same blood type O (positive or negative doesn't matter) and a positive tissue match test result may be considered a potential donor. (If you are not blood type O and are interested in being a donor, there is still the possibility of being a PAIRED DONOR. Please find more detailed information in the PAIRED DONATION section below.)

Factors that would automatically rule a person out as a potential donor are:

High blood pressure if the person is under age 55

Diabetes

Obesity

Heart or lung disease

Recent history of cancer

Hepatitis B or C, or HIV

Inpatient treatment for mental health or chemical dependency in the past six months

The inability to give informed consent to donate

Lack of a donor caregiver or plan for post-operative care following surgery

Matt is working with the Transplant Program through the University of Minnesota. They were one of the first transplant programs in the country to perform living donor transplants, starting in 1963. They have tried to maintain contact with donors over the years to keep track of how they are doing. Their studies have shown that kidney donors do well after donation and continue to have an excellent quality of life, similar to (or even better than) people who have not donated.

There is a wealth of information available if you are interested in learning more. Many commonly asked questions that include everything from the transplant process to financial concerns are addressed on the University of Minnesota Kidney Transplant Center website:

http://www.uofmtransplant.org/Adult/KidneyTransplant/LivingKidneyDonor/index.asp

For initial information about being tested and becoming a donor, please call the referral line:

1-800-328-5465 and select option 1.

You can also call and speak to Matt's living and paired donor coordinators,

Linda Willey 612-625-2186 and Margaret Voges 612-625-2187.

Either one can provide you with detailed information and resources to help you with your decision. The donor team will maintain your complete confidentiality and will not inform Matt or anyone that you've called. It is up to you if you wish to share that information with anyone.

It is important to be informed about kidney donation before making such an important decision and there are many other sources that provide the most up-to-date information:

www.kidney.org - National Kidney Foundation

www.livingdonors.org - National Kidney Foundation

www.optn.org - Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

www.unos.org - United Network for Organ Sharing

We appreciate your consideration of this information and any further steps you decide to take in helping to change Matt's life for the better.

PAIRED DONATION

Paired donation is a newer trend in the transplant community. Previously, it was not explored as often simply because it was more difficult to coordinate. Here is an explanation from the Alliance of Paired Donation website (

http://www.paireddonation.org/

):

"Kidney paired donation matches one incompatible donor/recipient pair to another pair in the same situation, so that the donor of the first pair gives to the recipient of the second, and vice versa. In other words, the two pairs swap kidneys . APD has also pioneered a new way of using altruistic, or good Samaritan, donors, so that the transplants no longer have to be performed simultaneously. Non-simultaneous Extended Altruistic Donor Chains (NEAD Chains ) allow donors to “pay it forward” after their loved one receives a transplant."

Basically, it means that even if you don't have the same blood type O as Matt, you can still participate by donating to another deserving person and, in turn, Matt would receive a kidney!

Thanks to a

pilot program conducted by t

he United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and coordinated by Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), a

nationwide cross-matching system is being developed. The University of Minnesota Transplant Center is currently becoming more involved in this growing trend of paired donation so feel free to inquire with our living donor coordinator, Margaret Voges 612-625-2187, for more information.

The pilot involved four organizations to represent more than 80 kidney transplant programs nationwide, the Alliance for Paired Donation in Maumee, Ohio was one of the programs chosen.

This article from People Magazine tells of the APD coordination of the

longest-running open-ended kidney transplant chain which changed the lives of 20 people

:

http://www.paireddonation.org/files/peopleMagazine.pdf

Since the article was published there have been even more stories of successful paired donations across the

nation.

If you are interested more information, Lessa Ennis is an excellent resource. She's not only an intake coordinator at the Alliance for Paired Donation, but was herself a paired kidney donor in 2009 which is why she now does this type of work. She has graciously made herself available to share her experience as a donor also, she loves to discuss it!

Lessa C. Ennis

Volunteer Intake Coordinator

lessa.c.ennis@gmail.com

Alliance for Paired Donation

Kidney Donor 2009

512-415-3711

MONETARY DONATION

During the transplant process, the donor does not incur any of the medical costs. The evaluation, surgery and donor follow-up appointments are covered by Matt's health insurance. Although there are grants available to help wit the cost of travel and other non-medical expenses, we want to make sure the donor does not incur any additional expenses or financial losses. We are raising funds to help with any lost income or other non-medical expense associated with this generous donation.

Matt also needs ongoing help due to travel expenses, lack of work and a lifetime of dialysis and anti-rejection medications. Please know that any monetary contribution to support our efforts is appreciated tremendously. It's amazing what we can do even a few dollars at a time!