Hi. My name is Trish. I live in Charlotte, NC with my husband, our 17-year-old son, and our two cats. I enjoy reading, music, making art, playing games with my friends and family, and generally just living the best life I can. I also have End Stage Renal Disease, which makes life quite challenging.  For a bit of background, I was born with certain birth defects that required multiple surgeries in my early childhood to repair. These issues, and the surgeries to repair them, caused damage to my kidneys. We’ve known since childhood that my kidneys would eventually fail and in 2021 they did. I have been on dialysis since June of 2021. Dialysis keeps me alive for now but ultimately a kidney transplant is the best course of action.

While I am on the donor list at both Atrium and Duke, the scarcity of and demand for available organs poses a significant challenge. Although people have been known to live 20 years or more while on dialysis, the average life expectancy is 5 to 10 years. The wait for an O+ kidney from a deceased donor is up to seven years, which is why I am hoping to find a living donor. Any blood type can donate thanks to paired exchange, a program where an incompatible donor/recipient pair is matched with another incompatible donor/recipient pair for a "swap." A kidney from a living donor has less chance of rejection and a better chance of being accepted by my immune system. Kidneys from living donors last longer as well, fifteen to twenty years on average.

A living kidney donor can make an incredible difference in my life and in the lives of all those who care deeply for my well-being. It is truly an act of selflessness and compassion that can offer me a second chance at a healthy existence.

If you are considering becoming a kidney donor, I cannot possibly express the depths of my gratitude for your act of generosity. I am humbled by the thought of someone stepping forward to help me.

If you are genuinely interested in exploring the possibility of becoming a kidney donor and making a life-saving difference, please reach out to me at akidneyfortrish@gmail.com and I will provide you with the necessary information to initiate the evaluation process. If you prefer, you can start the evaluation process with Atrium by emailing them directly at kidneylivingdonor@atriumhealth.org or with Duke by clicking here.

You will also find helpful general information at Kidney.org - Living Donor Info

For those who are unable to donate, your support in spreading the word would be equally invaluable. Please feel free to share this message with your family, friends, and social networks as someone within the extended community may be the answer I need.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and considering my request. I truly appreciate it.  Your kindness and empathy mean more to me than mere words can express.