Want to do the mitzvah of saving a life and thus saving the world? Please consider donating a kidney to me. I’m a retiree and member of the KC Jewish community whose kidney function has deteriorated despite my doing all the right things. Though I’m on the list for a kidney from a deceased donor, there are over 100,000 others also waiting. I want to avoid dialysis (which isn’t a cure) as the five-year life expectancy on dialysis is much lower than for breast cancer.
You can live with only one good kidney; the operation to donate is not complicated. The donor transplant team screens candidates carefully to make sure that it’s safe for you to donate. For example, you must be in good overall physical and mental health free from uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and organ disease. Usually, donors are 18 to 70 years old. The donor’s medical costs are paid by my insurance.
The best and healthiest outcome for me is to avoid dialysis and receive a kidney from a living person. I will have the least-restricted life and can do what I love, including volunteering with several organizations and visiting out-of-town grandchildren and friends.
Perhaps you saw in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle that Martha Gershun donated a kidney a few years ago to someone she didn’t know. She and Dr. John Lantos just published a book, “Kidney to Share,” about the experience. (See KCJC, Community News 4/22/2021.) Other people with KC connections have donated including Aaron Nielsenschultz and Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz. Also, Eric Swim donated to a boy in Israel he didn’t know.
At the least, sign up on your driver’s license to be a donor at death, and discuss with your family so they know your wishes. The lack of deceased donors has led to the shortage of kidneys, so many dialysis patients die before receiving one.
Here’s how you can learn if kidney donation is right for you.
Visit www.kidney.org/livingdonation or contact the National Kidney Foundation’s free, confidential helpline at 855-NKF-CARES (855-653-2273) or email
Contact KU Transplant Center to learn about the process 913-588-0266 (Jordan Schumacher.)
Visit these websites: Donation story https://www.aish.com/sp/so/48937647.html or Gershun & Lantos book discussion: https://kclibrary.org/signature-events/kidney-share
If you would like to explore this journey with me, contact Rabbi Javier Cattapan who will connect us (913-498-2212 Ext. 410.) Please consider donating and/or letting others know of my plight. I know there’s someone out there who is generous enough to do this mitzvah.