my Kidney Journey 

So, remember high school?

Remember how much everyone just wanted to... get in, do their thing, and get out? Remember how much we all just wanted to be with our friends and fit, and not make too many waves?

Yeah, well, having kidney failure your Junior year kind of implodes that dream. I lost a lot of time in school going to kidney dialysis three days a week, where techs hooked me up to a machine with needles and tubes which sucked all the blood out of my body, filtered it, and pumped it back inside of me. If I'd had time to really think about it, I would have known how cool that is, that we have that technology, but let's be realistic...All I wanted was for that part of my life to be done , for things to go back to normal and to have some of the usual life experiences at the end of high school that everybody else has.

It took a while to figure out that wasn't going to happen. Once you have renal failure, it's something you pay attention to for life. Donor organs don't last forever, especially when we're young.

I'm on the transplant list again, learning that what doesn't break us, shapes us. My disease doesn't define me, but I acknowledge renal failure as part of my life, part of my story, and hopefully soon someday a part of my long-ago history.

That's where YOU come in, if you're willing and interested...

The UCSF Living Donor Project

Would you consider becoming a living donor? Even if you don't directly help me, donating a kidney or part of your liver may be the most caring, present, and meaningful things you ever do. On average in the U.S., 17 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant. By giving the unique gift of a living organ, you offer a second chance at life to someone who is struggling to survive.

Visit UCSF to learn about what it takes to be an organ donor, and to answer a quick questionnaire to see it you might be able to take a life- affirming step on behalf of someone else.

Thank you !

what do the kidneys do ?

Most people don't even know what their kidneys DO, until they're not doing it anymore. When they're healthy, they:

  • Regulate the body’s fluids

  • Filter wastes and clears toxins from the blood,

  • Release a hormone that regulates blood pressure,

  • Activate Vitamin D to maintain healthy bones,

  • Release the hormone that produces red blood cells,

  • Keeps blood minerals in balance (sodium, phosphorus, potassium)

When they're not healthy... ugh. The body is kind of a mess.

Constantly. 

What is Dialysis?

Dialysis can perform regular functions that your kidneys are no longer able to perform themselves.

  • Dialysis helps to keep your body’s potassium, phosphorus, and sodium levels balanced.

  • Dialysis empowers you to live a full, active life with kidney failure.

  • There are 2 types of kidney dialysis: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

  • More and more people are choosing home dialysis, which can offer greater flexibility and better outcomes.

  • The best dialysis option for you is the one that best fits your lifestyle and health needs.

  • Many people switch dialysis types to fit a changing lifestyle at some point during long-term treatment.

How does the dialysis process work?

Dialysis acts as an artificial kidney by filtering toxins, waste, and fluid from your blood through a semipermeable membrane—a material that allows fluids and small particles to flow through it, but not larger particles. The 2 types of dialysis, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, use different methods to filter toxins from your body. With hemodialysis, the filtering membrane is called a dialyzer and is inside a dialysis machine. Your blood is circulated through the dialysis machine and cleaned before being returned to your body. With peritoneal dialysis, the filtering membrane is the natural lining of your peritoneum or abdomen and blood never leaves your body. Both types of dialysis also use a dialysate solution in the filtering process to help remove unwanted substances.