03/22/2023
*Please share*
Christine is suffering from end-stage kidney failure. Her kidney function is down to 7% and declining. Last week Christine had to start dialysis. She must be connected to a machine overnight for eight hours to clean her blood, because her kidneys can’t.
Christine needs to find a living kidney donor of any blood type to give at the Ottawa Hospital. While we are born with two kidneys, a healthy person can live a normal, healthy life with just one.
Christine is on the waiting list for a deceased donor. But there aren’t enough organs for everyone on the transplant list. If a living donor steps forward to donate to Christine, she’ll get off the list for a deceased donor and everyone behind her will move up by one. The living donor will save two lives!
Christine is a mom, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She loves to go on nature walks, swim, be near the water, and be near friends and family who are uplifting. Christine’s mom lives with her and relies on her. Christine’s kidneys are working hard, but they are failing. She’s more and more tired these days.
Some of Christine’s family and friends applied to be her donor, but none were suitable to donate. Kidney disease runs in Christine’s family. Many of her family members have kidney disease as well.
Christine lives in Ottawa, in Bel Air Heights, in the west end near Algonquin College. If you visited a loved one at Grace Manor on Parkdale, Christine’s welcoming smile may have greeted you at the front desk when she worked there years ago. These days she’s a mailroom clerk at Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Christine had to start dialysis last week. A machine runs for eight hours to clean her blood each night, because her kidneys can’t. A nurse comes every day to help Christine learn to run the machine at home. It’s been sleepless, painful and hard.
Christine loves the water. She loves to swim. But, while she has a port into her body to plug into the dialysis machine, she can’t swim in lakes, rivers or public pools.
After her transplant, Christine is looking forward to taking a trip to Europe. She’ll be ready for some self care after the stress of this journey. She wants to keep appreciating the smaller things in life and to go swimming anywhere she wants, wherever she wants. She wants to give big hugs to so many family and friends.
Christine needs a donor who is 18 or older. There is no upper age limit. Thanks to the national Kidney Paired Donation program, potential donors do not need to be the same blood type as Christine to save her life.
You don’t need to be related or from the same background (that’s for stem cell donation, it’s different). Someone who is not eligible to donate blood may be eligible to donate a kidney, because the criteria are different.
To learn more and apply to be Christine’s donor, contact the Living Kidney Donor Program at The Ottawa Hospital Please call 613-738-8400 ext. 82719 or visit: https://www.tohlivingkidneydonation.com/.
The transplant would be at the Ottawa Hospital. If someone in another city would like to donate, some of the testing could be done in the potential donor’s hometown. The cost of the donor’s testing, surgery and hospital stay is covered by our healthcare system. Additionally, the Program for Reimbursing Expenses of Living Organ Donors reimburses travel, accommodation and food expenses as well as time off work. Up to $5,500.
Thank you - let’s keep sharing and find Christine a kidney donor!
