11/18/2020
Dear friends, family, and anyone who happened to stumble upon this page...
I’ve created this page on behalf of my friend Katie Sturgill. Some of you may already know, but if you dont, this year she has found out that she’s in End Stage Kidney Failure. What this means for her is that in order to stay alive she will need to have life long dialysis treatments, or have a kidney transplant. Even though she’s only 31 years old, this is due to her having type one diabetes for the past 19 years.
Getting a kidney transplant would bring back her quality of life. However, even with being put on the organ donor list, she is looking at a minimum of a 3 year wait. It’s not easy finding a match, ask the 100,000+ people waiting for a deceased donor like herself. Many people die waiting for a deceased donor. There is another option for Katie, and that’s finding a living donor. Asking a family or friend to donate a kidney is incredibly hard, but improves her chances greatly. Also, living kidneys last longer! Here are some other facts about living kidney donations that, I myself, also didn’t know:
-You only need one kidney to live a long, healthy life.
-Most donor surgery is done laparoscopically , meaning only through tiny incisions.
-The recuperation period is usually fairly quick, generally two weeks.
-The cost of your evaluation and surgery will be covered by her insurance. The hospital can give you all of this information.
-You will have a separate team of healthcare professionals to evaluate you as a living donor. Their job is to help you understand the risks, benefits, and look out for your best interests.
Some site for more information:
www.kidney.org/livingdonation
If you are interested in being a donor, or want more information the phone number to call is 858-554-4310
You will need to match her blood type or be one of the following.
Katies is A+ so she matches with A+, A- , O+ , O-
The information you need when calling is her name Kaitlyn Sturgill, and her birth date is 07-17-89.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If donating a kidney is something you are considering, Katie would be more than happy to talk to you about it, or tell you more about her story. She also has access to this page and will be posting. Her email is ksturgill.ks@gmail.com
If donating isn’t for you, you can still help! Please share this page! The more people that see it the better. Power by numbers. I am hopeful that even bringing awareness can get Katie her Kidney.
It is against the law to buy or sell organs, including kidneys. If someone contacts you to buy or sell a kidney, please disregard the request.
