KELLER

Keller Man Waits for Living Kidney Donor

The wait for a kidney can be three to five years. Hunter Johnson hopes to find a match much sooner

NBC Universal, Inc.

The wait for an organ transplant can be a long one but one Keller man is staying positive that he'll be able to find a match.

Hunter Johnson was an active 20-year-old when a sudden heart attack sent him to the hospital in early March.

That's when doctors discovered he has congenital end-stage renal disease, meaning he was born with kidneys that did not fully function.

"Doctors think that I was born with dying kidneys, currently at stage five," said Johnson.

Now, he's on the kidney transplant waitlist and requires hours of dialysis five days a week.

Most people wait three to five years for a kidney from the national transplant waiting list in the United States, according to the American Kidney Fund.

However, living donations could significantly cut the wait.

Living donors are people who choose to donate one of their kidneys to someone they know or to a stranger.

"To avoid the waitlist and to get the best form of transplantation, living donor transplantation is the way to go," said Dr. Sridhar Allam, Medical Director of Transplant Services at Medical City Fort Worth's Transplant Institute.

"Living donor transplants tend to work right away and they do last longer. Patients come off dialysis immediately and they get to keep their kidney longer than deceased donor transplant," said Dr. Allam.

Altruistic donors, or people who donate with no intended recipient, make up 5% of all living donors.

Johnson and his mother pray that someone, even a stranger, will consider becoming a donor.

"The fact that someone would have given up their kidney so that I can live, I would be truly grateful," said Johnson.

Potential donors aged 18-60 can register here.

The family details Johnson's journey here.

April is National Donate Life Month, which honors organ donors and their recipients.

It also raises awareness about signing up to be a donor.

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