Help Ana's life through kidney transplant
rescue_ana@comcast.net
This email is about Ana Rendich, your friend, my wife and mother to three. My
name is Glenn Millis, Ana's husband. I am sending this
letter because Ana has end stage kidney disease. Ana's kidneys are failing and
Ana needs a kidney transplant. Our doctors tell us the
best way to help Ana live is a kidney transplant from someone who is willing to
donate a kidney. So we are looking for someone who cares
enough about other people to be a kidney donor, someone with Type O blood, who
wants to donate the kidney that Ana needs. I am asking
you to please take the time to read this letter.
When your kidneys fail your body is unable to clean your blood. If this
continues untreated death results. People can use dialysis,
some for a long while, to clean their blood. But not for a regular lifetime. A
kidney transplant allows people live to far longer in
most cases, than they would on dialysis only. People with kidney transplants can
live a very long time. The waiting list for a
kidney from a deceased donor is about 7 years. Some people on dialysis die
waiting for a kidney donation. And the doctors tell us
that a kidney donated by a live person works better and lasts longer than a
deceased person's kidney.
The first thing we did was check our family to see if we could donate a kidney
to Ana but no one in our family has Type O blood.
And because Ana has Type O blood we can't participate in a paired donor
transplant. You may have heard that if your friend needs a
kidney and you have the wrong blood type then you can go ahead and donate a
kidney anyway. Someone else will donate a kidney for your
friend in return. This paired donation does not work with people with O blood
types. Since people with Type O blood can give a
kidney to anyone they do not participate in paired donor transplants. They just
give their kidney to the person they want to
help. Ana will get a transplant only if someone with Type O blood will donate a
kidney to Ana.
It is hard for us to make this appeal but the bottom line is that unless we ask
- the one person who wants to donate a kidneyy will
not know about Ana and won't be able to say yes. So we have to ask. I am asking
you to help us do two things.
First please help us spread the word that Ana needs a kidney. The more people we
ask to consider donating a kidney the more likely it
is that a special someone who wants to donate will give Ana the biggest gift she
will ever receive. I am asking everyone we know.
I am asking that you take the time to send this email to your friends. If enough
people who live in local MD, VA and DC find out,
perhaps one person will help. If our friends are willing to help then together
we can draw a big enough circle, larger than any
circle of friends that Ana and I can draw alone, full of our friends and now
your friends, to find that one very special person.
The second thing I am asking you to do is think about how we can spread the
word. One friend is offering to help spread the word in
his alumni association. We have called our church and asked for their help,
perhaps a notice in the church bulletin. Perhaps you
have an idea on how to spread the word and know far better what to do. If you do
please share that with me. I'm Glenn Millis and I
can be reached at rescue_ana@comcast.
If you decide that you want to give the gift of life to Ana, then please call
Eloide Gonzales, Clinical Transplant Coordinator,
202-
877-9035 at the Washington Transplant Center in Washington DC.
Eloide can tell you what is involved. We won't know you called.
And
you can change your mind anytime. Ms. Gonzales will tell you that
there are tests the Transplant Center does to protect you and that
you won't be allowed to donate if it is not safe for you. The
Transplant Center can walk you through everything you need to know
including finding out if you have Type O blood. And if you choose
to be a donor my insurance will cover costs.
If you just want more information please check the following
websites..
For information on living donation
http://www.transpla
or
http://www.kidney.
For information on the Washington Hospital Transplant Center
http://www.beadonor
It's a few weeks to Christmas. Ana and I will be training to use
a home dialysis machine in January and Ana will have surgery to
implant tubes to use the dialysis machine in February. Dialysis
starts in March. Hopefully someone will decide they want to rescue
Ana with a kidney donation before then. Meanwhile we are on a
waiting list for a kidney from someone who died but left
instructions to donate their kidneys. Again that can take seven
years.
This is not the type of letter I thought I would ever write but I
have written it and I am sending it.
I understand if you read this letter and say "this is not for me."
And that is OK. It is not for you. But if you believe in miracles,
please say a prayer for Ana. And please help us spread the word.
God Bless.
Glenn Millis
rescue_ana@comcast.
703-851-2420
We have just found that the donor needs to be between the ages of 16 and 60.