Kidney Pledges, Pet Care, and Paychecks: The Unexpected Support System for Living Donors with the APKD | EP 35
Send us a textSue Rees returns to share the revolutionary donor protections offered by the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD) that are making kidney donation more accessible and equitable for everyone. As Chief Operating Officer with over 25 years of transplant experience, Sue walks us through the comprehensive "Donor Protect" program designed to eliminate financial barriers while safeguarding donors' futures.We explore how the Alliance reimburses lost wages (up to $10,000), covers travel expenses for both donors and their support persons, and even provides dependent and pet care assistance. Sue explains their innovative "Home Advantage" program, which allows donors to recover locally while their kidneys are shipped to recipients across the country. Most fascinating are the various pledge programs that protect donors and their loved ones: the Advanced Donation Pledge, the Family Pledge, the Friend Pledge, and the Kidney Promise.The conversation takes a global turn as Sue reveals how APKD's international initiatives are creating life-saving matches across borders. "Our differences can save our lives," she explains, sharing the remarkable story of a Mexican poet with 94% antibodies who found her match in Wisconsin. This global kidney exchange program demonstrates how genetic diversity across populations can be the key to finding matches for highly sensitized patients.Sue's personal journey into transplant care adds emotional depth to the discussion. After losing her father to glioblastoma, she was profoundly moved by his nurse's compassion: "I want to be that for somebody," she decided. Today, through her work with the Alliance, Sue helps give second chances to patients and families facing medical crises.Whether you're considering donation or simply curious about advances in transplant care, this episode offers invaluable insights into the protections that make kidney donation safer and more accessible than ever before.SHOW LINKS:Alliance for Paired Kidney DonationDonor ProtectMexican Kidney Exchange StoryDonor Diaries WebsiteDonor Diaries on FacebookGiftWorks WebsiteConnect with Laurie Lee
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Building a Legacy of Life: The Origins of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation | EP 34
Send us a textWhat happens when a transplant surgeon, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, and a willingness to trust strangers come together? A revolution in kidney donation that has saved 20,000 lives and counting.Meet Dr. Michael Rees and Sue Rees, the power couple behind the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation. In this captivating first installment of our two-part season finale, we journey back to 2007 when kidney paired exchange was in its infancy and most surgeons believed all transplant surgeries had to happen simultaneously to prevent donors from backing out.Dr. Rees takes us behind the scenes of his radical experiment: what if we trusted donors to follow through on their promises even after their loved ones received kidneys? The medical establishment warned this trust-based approach could collapse the entire system. Undeterred, Mike vetted the first chain participant over a steak dinner, separated surgeries by weeks instead of performing them simultaneously, and created what would become what is now a common practice- Non‑Simultaneous Extended Altruistic-Donor chains.Sue shares the heartbreaking reality that confronted her as a transplant coordinator: watching patients remain on dialysis despite having willing but incompatible donors.Through their pioneering work with the Alliance's sophisticated matching algorithm, the Rees’ have transformed how we think about organ donation, proving that human goodness and trust can overcome medical skepticism and logistical challenges.Whether you're curious about organ donation, inspired by medical innovation, or simply love stories of human connection, this episode reminds us that our differences—even incompatible blood types—can ultimately save each other's lives.SHOW LINKS:Alliance for Paired Kidney DonationNew England Journal of Medicine ArticlePeople Magazine ArticleDonor Diaries WebsiteDonor Diaries on FacebookGiftWorks WebsiteConnect with Laurie Lee
Donor Diaries is a podcast that delves into the beauty and complexity of living organ donation. Tune in to hear extraordinary stories of people who choose to share their organs and give the gift of life. The world of kidney and organ donation is a powerful testament to kindness, love, and the human spirit.With over 90,000 individuals on the kidney transplant waitlist and about 13 people dying each day while waiting, the urgency is real. One in three Americans is at risk for chronic kidney disease, and one in nine already suffers from it, often unknowingly.Donor Diaries offers unfiltered narratives from living donors and candid insights from transplant experts, aiming to elevate the conversation around organ donation. Our goal is to bring this crucial issue to the forefront, so no patient has to wait in vain or suffer needlessly.
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