Why this Blog

My husband, Darryl Alladice, needs a kidney.  He has lived with Sickle Cell Disease all of his life, and, at 58 years old, has beaten the odds.  Sickle Cell is a genetic  disease that affects the red blood cells and causes painful crises.  One of the complications is that it can cause organ damage. He does his  best to take care of himself -- eating right, staying warm, getting a lot of rest, going to the gym, teaching full-time, and spending a lot of time perfecting the craft of writing.  But even so, both of his kidneys lost function in March 2012, when he started dialysis.

Darryl spends 3 evenings a week, from 6-10 pm, sitting in a chair with his right arm hooked up to a machine that filters his blood.   It is strenuous, physically and spiritually.   The only way to get off of dialysis is through a kidney transplant.  According to the National Kidney Registry, transplant recipients generally live twice as long as those who stay on dialysis.

Darryl is on the list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor, but the list has over 93,000 names, and the wait is over 7 years long.  While kidneys from deceased donors are wonderful and last several years, kidneys received from living donors last 20 - 30 years.  So his best chance at living a long and healthy life is to find a living donor.

A donor does not have to be an exact match for him, or actually, even any match at all.  The donor just needs to be healthy, and to make an informed, voluntary decision.

There are 4 ways you can help:

1. Sign up to be an organ donor when you die.  It is easy and fast, and could save several lives. Click here to sign up if you live in New York State.
2. Learn about kidney donation.  Follow this blog, and we will share lots of information and resources.  There are many, many websites, videos and articles on the internet.  Contact us if you want to talk!
3. Consider being a living donor for Darryl.  We all have 2 kidneys - you only need one to live a healthy life. "Share your spare," as they say.   It is not an decision to be taken lightly, but you could save his life.  You may be eligible to be a donor, even if our blood type is not the same.  If you would be willing to consider it, please call Darryl's transplant team at the Cornell-Weill Medical Center at 212.746.3922 and tell them you want information about being a living kidney donor for Darryl Alladice.  The call is confidential - we will not know that you called.  To find out more information about being a living kidney donor, click here.
4. Spread the word!  Please share a link to this webpage with everyone you know.  Put it on your Facebook page.  Tweet it.   The more the word spreads, the better chance we have of finding a donor.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.