Kidney Exchange Gives One Woman a Second Chance at Life

July 31, 2008— -- Robyn Brandon remembers July 2004 as a month of firsts -- she bought her first house, took her first trip to Disney World with her husband and four kids and, at the end of the trip, she had her first kidney failure.

Within three weeks her kidneys completely gave out, a result of a rare disease, and she was put on dialysis, hooked up to a blood-cleansing machine three times a week.

"I don't want to die like this, on this machine," Robyn remembers telling her nurses. She had lost weight, became depressed, and had come close to death when she contracted a virus. Robyn's doctors hoped to get her a kidney transplant but realized that finding a suitable match for her particular blood and tissue type would be rare.

"I had hope I could live a normal life but when my doctor said that, I went home and cried," she said.

Her husband Alan wouldn't give up on her. As he described it, he watched his own mother, who passed away years earlier, get the "life sucked out of her" enduring dialysis treatments. The Brandons, who have been married for 19 years, would end up making another first -- taking part in a kidney exchange that would involve two other couples, two hospitals, and a cross-country journey of Robyn's new kidney.

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More than 74,000 Americans are waiting for kidney transplants, according to the National Kidney Foundation, and the list continues to grow every year. Only about one-fourth will get one this year. The rest will either die waiting -- on average 12 people a day -- or become too sick for a transplant.

The shortage is so severe that some are taking things into their own hands. Four years ago, "kidney wanted" ads started appearing on Matchingdonors.com, a Web site created by a doctor and his patient, where people can browse profiles created by those in need of kidneys.

The Web site is a nonprofit venture whose stated mission is to augment "the current failing system" and enable those who are sick to find "potential altruistic live organ donors" over the Web. More than 5,000 potential donors have already registered.