This week’s all new Community Focus features Dr. Jane Drenkhahn, Kidney and Hypertension Center, and Stuart Walker, patient at Kidney and Hypertension Center currently seeking to be matched for a kidney

In the United States, there are currently 93,000 people on the kidney transplant wait list. The wait for a deceased donor is between 5-10 years. Eighty percent of people on the wait list are on kidney dialysis. The longer a person is on dialysis and has to wait for a transplant, the sort and long term success rates are negatively affected. On average, receiving a kidney transplant can double someone’s life expectancy.

We discussed the donation process for donor and recipient, and the different kinds of living donation: Directed donation, paired donation, and advanced donation. Discussed many of the perceived barriers to donation such as cost, time away from work, and time in hospital, and how over the years the process has become easier and less invasive.

We spoke with Stuart about how the process has worked for him with previous transplants, his current dialysis treatment, and his work to raise awareness for living kidney donation not just for himself, but others who are in need of a life-saving kidney donation. For more information on how you can help Stuart find a kidney follow Stuart Needs A Kidney or reach out to Tricia Monson at Christ Hospital (tricia.monson@thechristhospital.com) to be tested as a possible donor!

You can catch this interview tonight at 5:45 pm, tomorrow at 5:45 pm, and on Sunday at 9;15 am and 7:15 pm right here on Christian Talk 1160!