Searching for a kidney donor in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Nearly 100,000 people are waiting for a transplant in the U.S. Steve Wetzel is one of them, and he’s looking at a three to five-year-long wait.

Steve Wetzel was diagnosed with cancer in 2017. His doctors recommended 12 rounds of consecutive chemotherapy, and for a couple of years, his cancer went into remission. But in 2019, he was diagnosed with a different form of cancer. This time, though, the chemotherapy damaged his kidneys. About a year later, he was diagnosed with stage five kidney failure.

“It teaches you a lot of patience. You know, that it’s not going to be an overnight process in comparison to going to a walk-in clinic or a relatively quick fix with medication or anything like that,” Wetzel said.

While he waits on a donor match, Wetzel has to use an at-home dialysis system every night for about seven hours. He gets one month of supplies at a time— they fill nearly an entire bedroom in his home.

It’s not as simple as getting a family member to donate a kidney. Wetzel said a history of cancer, bad blood pressure and more can disqualify someone from donating. On top of that, his blood type is O, which means he needs a kidney from someone who’s either O positive or O negative, meaning he’ll likely need to wait longer than normal.

“The appointments continually can get taxing at times, but overall, it just teaches you to trust the process and be patient with the process, that the doctors have your best interests,” Wetzel said.

He estimates he’ll need to wait three to five years before he’s matched with a donor; he said typically, that wait time is two to three years.

Wetzel said on top of checking in with hospitals, he regularly checks the United Network for Organ Sharing’s kidney-paired program for possible living donors. You can go there as well if you or someone you know is searching for a donor.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.