HELP FOR OUR SON: Sharing Our Journey & Asking for Living Donors.
As many of you may know, our family has been navigating a very intense medical crisis. Our son, Jason, is currently fighting a severe infection in the ICU. He has bravely faced Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis (a genetic disease) and has spent the last 10 years on dialysis due to complete kidney failure. Right now, his amazing medical team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is successfully clearing this infection. As soon as he recovers, our primary focus is getting him back on the active transplant list for a combined Liver and Kidney transplant.
Because of his 10 years on dialysis, his body has been through so much. Finding a Living Donor for either a portion of a liver or a kidney would completely transform his life, give him a healthy future with his kids, family and work and cut down his time on the waitlist.
How You Can Help: We are asking our friends, family, and extended network to consider seeing if you could be a matching donor.
• You only need to donate ONE organ type: A living liver donor only donates a portion of their liver (which magically completely grows back in a few weeks). A living kidney donor safely gives one kidney. You do not have to match both. Bev and I have done it and we have had no issues.
• The testing is 100% confidential: The transplant hospital will never tell us who calls or who tests unless you choose to tell us yourself.
• Medical costs are covered: There are zero medical costs to a donor; our insurance and transplant programs cover the testing, evaluation, and surgery. The First Step: If you are between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good general health, you can start the process by completing the confidential online questionnaire via the MedStar Health Living Donor Portal (https://www.medstarhealth.org/services/becoming-a-living-donor) or by calling the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute directly at 1-202-444-3700.
When you call or fill out the form, please state that you want to be evaluated as a living donor for Jason L. Benda, 12/15/1983. Even if you cannot donate, PLEASE SHARE THIS POST. The wider network this note reaches, the better our chances of finding his match. Thank you.
John and Beverley Benda