Friday, May 31, 2019

I Need a Kidney to Live. Share this Post to Help Me Find my Kidney Donor

I am Augie and I need a kidney to live. Not necessarily your kidney, but someone’s.


Help me by sharing this Kidney4Augie.com on Facebook.  Together we can find that angel able to do the extraordinary by giving the gift of life to save me.

Sharing this post is like throwing a life preserver into the water to save a person in peril.  I'm not asking you to jump into the water with me.  I'm just asking you to throw me that life preserver in your hands.  Just toss it in.  Just share this post.

My kidneys failed due to a genetic disorder called IgA nephropathy that I inherited.  As a result, all of my family members are medically disqualified from donating because of the risk that in time the same disease can manifest itself in them. 

I desperately need an angel willing to step forward to save my life by volunteering to give me a kidney (I am blood type A or O, but all blood types are acceptable through direct donation or Paired Kidney Exchange).

I am registered and approved for kidney transplant at NYU Langone Transplant Institute in Manhattan. 

 Augie and Rosalie with 2 Granddaughters

Donate a kidney?  I know it’s a lot to ask So I’m not asking.  But I am asking for your help in another way.  There is something else that you can do to help me, even if you’re not a donor.  I need you to spread the word by sharing this request Your job simply is to help me spread the word by sharing.


 Facebook Share Link

I am told that the more people who know of my need, the better my chance is of reaching a person willing to be an altruistic donor.  So, now it’s all about getting the word out That’s where you come in. Even if you can’t be a donor, you can be a donor-finder simply by sharing this post or my URL.

 Augie and Rosalie
 
Basics of Living Donation:

When deciding whether to donate, it is important to understand all of the possible medical, psychological, and financial risks. It is okay for the donor to stop pursuing living donation at any point if they decide that it is not the right decision.

For a quick education about living donation, Basics of Living Donation by Explore Transplant, a national consortium of the leading experts in transplant and health literacy, who work to ensure that transplant patients and living donors can make informed treatment choices.

How to Help Me:

Please take a few minutes to use Facebook for a good purpose - to tell the world about me and this website:
  • Facebook:  Post a small public note on Facebook with a link to this website (icon above) and share it to public, not just your friends (so your friends' friends can see it).
    Share to Facebook
Ask your contacts, readers, friends, acquaintances, and businesses to share this post. 

A Word About NYU Langone - My Hospital:

Dr. Bruce Gelb
Surgical Director, Kidney Transplant Program
NYU Langone
Living Donor Kidney Transplant
Milissa’s Story 

Speak with Someone Confidentially and Without Obligation:  

If you'd like to speak confidentially with a knowledgeable independent intermediary who will not disclose your identity to me, feel free to phone Renewal of Life (a 501(c)(3) charity that provides support to kidney donors) at:

718-431-9831, x 209
or email

Renewal will not disclose your inquiry to me or my family. Please mention Augie Abitino when you call.

Your questions will be answered by a qualified professional who is familiar with my case. 

Your confidential phone call will be without any obligation to proceed further.


 Ned Brooks, Non-directed Kidney Donor
Founder of DonorToDonor.org
Delivers a Tedx Talk on His Experience as a Donor

What if A Prospective Donor is Not a Compatible Match? Dr. Robert Montgomery, oversees the NYU Langone Transplant Institute.  His groundbreaking work in kidney transplantation includes laparoscopic innovations and the “domino” chain of kidney transplants.

A paired kidney exchange, also known as a “kidney swap,” occurs when a living kidney donor is incompatible with the recipient.  If an incompatible donor wants to donate their kidney for Augie and is willing to participate in a donor swap, Augie's donor's kidney would be swapped with another donor's kidney that is incompatible with their recipient but whose kidney is compatible with Augie's body.  That saves two lives.

My family and I are hoping and praying that by sharing this website an angel somewhere will be moved to step forward as my donor.  All donor expenses* (medical, out of pocket, lost wages and the like) will be paid by insurance and by our family.*

Help Us by Sharing: Even if you’re not a potential donor yourself, some good soul among your Facebook (and other) friends might be! Please share this now. Do more than "like" or comment.  Likes and comments are the "hopes and prayers" of social media. Shares = action, the action needed here.  Together, we can do this.  Sharing this post could help Augie immensely.  You could be the key to saving her life.  What a gift that would be.

Thank you,
Augie Abitino
 
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*About Costs: Reasonable cost reimbursement is legal.  Title III of The National Organ Transplant Act, 1984, Pub. L. 998-507, allows for reasonable payments associated with the removal, transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, and storage of human organs as well as for the expenses of travel, housing, and lost wages incurred by the donor of a human organ in connection with the donation of that organ.   While reimbursement of expenses is legal, payment for the acquisition of an organ is not.

In addition, our medical insurance covers the costs of medical care and hospitalization for the donor as well as for the recipient.