No one could have told me I would lose my kidneys at age 45. I was a healthy, strong, hard-charging attorney, but I had this little problem with high blood pressure. That little blood pressure problem led to a kidney transplant in 2004. You too may be healthy and strong, but if you suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes, you too can lose yours.
Now, many people may say that dialysis is the solution. While dialysis does preserve your life – it is not fun, it is not cool, and it is not the way you want to live your life. This three or 4-day-a-week, life-saving procedure does help to preserve your life, BUT please don’t be mistaken; people die every day on dialysis while waiting on you to be a kidney or other organ donor. I know I was on dialysis, and I saw people crash while receiving this life-saving procedure.
There are 100,000 people on the national transplant waitlist, and almost half are minorities. This number goes up every day. Over 80% of those people are in Louisiana awaiting kidney transplants. African Americans represent over 72% of the waiting list.
My earthly hero is Allison Sutton, my sister–in–law who stepped up and donated one of her kidneys to me and my family. She is doing well today, and I may not be here today, speaking to you had she not provided this incredible gift of life. Now there are a lot of myths about organ donations and unfortunately, we don’t have enough time today to go through many of them. Please know, the most important thing I want you to take away from what I am saying today is that Donation is about Life, not Death. Please be a hero; continue your legacy. Sign up today to be a donor. PLEASE.
Video Stories:
- Jesse, Clint’s daughter, shares about her father’s journey and why you should register to become a donor.
- Smith family video about two-time kidney recipient Clint and his journey to better health. Register your decision to become an organ donor.
