A Kidney for Tammy: Family in search of a kidney donor amid national shortage

Oct. 15—BEMIDJI — Tammy Collins and her family have been trying for over a year to find a matching kidney donor. They've started a

Facebook page,

held rummage sales, and even lined up along Paul Bunyan Drive with signs to try and raise awareness.

But with a national kidney shortage, both from living and deceased donors, so far they haven't had much luck.

"Tammy's doctor said she needs to find a kidney, and that's hard, because where do you find a kidney?" said Sadie Myer, Collins' sister.

Diagnosed four years ago with polycystic kidney disease, Collins has already been on the National Transplant Waiting List for over two years. And because she can only receive organ donations from other people with O blood types, the time she's expected to have to wait is longer than others on the list.

"If I was an A or B (blood type), I could have almost any of the kidneys, but it takes a lot longer to get an O kidney," Collins said.

An extra level of urgency was added in September when Tammy's doctor told her that she needed to get a kidney donation as soon as possible.

"They don't know where my health is going to be in a few years, that's why they want me to find one now," Collins shared. "If I find a kidney now I can get it while my health is still there."

While some people who need kidney donations are able to find donors within their families, that's not an option for Collins. Both of her sons have different blood types, and because polycystic kidney disease is hereditary, there aren't any other family members who can donate either.

"My 13-year-old granddaughter offered me a kidney, but she can't because she's so young," Collins said. "She's worried about grandma, but she could also have the same problems that I have down the line because it runs in the family."

So Collins' family has been trying to help her in other ways, putting in incredible amounts of effort to raise awareness and find a donor.

"I can't give her one, so I'm just trying to find my own way to help her out," Myer said. "I have a sign on my car, I started the Kidney for Tammy Facebook, but it's still not getting out to enough people."

Myer shared how she's felt frustrated trying to get the word out, and the disappointment the family has faced in still not finding a match.

"That's where standing by the (Bemidji) lakefront with signs came in," Myer shared. "I was frustrated one day, so I put on Facebook that if you see me standing with a sign, I'm not asking for money or gas — I'm asking for a kidney."

Collins is just one of the thousands of people in the U.S. who are waiting for a kidney transplant amid a shortage of organ donors.

Over 100,000 people who need a kidney are on the national waiting list, according to the

National Kidney Foundation,

and over 3,000 people are added each month.

Because of this shortage, an average of 13 people die while waiting for a kidney transplant each day, and others become too sick to remain on the waiting list.

"We don't have enough to go around (with so many patients on the list)," said Dr. Daniel Louvar, a nephrologist with Sanford Health. "The shortage has been a long-standing problem."

Louvar explained that the National Transplant Waiting List is for organs from deceased donors, something individuals can opt into as a part of getting a driver's license.

"There's been lots of discussion over the years about how we increase the donor pool," Louvar said. "I encourage people to really think about checking off the box on your driver's license application to become an organ donor."

Because of the shortage of deceased donors and the length of time associated with the waiting list, Louvar often encourages his patients to seek out a living donor if possible.

"You're often better off trying to find a living donor," Louvar said. "A lot of the time it's just a matter of letting it be known (that you need an organ donor) and someone might come forward."

This has been the strategy that Collins' family has taken, sharing her story and trying to raise awareness about the need for more kidney donors.

"A social worker told me that they have (an average) of 12 people they could give one kidney — 12 people can't share a kidney," Collins said. "There's a desperate need for kidney donors."

Almost anyone can donate an organ, Louvar shared, either by opting into becoming an organ donor through their driver's license or by volunteering to become a living donor to someone in need.

"If someone is interested in donating to a specific person they should get the contact information for the individual's transplant team," Louvar said. "It's just a matter of a phone call to become a donor."

Once a phone call is made, the potential donor gets their own medical team separate from the individual who needs a transplant, and tests are performed to see if they are a match.

Even if they aren't a match for the person they'd hoped to donate to, there's a paired exchange program that can work around that and find a matching donor.

If someone with an A blood type can't donate to someone with an O blood type, a paired exchange can find a similar pair with the opposite situation and swap the donors. That way both parties get the kidneys they need.

A person donating a kidney would have the medical costs covered by their recipient's insurance, and in most cases, there is also compensation for any work missed during recovery.

"I never say there's no risk to being a donor, but there's low risk," Louvar said. "It's a surgery, you will only have one organ left when you had two, but in most cases, you will live a healthy life."

To inquire about donating a kidney to Collins or to learn more information about becoming an organ donor in general, readers can call the Fargo Transplant Center at

(701) 234-6715.