Jim Driscoll has been invited to join the Board of the Vermont Kidney Association. "We are a small, all-volunteer organization—no one is paid, and every dollar goes directly to patients. As a 74-year-old dialysis patient with end-stage kidney disease, I chose not to let this illness define my life. Instead, I want to fight back and support others on this journey. I need your help, because I cannot do this alone," he said.
Kidney disease is a devastating illness with no cure. Dialysis can keep patients alive, but a transplant offers the best long-term outcome. Because Vermont does not have a transplant center, residents must travel out of state for care.
Today, more than 70 Vermonters are on the national transplant waiting list. Due to high demand, the wait for a kidney can range from 3 to 7 years. Only about 20% of those waiting will receive a transplant, and of that group, 80% will receive a kidney from a friend or family member rather than from the wait list.
Many others will continue trying to survive on dialysis.
Because of these long wait times, many patients are forced to search for living donors on their own. For some, this is the only path to survival. The Vermont Kidney Association offers several meaningful ways you can help.
Jim Driscol & Family – Board Member of Vermont Kidney Association
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