Tammy Richards of Buffalo has stage 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD). She's hoping that a transplant will allow her to improve her quality of life and avoid the need for dialysis.
"My kidney journey began when I was 21 years old," she explained. "I had what is known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)."
According to the National Institutes of Health, FSGS is a disease that causes scar tissue to form in some of the glomeruli -- tiny filters in the kidneys that clean the blood.
"I was very fortunate to have my mom donate her kidney and it lasted 20 years," Tammy said. "When it failed, my sister donated her kidney 10 years ago but it is currently failing."
"Getting a new kidney would allow me to have more energy to go on walks, read without falling asleep, and more, just the regular day-to-day stuff that we take for granted until we are unable to do them," she said. "Please consider giving the gift of life. The gratitude that I would have cannot be described in words."
Tammy shared her story with the Kidney Connection. Her profile and contact information is at https://kidneyconnection.org/my-story-tammy-richards/.
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