LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — More than 1,000 people in Kentucky are waiting to receive life-saving hearts, livers, lungs, kidneys and other organs.
But the wait can be long because the need for donors is far greater than the number of people who have signed up to be an organ donor.
In 2018, I interviewed a man who was living with that reality. I caught up with him again, now a grateful kidney recipient, who says it's made a huge difference in his quality of life.
UK College of Medicine employee Chip Hunter had been doing daily dialysis for 5 years because of kidney failure due to polycystic kidney disease.
But in February of 2022, he received a special phone call.
"I just remember my wife waking me up at 6:30 in the morning and I was like, leave me alone, I've got my alarm set for 7 a.m. to watch my team play and she was like no, it's the hospital, they have a kidney for you," said Hunter.
Chip and his wife went straight to UK Hospital for a life-saving and life-changing surgery.
"My numbers keep on getting better. They say the first year is like a roller coaster, your numbers go up and down, but I just had my labs this past Monday and they've never been better. I feel great," said Hunter.
Chip told me it's strange not to depend on dialysis daily. He says he can now do things many of us do without thinking like eating out or going on vacation.
"People take for granted not being tied down to a machine," said Hunter.
UK HealthCare officials say the need for organ donors is great. That's because every 10 minutes, someone is added to the National Organ Transplant List.
"I think there's a lot of healing when someone is able to give the gift of life, especially to the families," said Transplant Outreach Manager for UK HealthCare Elizabeth Powell. "We also hear a lot about the opioid crisis that is going on and it really gives a legacy to those loved ones who have lost someone to that epidemic."
Chip says he hopes his story will encourage others to become an organ donor.
"Not all these people have the support system. Their time is limited with heart, liver, lung, even kidneys," said Hunter. "So, I think you would make a big difference in a fellow Kentuckian's life."
