I’M SHAQUILLE LORD TODAY WE ARE LEARNING THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING DONOR KIDNEY DONATIONS AND HOW THEY CAN IMPACT THE LIVES OF THOSE IN NEED OF A TRANSPLANT. AND I’M JOINED BY LEANNE SAYLOR, MIKE SAYLOR AND TIM CLARK, WHO ARE HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS. WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
WE LEARNED WHEN WE WERE ON OUR OWN JOURNEY 12 YEARS AGO. UM, THE OPTION OF JUST GETTING A DECEASED DONOR IS IT’S WONDERFUL, BUT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE WAIT LISTS ARE VERY LONG IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. UM, WE WERE BLESSED THAT WE WENT TO THE MAYO CLINIC, AND THEY
TAUGHT US THAT IF WE WERE TO FOUND A LIVING KIDNEY DONOR FOR HIM, THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO OUT RUN DIALYSIS. NOW, THAT’S VERY RARE FOR PATIENTS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. BUT BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN WE STARTED, WE TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO FIND A LIVING KIDNEY DONOR
BECAUSE I TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, AND THEN I’LL GO INTO TIM’S STORY IN A MINUTE. BUT TIM IS SOMEONE WE HADN’T SEEN IN A LONG TIME, AND IT WAS THE MOVE, HOHOW IT MOVED ME. SO MUCH OF THIS MAN THAT CAME FORWARD OUT OF OUR PAST, I KNEW
THAT I HAD TO SPREAD THE WORD TO OTHER PEOPLE THAT THAT THIS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE IT’S, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THINK THAT WHEN YOU HEAR SOMEBODY NEEDS A KIDNEY, OH, I’LL JUST PRAY FOR YOU. YOU KNOW, WE NEED ALL THE PRAYERS IN THE WORLD, BUT THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE YOU CAN DO.
AND WE CAN ERADICATE THE WAIT LIST IN THE UNITED STATES, IF WE GET THE WORD OUT THAT A LIVING KIDNEY DONOR, YOU CAN LIVE WITH ONE KIDNEY BLOOD TYPE, DOESN’T MATTER ANYMORE. THERE’S SOMETHING CALLED THE PAIRED DONOR EXCHANGE PROGRAM, WHERE, FOR INSTANCE, IF TIM WANTED TO GIVE ME A KIKIDNEY BUT
HE WASN’T A MATCH, HE COULD GIVE IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE AND AND I CAN’T EXPLAIN HOW THE CHAIN WORKS, BUT THEY’RE CALLED PAIRED DONOR EXCHANGES, WHERE PEOPLE I MEAN, AS MANY AS 24 IN A CHAIN THAT HAVE GOTTEN THEIR LIVES SAVED BECAUSE SOMEBODY LIKE TIM CAME FORWARD. SO IT’S JUST BECOME OUR MISSION
BECAUSE IT IS A NIGHTMARE OF A JOURNEY TO WALK THROUGH. SO I DO WHAT I WANTED PEOPLE TO DO FOR ME AND SPEAK ABOUT THE INSPIRING STORY BETWEEN TIM, MIKE. I UNDERSTAND BOTH OF YOU ALL ARE TRINITY GRADS. TIM. UM, KIND OF TALK ABOUT THAT STORY. WELL, UM, I HEARD THAT MIKE
NEEDED A KIDNEY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I TOLD MY WIFE AT THE TIME THAT, UH, IF I’M HEALTHY ENOUGH, I’D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, SEE IF HE COULD WEAR A MATCH. SO. AND IT HAPPENED THAT WE WERE SO YOU ESSENTIALLY SAVED MIKE’S LIFE. JUST REALLY QUICK, MIKE. I MEAN, HOW DOES THAT FEEL?
AND THEN TIM, UH, I’LL ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION. OH, IT’S IT’S IT’S THE MOST OUTSTANDING THING I’VE EVER EXPERIENCED IN LIFE IS WITHOUT HIM, I’D. I’D BE ON A MACHINE THREE DAYS A WEEK. NOW, I CAN, UH, I CAN HOLD MY GRANDCHILDREN. I CAN PLAY WITH THEM.
I CAN DO ALL THE THINGS I COULD DO BEFORE, UM, BECAUSE THIS DONATION AND, YOU KNOW, MY LIFE’S BACK TO NORMAL, AND IT’S, UH, IT’S ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS I COULD EVER IMAGINE. TIM, DO YOU FEEL LIKE A HERO? NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. UM, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, IT’S JUST.
BY GOD’S GRACE THAT WE WERE A PERFECT MATCH. AND. AND I THINK HE GETS ALL THE CREDIT. YEAH. AND SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW MANY TRANSPLANTS THIS ORGANIZATION HAS FACILITATED, BOTH LOCALLY AND REALLY THROUGHOUT THE US. UH, EACH BITIT OF SOCIAL MEDIA,E GIVE EACH BIT OF MEDIA.
WE, WE DO ENDS UP PRODUCING MORE DONORS. SO ACTUALLY, UM, IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS, IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET OUR NAME OUT THERE, BUT WE HAD DONE MAYBE TEN KIDNEYS, AND I DID RECEIVE THE BELL AWARD, WHICH I WAS SO HONORED TO RECEIVE FROM WLKY. BUT AFTER THAT, THAT PUBLICITY,
IT’S THINGS LIKE THAT. IT’S KEPT US GROWING. UM, PEOPLE HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME NATIONWIDE. WE’VE DONE WE’VE DONE, WE HAVE HELPED TO FACILITATE OVER 500 KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS NOW. AND IF FOLKS ARE LISTENING RIGHT THIS MORNING, IF THEY’RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE, EVEN DONATING, WHERE CAN THEY GO TO LEARN MORE INFORMATION?
WE ARE ON FACEBOOK. BOOK MULLIGAN’S LIVING KIDNEY DONORS ON FACEBOOK. UM, WE’RE IN THE PROCESS OF GIVING OUT OR GETTING PUTTING TOGETHER A WEBSITE, AND I DO HAVE INFORMATION THAT IT WILL BE AT THE STUDIO. THAT IS HOW YOU CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH ME AND MY TWO ASSISTANTS.
THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING BY AND SHARING YOUR INSPIRING STORY. AND AGAIN, IF YOU GUYS WANT TO LEAR
