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Date: 1/5/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW – Social media is used by people to reach others they might never would otherwise. Some users ask for recommendations on plumbers, while others use it to network. East Longmeadow resident Christie “Chrissy” Aarons took to Facebook to ask for a kidney.
About 16 years ago, Aarons, a court monitor with the Springfield District Court, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). PKD is an incurable, genetic disorder in which cysts grow on and overwhelm the kidneys. Since Aarons' diagnosis, she has followed her doctors’ advice on ways to prolong the health of her liver – exercise, eating healthily, limiting salt intake and drinking a lot of water. However, in 2019, her liver function dropped significantly, from 33 percent to 5 percent.
“I always have exhaustion,” Aarons said, due to anemia, a lack of healthy red blood cells. “The extreme fatigue prevents me from doing many daily tasks, such as shopping and cleaning. I have to rely more on my husband to do a lot of household chores. I can’t really travel much, because I can’t walk for long periods of time without feeling very tired and run down. I can’t exercise the way I used to.”
She continued, “Every Christmas, I bake cookie trays with seven kinds of cookies. It was very difficult for me to do that this year.” As a court monitor for Springfield Superior Court, Aarons said, “I can only work because my employer, Clerk of Courts Laura Gentile, has been very helpful in making accommodations for me.”
While not yet on dialysis, a procedure that filters excess fluids and waste from the blood, Aarons has had a port put in to facilitate the treatment if it becomes necessary. When Aarons begins dialysis, she will need to undergo the procedure four or five days per week, for two to three hours per day. Without a donated kidney, she would need to remain on dialysis for life.
Transplant list
Aarons is now on the waiting list at Massachusetts General Hospital for a kidney from a deceased donor.
“I had to go through an arduous process to be put on the transplant list,” Aarons said. She was screened for cancer and heart disease, blood tests ruled out other health problems. “I had to undergo an evaluation with a social worker to make sure I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs, and to make sure I have stable mental health and the ability to comply with doctor’s orders and take meds,” Aarons said. “In short, I am very healthy other than the kidney disease. A kidney transplant would absolutely be lifesaving for me since I have no other medical issues.”
The wait time for a deceased donor with her blood type is five to seven years. Finding a donor is often a race against time, said Baystate Medical Center Chief of Kidney Transplantation Dr. Kenneth McPartland. After living five to eight years on a waiting list, some patients are too sick to undergo surgery when a donor is found, he said, adding that between 5 and 7 percent of dialysis patients on a waiting list die each year before a donor can be found.
Because humans can live with one kidney, finding a living kidney donor is another option. More than 90,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor, according to the National Kidney Registry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that pairs patients in need of a kidney with willing donors. Recipients who receive living kidneys have better prognoses, and while a kidney from a deceased donor lasts an average of 10 to 15 years, a living donor’s kidney lasts an average of 20 to 40 years, according to the registry.
Social media
A dozen people, mostly Aarons' friends and family, have volunteered to give her a kidney, but none have been suitable donors. She is registered with the National Kidney Registry, but instead of stopping there, Aarons sought help by creating a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/kidneyforchrissydonate.
“Anyone who wishes to try to donate a kidney to me can go to www.mghlivingdonors.org to apply. They need to specify it’s for me and include my name and birthdate. They can email me [at christieaarons@gmail.com] or Facebook message me for my birthdate.”
Aaron’s transplant would have to be performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and the average recovery time for a donor is two to three weeks. Aarons assured that donor medical costs are completely covered by the recipient’s health insurance.
Seeking help through social media made sense to Aarons. She said, “The more people who see this, the more likely it is that I will find my hero.”