I have one kidney.
That is not a metaphor.
I am about six months beyond surgery for kidney cancer. I am grateful to be alive, grateful that my body is healing, and grateful for the kidney I still have.
Then I learned that someone I love is living with kidney failure and receives dialysis three times each week.
Three times each week, that person spends hours in a chair while the rest of the world continues around them.
And I cannot give a kidney. Not because I do not want to. Because I cannot. I have one kidney left, and it needs to stay with me.
Regret that time and distance had carried us apart.
Time and distance have a way of revealing not only what we've lost, but what we still have time to restore.
I cannot change the past. But I can choose how I move forward.
The gift I cannot give
There are gifts we would give without hesitation if someone we loved needed them. Reaching the limit of what I can personally give has forced me to look more carefully at what remains possible.
I cannot offer a kidney. I can tell the truth. I can learn. I can share responsible information. I can stay connected. I can encourage someone to ask a qualified transplant center what options may exist.
This is not a direct request for an organ for a named person. It is an invitation to understand a need that affects thousands of families—and to consider one responsible step through official channels.
What dialysis can demand
Dialysis replaces part of the work failing kidneys can no longer do. Treatment schedules differ, but in-center hemodialysis is often provided several times each week and can place substantial demands on a person's time, energy, work, transportation, and family life.
I do not claim to know what it feels like to sit in that chair. I only know what it feels like to wish I could do more.
The national need
OrganDonor.gov currently reports 103,223 people on the national transplant waiting list. It also reports that 17 people die each day while waiting and that another person is added about every eight minutes.
The OPTN/SRTR 2024 Annual Data Report recorded 28,492 kidney transplants across adult and pediatric recipients in 2024. Its kidney chapter reports 6,419 living-donor kidney transplants that year, including paired-donation exchanges.
Texas reports that about 10,000 Texans are waiting for lifesaving transplants and that approximately 85 percent of them need kidneys.
Waiting-list figures change over time. Annual transplant totals describe completed calendar years and should not be read as live counts.
Donation after death
Registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor records a decision that may allow donation after death when medical circumstances make it possible. Registration does not guarantee that donation will occur. OrganDonor.gov notes that only a small fraction of deaths occur in circumstances that permit organ donation.
In Texas, the official registry is Donate Life Texas. A registration decision should also be discussed with family so the people closest to you understand your wishes.
Living kidney donation
Some healthy adults may be able to donate one kidney while living. The process requires careful medical and psychosocial evaluation, informed consent, and an independent donor advocate through a transplant program. Living donation is surgery and is not risk-free.
Eligibility cannot be determined by this website—or by a social-media conversation. A prospective donor should work directly with an accredited transplant center.
When a willing donor is not a match
Kidney paired donation can connect incompatible donor-recipient pairs with other compatible pairs. The SRTR report states that 23.4 percent of living-donor kidney transplants in 2024 were performed through donor exchanges.
That does not mean paired exchange is available or appropriate in every situation. It means incompatibility may not always be the end of the conversation, and a transplant center can explain the options.
What we can still give
Not everyone can—or should—be a living donor. A person who cannot donate still has meaningful ways to help:
- Learn from official sources before sharing claims.
- Register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor if willing.
- Talk with family about donation wishes.
- Offer transportation, meals, childcare, or company when invited.
- Give blood or platelets if eligible.
- Stay connected. Do not wait for a crisis to let someone know where you are.
Not every gift changes the diagnosis. Every gift can change the journey.
Learn
- OrganDonor.gov: official organ, eye, and tissue donation informationU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- OrganDonor.gov: current donation and waiting-list statisticsOfficial current statistics
- OrganDonor.gov: living organ donationOfficial overview
- OPTN/SRTR 2024 Annual Data Report: KidneyFederal transplant data
- Donate Life TexasOfficial Texas donor registry
- Texas DSHS: Living Organ Donation in TexasTexas information and registries
- Medicare: End-Stage Renal Disease informationFederal coverage overview
Understand
Registration after death, living donation, paired exchange, dialysis, and transplant eligibility are different subjects. Each deserves careful information and professional guidance. No statistic predicts an individual person's outcome, and no transplant is guaranteed.
Respond
Perhaps today, you can leave one light on for someone.
Sources and responsible reading
This page combines one person's lived experience with public information from federal and Texas sources. It is educational, not medical advice. Leave One Light On does not evaluate donor or transplant eligibility, collect medical information, match donors with recipients, or guarantee any medical outcome.
Anyone considering living donation should contact an accredited transplant center and receive independent medical guidance. Individual experiences with kidney disease, dialysis, donation, and transplantation vary.