Help Needed: Brother Still Desperately Hunting Kidney Donor

I posted this message about a young Brother in Washington D.C. back in June, but I wanted to put it up again, as he hasn't had many responses from it, I'm afraid. I very rarely ask for favors like this from brethren and other visitors to this site, but this is important, and I encourage everyone to circulate this appeal. Brother Christopher Stevenson became a Freemason at the age of 20 in Washington D.C. at George Washington University. He is a member of The Colonial Lodge #1821. But he is now in need, and this is NOT something that can be handled by writing a check or passing the hat. 

Christopher is now 26 and is an end-stage renal failure patient in need of a transplant. He is currently in dialysis, and is desperately seeking a potential kidney donor.

From a message sent out by his D.C. area brethren:

Along with his passion for politics, Chris spends most of his time active in volunteer work and working on social issues that impact his community. He is set to start graduate school this August back at the George Washington University to obtain his Masters of Public Administration and his Juris Doctorate.

Although Chris is an ambitious and active young man, he’s unfortunately plagued with kidney disease. Due to this, Chris is often unable to reach his full potential and has to commit himself to the painful and burdensome treatment of dialysis three days a week. As Freemasons, we have the chance to extend the hand of brotherly love and relief in this case.
Chris currently needs healthy candidates to get evaluated for a kidney transplant. Although many of you may believe this is a dangerous procedure, it isn’t. Millions of these surgeries are done every year and living with just one kidney instead of two doesn’t change a person’s quality of life as a single kidney compensates for the absence of the second. Brothers, if any of you are interested in helping Chris or in getting tested to see if you are a potential match please email him directly AT THIS LINK.

Additionally, I have Brother Christopher's cell phone number available if you wish to call him and/or text message him. Please email me at hodapp@aol.com and I will forward it to you privately.

So far, three people have stepped forward to be tested, and he is quite optimistic and hopeful for a positive outcome. But as wonderful as that is, considering the low rate of successfully matching a donor specifically to him, that's not a wide pool of potentials for Christopher to count on. You don't have to live in the Washington D.C. area—you can be anywhere in the country, and this can still be done if you are willing to take this step.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for kidney transplants at the present time, and more living donors are desperately needed. At least 10 people die every day waiting for a new kidney to come available. And everyone who finds a living donor to help them frees up a kidney from a deceased donor for another suffering patient. It shortens the wait time for both patients.

While transplants involving relatives have proven to be the most successful over time because of the blood relationship between donor and patient, that is not an option in Christopher's case. Donors must be healthy and match the recipient's blood type and antigens, so it requires testing to determine compatibility.

Recipients of living donor kidney transplants enjoy proper kidney function for an average of 12-20 years, much longer than if they receive a deceased donor one. This greatly reduces their need for another future transplant. The overall success rates of living transplants are higher than those from deceased donors, as well.

There are scores of questions that a donor will have answered if they are a match for Christopher, so the first step is to be tested to find out if it is even a possibility before considering going further. Live donation is not a decision to be taken lightly, because it does involve surgery and a recovery period. It's one of the greatest and most selfless gifts anyone can offer to make. Some very general questions can be answered on the UNOS website. 

But please contact Brother Christopher if you are willing to consider helping this young man.