TAYLOR, Mich. – A Taylor bar is raising awareness of the need for living kidney donors by providing a public space for people on transplant waiting lists to share their information and connect with potential matches.
Meadow Bar, on Ecorse Road, created a board where people awaiting a kidney transplant can post their blood type and the contact information for their transplant center.
For the family that owns the business, it’s a cause that hits close to home.
Michael Watkins, 31, was diagnosed with kidney disease more than a year ago.
He has been on dialysis since then and is waiting to be matched with a donor.
Watkins said he is hoping to find a match within the next year after learning he has a buildup of calcium that could make a transplant more difficult.
“If it keeps happening, it’s eventually going to block it so they wouldn’t be able to connect the kidney to my veins,” Watkins said.
His family planned a raffle to encourage people to sign up to be evaluated as living donors, in hopes of finding a match for Watkins, but he had the idea to help others in need of a transplant.
“We decided to do a fundraiser for him, and I had brought it to his attention, and he’s so selfless, he’s like, ‘Why just me?’ There’s so many people out there that need a kidney,” said Watkins’ mother, Charmaine Mathews.
Mathews said there’s been an outpouring of support, with people reaching out to share their own experiences.
“There was so many people reaching out to us, saying, you know, ‘I need a donor,’ or ‘I’ve gotten a donor, and it’s been such a success, and we wish you luck,’” Mathews said.
According to Gift of Life Michigan, more than 2,700 people in Michigan are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.
Of those, 86% are waiting for a kidney.
Michigan also has protections intended to ensure kidney donation is free for the donor.
“You get a $10,000 tax credit for any expenses going through this, your health insurance can’t deny you coverage because you’ve gone through this, and Michigan is a lot friendlier now to living kidney donors,” said Gift of Life Michigan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Patrick Wells-O’Brien.
In addition to becoming a living donor, you can also choose to join Michigan’s organ donor registry to become a donor at the end of your life through Gift of Life Michigan.
Wells-O’Brien said last year that 177 people in Michigan received a kidney from a living donor, while more than 1,000 received one from a deceased donor.
He said that choosing to become a donor can be a lifeline for those waiting for a match.
“For those people who are waiting on the transplant list, that pales in comparison to the nearly 20,000 people in the state of Michigan who linger on dialysis, and many of them would benefit from a transplant,” Wells-O’Brien said.
For Watkins, a match would mean relief from the time and medical demands of ongoing treatment.
“Just happiness,” Watkins said when asked what receiving a donor kidney would mean to him. “I feel like I spend half my time going to dialysis, going to all these appointments, and it’s just like half my time is dedicated to dealing with it now.”