All I want for Christmas is a kidney for dad
EUGENE, Ore - Ten-year-old Jake Quinn said he always thinks about his dad getting a kidney. He and his siblings have put a kidney for dad at the top of their Christmas lists.
Jake even spends time telling his friends about dialysis.
“I usually say it’s this place that he goes so he can get his blood cleaned because his kidney's aren't working,” said Jake Quinn.
Jake’s father Nick Quinn had a kidney donated from his mother about 12 years ago. But two years ago his body began to reject the match. He’s been on dialysis for two years and is in need of another O-positive kidney donor.
But finding another match is easier said than done. Because Nick’s body rejected his first kidney from his mother, his immediate family members are excluded from being donors.
Nick’s wife Kristy Larson said Nick is on a national donor list -- and there’s no way of telling when a match will be found.
“It’s kind of like expecting a baby and not having a due date at all. You have to be ready. You need to go to the hospital within an hour of getting the call,” said Larson.
Larson has supported Nick through both of his battles with kidney failure. She said through it all she’s learned not to sweat the small stuff in life.
“When you've been so close to losing someone before, you just realize that a lot of that stuff doesn't matter,” said Larson.
Now, the entire family is hoping for a miracle to give Nick the gift of life this Christmas.
You can find information about being an organ donor at: www.donatelifenw.org. If you'd like to see if you're a kidney donor match for Nick Quinn, you can contactOregon Health & Science Univeristy @ 1 (800 )452-1369
