Me & my much better half in Hawaii 2015

Hey to all who are taking the time to check out this page, I can't begin to express my gratitude - Thank you just doesn't seem enough - Just know you are all appreciated!

Anyway, I'll get to it - My name is Chris Gregor (CG to all who know me) - In April of 2022, my wife Connie (CG2:-) and I were busy managing the golf course on San Juan Island - On April 19th I was diagnosed with a severe case of a type of blood cancer (multiple myeloma) and was airlifted to the hospital in Bellingham that night - Unfortunately one of the effects of the cancer was it shut down my kidneys - I immediately began dialysis and have been on it ever since - The good news is that while I nearly died, with positive attitude, excellent medical care and the love and dedication of my beautiful wife, I have put the cancer in the rear view. Wahoo!! - And consequently, I have an opportunity which I, nor my doctors ever thought I would, a chance for a kidney transplant - Hence the reason you are viewing this page

As some of you may be aware, in the world of kidney transplants, there exits two options: 1) A deceased kidney  2) A living donor kidney - The differences are outlined below

Receiving a deceased kidney, meaning a kidney from someone who has recently died is one option - While I may ultimately have to accept that choice, it is not the best preference - First of all, deceased kidneys don't last as long as a living donor kidney - About 10 years vs. appx.18 years - In addition, living kidneys work wonderfully from day-one, while deceased kidneys sometimes take two weeks or more to fire-up - Not to mention that the waiting period for a deceased kidney is 3 to 5 years while a living kidney is ready for implant as soon as the donor passes all health tests and is cleared to go. - So given the option, a living kidney is a no-brainer - If one becomes available of course

 After taking a class from the Fred Hutchinson kidney team, I was informed that many people are willing and eager to become living donors, but they are uninformed on what all is involved in the process and how to proceed - That being said, the information and links below should answer most of your questions - So here you go...

1) As counterintuitive as it may seem, humans need only one kidney to live long lives and thrive - But why then do we have two? Don't know, we also have tonsils and an appendix that we don't seem to need - Medical mysteries I suppose

2) The transplant is relatively easy on the donor - The surgical procedure is minimally invasive - Two or three small incisions are made in the abdomen, which is then filled with air. The surgeon then inserts instruments into these incisions. These instruments have cameras and the necessary surgical instruments on the ends to do the surgery - A three to four-inch incision is made in your lower abdomen to remove the kidney - On average you can expect a day or two in the hospital after the procedure - You'll be back to work in two weeks and full activity after 3 to 4 weeks - The success rate with no complications for living kidney donors worldwide is 99.6% - And from my conversations with the team at UW Medicine, they won't let you anywhere near the transplant table unless they are all but certain of healthy success

3) It is no longer necessary for the donor to be a "match" with the recipient - If the donor is a match, great - You'll donate directly to that person (me) - If not a match, you'll donate to the national kidney bank and the bank will then provide me a matching kidney

4) The costs for the donor are next to nothing - All tests and required health screenings are 100% covered by my insurance - As is the procedure itself, and aftercare, obviously - The only potential costs you may incur are for any travel to and from the hospital, and any overnight hotel stays if needed - That's it -

So that's the gist of it - For more information that you can peruse at your leisure, check out the links below - If, after looking it all over, you'd like to raise your hand and consider giving me one of your extra kidneys, please give me a call; 360-375-3965 or shoot me an e-mail; cg@golfwa.com - Again, either way, I'm beyond grateful for you even looking over this information!

Ironically two women from Walla Walla, one a graduate from my Alma Mater Whitman College, recently had a living donor procedure - Read their story at: Click Here

Check out all the details on becoming a living kidney donor at the National Kidney Foundation

What to expect before, during and after donating a kidney; Click Here

Check out all of the information provided at the UW Medicine Living Kidney Donar Program