Spread the Word

Rhonda Lee Braun: Gift Of 8 Campaign

Personal | Thunder Bay

Clicks to Register: 4

0% to my goal of

In 2016 our then 14 year old daughter was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease called FSGS. This meant a life long condition that would lead to renal failure at some point unknown and would require a kidney transplant or several. After going through many treatments to put her in remission, she unfortunately was in renal failure within two years at 16. A decision had to be made in regards to what type of dialysis we would choose. The choice was slim as we do not live close to her Pediatric nephrologist team. She ended up on peritoneal dialysis which kept her on the machine every night for 10 hours at home. This was heartbreaking to see as a teen with so many diet restrictions, procedures, medical trips and stuck at home every single night until a transplant could happen, I was very fortunate to pass the tests involved to become her living kidney donor. We had a successful transplant in October 2019. She is now doing well, stable and the healthiest she’s been in years and we are very thankful for this gift of life.

I am truly passionate about organ donation and hope everyone takes the time to register.

Being a living kidney donor has changed my life in so many ways and I am proud to say I did this at 50! I feel so strongly about this cause because our daughter will continue to fight chronic kidney disease her whole life, and is at very high risk of covid and other illnesses due to being on immune suppressants meds to fight rejection. She will require at least one if not more kidney transplants in her lifetime. I feel this continues to need to be advocated for as so many people are waiting for a transplant and diagnosed with kidney disease everyday! Please sign your registration form and have a conversation with your family about your wishes. Many families like our are counting on this for our daughter’s life.