Erik Vanderburgh Kidney Transplant

 
Erik Vanderburgh is an amazing husband to Susan, and father to 5 beautiful children.  He is devoted to his family, and to healthy living. You would not know that he was born with damaged kidneys.   He had his first kidney transplant (from our mother as the living donor). That kidney failed after 4 years. The second kidney came from our Dad, about 25 years ago.  25 years is a really long time for a kidney to last.   

Creatinine measures kidney function relevant to muscle mass. Most men with normal kidney function have approximately 0.6 to 1.2 milligrams/deciliters (mg/dL) of creatinine. Most women with normal kidney function have between 0.5 to 1.1 mg/dL of creatinine. People with kidney failure are urged to go on dialysis when they reach 8 mg/dL of creatinine. Erik did not start dialysis until he was at 10 mg/dL of creatinine in March 2017. As of October 2017, Erik is at 11 mg/dL of creatinine. Erik's nephrologist said that dialysis is only 20% efficient at filtering out the toxins, so a kidney transplant is inevitable.

As we know, most people on dialysis cannot wait 10 years for a cadaver kidney. That is the current waiting time on the waiting list at UCLA. Even then, this list does not guarantee a transplant. The transplant and dialysis centers do not have resources to help patients locate a living donor and that is the patient's responsibility. Therefore, if the patient does not have a family member, a friend or an advocate to find a living donor, there is no one to do this job.

Erik is currently on dialysis 9 hours a night and 1 hour during the day everyday. Major changes have taken place in Erik's household.

From our efforts, we had 2 family members test. One family member was rejected as a non-match and the other rejected because of impending health issues discovered during the medical screening. 7 people came forward as a result of our campaigns and were prescreened, but also not considered suitable donors. We are grateful toe everyone who will test for Erik.

Please go to www.uclakidneydonor.org and complete the questionnaire for Erik Vanderburgh, Date of Birth: January 23, 1971 to designate Erik Vanderburgh as the intended recipient. Please note that UCLA will not provide any information to us, even if a donor has registered. We would like for you to let us know if you are going through the screening process. Thank you very much in advance.

Here are the criteria for a suitable kidney donor:
1) Between 25 to 70 years old,
2) Healthy,
3) Blood group O preferred (RH factor does matter),
4) Must have own medical insurance, and
5) Donor's family must be supportive of the donor's decision to donate.

This campaign is to help pay co-pays, ongoing dialysis treatment and for donor costs not covered elsewhere.

People know what a great person Erik is, and see how active he is with his family.  It is really hard to see him feeling so bad, when we are used to seeing him so active and always smiling.

Please join me in helping cover medical costs so Erik can get back to healthy living.

Correspondence may be directed to:
The Vanderburgh Family
29991 Canyon Hills Rd #1709-240
Lake Elsinore, CA 92532

We thank you in advance for your support!