Help Anna Receive a Kidney Transplant

I’m asking for donations for my mother, Anna Gavin, so she can receive life-saving treatment for her stage 4 kidney failure.

My mom has served as a nurse in our community for over 30 years and has spent her entire life selflessly caring for those in need. From her children to her patients and beyond, she has always been there for people who need help. Unfortunately, it seems like the healthcare system that she's put so much time into isn't there for her.



Growing up, my mom loved going on adventures with us. As kids and young adults, she has taken us to over 15 U.S. states and ventured with us to enjoy summers at the lake in Northwestern Ontario with relatives. Apart from traveling, she has always supported our interests and joins us for events no matter how quirky, such as Wizard World Comic Con (she even cosplayed as Storm from X-Men).

(Mom cosplaying as Storm with my sister, Emma, cosplaying as Pikachu)


People seem to gravitate towards my mother. She makes friends effortlessly wherever she goes, a skill I wish I had inherited — but I suppose it's not so much a skill as it is her warm and welcoming nature. She is very loved by many people and the news of her failing health has really hit us hard as well as everyone in her life.

(Left: Mom with my lifelong friend, Julie... Right: Mom with her sister, Sherry.)


As I’m sure you’re aware, the healthcare system in the USA is unreliable, to say the least. So unreliable, in fact, that medical centers are rejecting patients and suggesting fundraising efforts to afford their treatment (yeah, that’s been in the news lately). Unfortunately, the rampant for-profit attitude of health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry has put up major roadblocks that are prohibiting my mother from receiving a transplant. She has less than 10% function left in her kidneys and has been in and out of the hospital countless times the past few months. We have been trying to secure a spot on the transplant waiting list, but every medical center she has applied to has rejected her because they do not accept her insurance and we have no way to pay the costs out-of-pocket (for those who don’t know, kidney transplants typically cost up to $260,000 plus an additional $17,000 per year for the anti-rejection medications). She has tried switching to different insurance companies but that hasn't shaped up well. She is either rejected because of her condition or cannot afford the premiums.

Her treatment has cost my family A LOT of money out-of-pocket (copays, deductibles, emergency room visits, overnight stays in intensive care, dialysis times per week, etc), and frankly, we can’t afford it (but we don’t really have a choice). We have a substantial amount of medical debt and we aren't even getting anywhere in our endeavor to help my mom. This is not sustainable for ANY family, but my family is at a unique financial disadvantage. My father lost his job two years ago and has not been able to find steady work since. My sister has a disability and is unable to work full-time or bring in any sort of reliable income. My mother is unable to work in her condition; she attends dialysis every other day and is too exhausted to complete even basic tasks on her down days.

This is why my family is asking for donations to help my mom receive treatment and, hopefully, secure a place on a transplant waiting list. We are all at a loss for what to do and we don’t want to lose my mother, but it feels like all these roadblocks in the healthcare system are condemning her death. Please help us out and considering donating—we are grateful for any amount to help continue her care.