Help Anneke be a Kidney Donor
Donation protected
Please Help Anneke be a Kidney Donor
Out of pure generosity, our friend and coworker, Anneke Berendsen-Antonelli is electing to make the gift of a Living Kidney donation through a program, Paired Kidney Donation. We have established this GoFundMe to help offset the uncompensated expenses that are associated with being a living donor. While the transplant recipient’s insurance will cover the donor’s medical expenses, it does not cover the expenses related to transportation, lodging and meals, childcare or lost wages that the donor incurs.
Anneke’s Story:
In 2016, when Anneke learned that her best friend, Tara’s sister, Keri, was suffering from kidney failure and her only treatment option was a life-saving kidney transplant, simply donating to Keri’s Go Fund Me didn’t seem like quite enough to her. Anneke did make a donation to the fund, but she wanted to do more to help this young, vibrant woman continue to live a full life with her dog, Deja and family and friends around her.
After some discussion with her family and gaining their support, she pursued becoming a kidney donor. Upon clearance from her medical team, Anneke called Keri on her birthday in January 2017 to tell her she wanted to be tested to be her kidney donor.
The donor matching results revealed that Keri and Anneke do not have compatible blood types and therefore are not a donor match, but that didn’t stop Anneke from wanting to help. Through a program known as Paired Donation, Anneke is still able to help Keri receive a desperately needed kidney. Paired Donation (also called paired kidney exchange or paired exchange) involves two sets of living kidney donors and transplant candidates who do not have matching blood types. The two candidates “trade” donors so that each candidate receives a kidney from a donor with a compatible blood type.
On August 24th, 2018, Anneke received a call from the transplant program saying that they have a compatible pairing and that the surgery will take place in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on September 12, 2018. Her right kidney is going to a 35 year-old in Georgetown and Keri will receive a kidney from the paired donor on that same day.
Anneke and her husband, Mike, are facing many out of pocket expenses to travel from Florida to New York for the procedure. In addition, they will incur expenses for post-surgical accommodations, meals and other expenses during the several weeks Anneke must remain in New York to receive medical monitoring and follow up care. Mike does not have paid time off at his job; therefore, he will be without income during the time he travels with her. While Anneke’s employer does provide her with disability pay; it is at a reduced rate, so they will really feel the financial impact. We are hoping this fund helps offset the costs to help Anneke with the financial burden that it will place upon her.
This is a burden that she has willingly taken on, without hesitation, but anything to help ease the financial strain for this kind and generous woman would be so greatly appreciated. It was only as a result of a “side conversation” at work that we even discovered that she was facing these personal expenses. She is doing this strictly to make a difference in the life of another person out of selfless kindness, without consideration to the financial burden to herself and her family.
Please consider helping Anneke ease the burden with even a small donation.
A little about Anneke:
· Grew up in Spencerport, New York
· Currently resides in Tampa, Florida
· Graduated from State University of New York at Brockport in 1995 and is a Registered Nurse
· Has a 20 year old son, Clayton, who is his second year in college and stepdaughter, Talia, who will have her 9th birthday while Anneke is in New York.
· Enjoys working out, swimming and gardening and most of all, spending time with her family.
Anneke with Tara and Keri
Out of pure generosity, our friend and coworker, Anneke Berendsen-Antonelli is electing to make the gift of a Living Kidney donation through a program, Paired Kidney Donation. We have established this GoFundMe to help offset the uncompensated expenses that are associated with being a living donor. While the transplant recipient’s insurance will cover the donor’s medical expenses, it does not cover the expenses related to transportation, lodging and meals, childcare or lost wages that the donor incurs.
Anneke’s Story:
In 2016, when Anneke learned that her best friend, Tara’s sister, Keri, was suffering from kidney failure and her only treatment option was a life-saving kidney transplant, simply donating to Keri’s Go Fund Me didn’t seem like quite enough to her. Anneke did make a donation to the fund, but she wanted to do more to help this young, vibrant woman continue to live a full life with her dog, Deja and family and friends around her.
After some discussion with her family and gaining their support, she pursued becoming a kidney donor. Upon clearance from her medical team, Anneke called Keri on her birthday in January 2017 to tell her she wanted to be tested to be her kidney donor.
The donor matching results revealed that Keri and Anneke do not have compatible blood types and therefore are not a donor match, but that didn’t stop Anneke from wanting to help. Through a program known as Paired Donation, Anneke is still able to help Keri receive a desperately needed kidney. Paired Donation (also called paired kidney exchange or paired exchange) involves two sets of living kidney donors and transplant candidates who do not have matching blood types. The two candidates “trade” donors so that each candidate receives a kidney from a donor with a compatible blood type.
On August 24th, 2018, Anneke received a call from the transplant program saying that they have a compatible pairing and that the surgery will take place in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on September 12, 2018. Her right kidney is going to a 35 year-old in Georgetown and Keri will receive a kidney from the paired donor on that same day.
Anneke and her husband, Mike, are facing many out of pocket expenses to travel from Florida to New York for the procedure. In addition, they will incur expenses for post-surgical accommodations, meals and other expenses during the several weeks Anneke must remain in New York to receive medical monitoring and follow up care. Mike does not have paid time off at his job; therefore, he will be without income during the time he travels with her. While Anneke’s employer does provide her with disability pay; it is at a reduced rate, so they will really feel the financial impact. We are hoping this fund helps offset the costs to help Anneke with the financial burden that it will place upon her.
This is a burden that she has willingly taken on, without hesitation, but anything to help ease the financial strain for this kind and generous woman would be so greatly appreciated. It was only as a result of a “side conversation” at work that we even discovered that she was facing these personal expenses. She is doing this strictly to make a difference in the life of another person out of selfless kindness, without consideration to the financial burden to herself and her family.
Please consider helping Anneke ease the burden with even a small donation.
A little about Anneke:
· Grew up in Spencerport, New York
· Currently resides in Tampa, Florida
· Graduated from State University of New York at Brockport in 1995 and is a Registered Nurse
· Has a 20 year old son, Clayton, who is his second year in college and stepdaughter, Talia, who will have her 9th birthday while Anneke is in New York.
· Enjoys working out, swimming and gardening and most of all, spending time with her family.
Anneke with Tara and Keri
Organizer and beneficiary
Judy Thayer
Organizer
Clifton Park, NY
Anneke Berendsen-Antonelli
Beneficiary
