Hi, my name is Michael, and I’m asking for help as I continue living with kidney failure. In December 2024, my mother came home early from work and told me I needed to go to the hospital immediately because I could collapse at any moment. After years of knowing something was wrong and asking for help, I was finally diagnosed with ESRD and stage 5 CKD. On December 19, 2024, I had a catheter placed near my heart, and on December 24 I started hemodialysis. It was extremely hard on my body. Later, I had a catheter placed in my stomach and switched to peritoneal dialysis for 9 hours every day, which was much easier on my heart.

On October 20, 2025, I received a kidney transplant from a living donor in Providence. Unfortunately, because of a major surgical complication, the transplant failed after only a week, and I am now back on daily dialysis. It took about 7 months for me to get stable, with many hospitalizations for seizures, bleeding, low hemoglobin, and difficult treatments along the way. I am now starting all over at MGH as I continue my journey toward another kidney transplant. I’m raising funds to help cover medical expenses related to kidney failure, dialysis, transplant care, ongoing treatment, repeated hospitalizations, and restarting care. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. If you’re able to help, whether by donating, sharing this fundraiser, or spreading the word about living kidney donation, it would mean more than I can say. If anyone is interested in helping me get a new kidney, please go to mghlivingdonor.com and fill out a referral form with my information: Michael Blechar-Melancon, 07/30/2005. I stay hopeful in these trying times and am deeply grateful for any support.