This is Sandra, Venezuelan, 36 years old, on September 29 she completed 11 years of having her transplant. Her disease started when she was just 2 years old and was diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis, a kidney disease in which the part of the kidneys that helps filter waste and fluids from the blood is damaged. She was in several treatments, but after 20 years both her kidneys collapsed and she started dialysis, it was 3 years and 2 weeks, exactly 550 dialysis. After 3 months of being in dialysis, after a long and complex protocol of exams, she entered the waiting list at the Metropolitan Polyclinic in Caracas. The support of her family and friends was what helped her to cope in the best way with those complicated moments along with her Dr. José Benchimol, who was not only her doctor but her friend helping them reunite in dialysis every time she wanted to give up. They were very hard times, during which many times she wanted to give up, but on September 28, 2010 at 11:00 pm her phone rang, it was her doctor, telling her that Luciano was waiting for her (that’s what Sandra calls her kidney). At 11:00 am the next day she was in recovery and everything had been a success. After 5 days she was at her house. Sandra tells us that she does not complain about anything, that even the medications have treated her very “gently”, with the exception of the side effects of Prednisone. But once they let her exercise, everything returned to normal. At 11 years after the transplant, she has a completely normal life, she points out that “the success has been to take the pills religiously, to exercise and to feel like a completely normal person, as my mother says, I’m not sick, I just have a special condition.” Information on donation in Venezuela you can visit the @ontv_ve page www.ontv-venezuela.org and in the United States you can even register online as a donor through the Donate Life page https://www.donatelife.net/ – “- @slozadap”
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