how to get on the kidney transplant wait list

Mr. Garcia was one of the lucky ones.

Not in the born-in-poverty or kidney-failure-by-30 sense. But lucky in the sense that by the time his kidneys failed completely, he was in California where Medicaid pays for undocumented folks get the same dialysis as the US-born and not in one of the 38 states that wait until undocumented people show up to their ERs damn near dead before they will give them a dialysis treatment or three before they send them back out to start the process again five or six days later—even though it is far more expensive than standard care. Because racism.

17 years and counting!

It’s our 17th kidney transplant anniversary y’all! (Check out my latest video for “Real Kidney Talk with The People’s Nephrologist” where I talk about being a kidney donor.)

If it’s not obvious from our picture, my husband and I are both Black. And don’t let the fair skin fool you: We are unapologetically and proudly Blackity-Black.

the medical distrust we've earned

I believe there is a way for kidney function to return.

I believe the truth about that is held back from mainstream.

These are lines from a recent email asking about treatment options for their loved one who has been miserable on dialysis for two years. This email served as fodder for my latest Real Kidney Talk with The People’s Nephrologist YouTube video. I hope you’ll check it out, like, subscribe, share, and let me know what you think. 😉