Operation Kidney Bean

I Need Your Help:

I am Shana Pereira and I have end-stage renal failure due to chronic kidney disease (“CKD”).  It’s a silent disease.  It crept up on me suddenly and undetected, but the disease moves fast.  One year later, I am on dialysis and still searching for an angel to step forward and save my life by donating one of their kidneys. Any blood type works as there are kidney exchanges where Cedars Sinai will pair a person up with the best kidney donor out of a group of people. What is therefore needed is a kidney donor who passes the donor test.

Tall order, I know.  It’s a big ask.  So, if you are willing to be tested, please see information below  and if you’re not, I understand and am grateful you’re reading my story.  And, I am asking for your help in another way.  There’s something important you can do to help me (and others with a similar need), even if you’re not in a place to consider donating:

Simply spread the word about my need for a kidney.

I am told that the more people who know of my need, the better my chance is of reaching a person willing to be an altruistic donor.  So, now it’s all about getting the word out to as many people as possible, and I’ll show you how to do that in this post.

Who I am:

I’m just like so many other 30-something women living in Los Angeles…hard working, focused on my career, navigating the single life, and always trying to do more… more yoga, more meditation, more journaling, more apple cider vinegar, lose more weight, make more money, read more books, be a better person, donate more, make more of an impact on the world.  I’m known as a power house who “gets shit done”….a “leave a legacy” kind of woman.  So much so, that my friends nicknamed me Olivia Pope after the lead character on ABC’s Scandal.

Despite that, this disease has me feeling scared, insecure, vulnerable…like my own life is out of my hands now.  I am humbled…and I have to ask for help…something I’m not used to (or at all comfortable with).  But, I am confident in the spirit of human kindness, and so inspired by all the amazing people who want to help – like you!

 

How you can help:
Take 15 minutes to tell the world about this website  (Operationkidneybean.com).

• Email: Send this website to your friends (all of them) by email.
• Facebook: Post a small note on Facebook with a link to this website.
• LinkedIn: Post a small note on LinkedIn with a link to this website.
• Instagram:  Share a picture of someone you love who you would want to get a kidney if they needed it, and include the link to this website in your profile.
• Other Social Media Sites: Post a small note with a link to this website.
  And ask your contacts, readers, friends and acquaintances to do the same (to give this webpage exponential distribution).

Why this is So Serious – My Options:

Most people have two well-functioning kidneys but can lead a full and equally healthy life with just one kidney.  Both of my kidneys are almost fully shut down by CKD.  So, medically I now have only two options to continue living:

• dialysis (life expectancy about 5 years)
• deceased donor (life expectancy 5-12 years)
• transplant (a new lease on life of 20+ years)

According to USRDS data, Kidney transplant recipients fare far better than dialysis patients. I need those additional years in order to continue helping others.

My family members are all in Australia and I am here on living on my own.
Also, if a willing donor is not an exact match, through an arrangement called “Paired Kidney Donation” (kidney swapping) a donor who is not a match for me might be a match for someone else and I would be eligible to receive that person’s donor’s kidney that would be a match for me.

If You’d Like More Information:

For more information, see Cedars Sinai  “Donating an Organ – Cedars Sinai.”
Cedars Sinai – California

To Speak with Someone Confidentially:

If you’d like to speak with someone confidentially (without disclosing your inquiry to Shana Pereira), please call Cedars Sinai and ask for Miguel* at (310) 423-4718. The person calling will need my Medical Record Number:  200914231

Speaking with a Cedars staff member is much better than speaking with me.  They know far more than I do and you will get better information from them than from me.

Keep in mind that a confidential phone call to Cedars Sinai does not come with any obligations to proceed further, so please feel free to contact Cedars Sinai.
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*Cedars-Sinai is a nonprofit academic healthcare organization serving the diverse Los Angeles community and beyond.
Note: It is illegal to exchange money for a kidney. No such request will be granted any consideration.