A Lanarkshire dad of four just wants his "life back" as he hunts for a kidney donor.
Graeme Smith, 40, from Blantyre was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy in 2017 after a family trip to Salou.
The doting dad of four arrived home feeling unwell and suffered extreme swelling in his legs. After a trip to A&E, doctors found his blood pressure to be dangerously high, resulting in tests which led to his diagnosis.
Graeme is now undergoing dialysis treatment which he is "grateful" for, however, he says a transplant would "greatly improve" he and his family's quality of life.
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While speaking to Glasgow Live, his wife, Julie Smith explained how aggressive his case has been: "Graeme's condition has progressed quickly over the last six years, instead of progressing over 10 to 20 years it's reached full kidney failure within six years.
"The fistula in his arm for dialysis is proving problematic too as it's putting pressure on his heart and it's pumping too much blood through it which could cause heart failure.
"Graeme is due to undergo surgery over the summer to help this, but coming off dialysis entirely would be the best outcome for his overall health."
"He started dialysis in March and doctors say it could be up to five years until they find a donor. Myself and my mum went for testing but neither of us are a match."
The 33-year-old shared how she felt about the living kidney sharing scheme, which offers a chance to swap or exchange donor kidneys with another donor-recipient pair in the same situation as you.
However, Graeme's condition can be hereditary, justifying Julie's concerns: "I am in a position where I don't want to go into that yet, in case it did pass and I am not able to help my kids."
He has been on the deceased donor list since January, which is an expected wait of five years. He is now exhausting all routes and hunting for a living donor - giving him the best chance to "be here for my sons growing up".
Graeme and Julie share four young sons together and they said he worries how this will affect their time as a family: "I am so grateful for my dialysis treatment keeping me alive but a transplant would greatly improve my own and my family’s quality of life.
"I want to be here for my sons growing up and right now I am both mentally and physically exhausted with the toll that dialysis is taking on my health, I feel I am only just surviving through each day. A transplant would truly mean getting my life back."
Graeme's sudden diagnosis has taken a toll on the family as it consumes his everyday life. He described himself as "hardworking", and worked every day since he left school. The dad of four was previously a supervisor in a factory, before being hit by the crippling condition.
Julie said: "If he didn't get a donor now he would maybe only last another few years. It was totally unexpected, it now consumes our life."
Graeme recently made an appeal online, reading: "Unfortunately, I have kidney failure . Over time, my health has gotten worse causing my kidneys not to work well enough to keep me alive.
"This is what I am facing now, and my treatment options are limited to dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant. However, finding a kidney for a transplant is not easy. Time is not on my side. Some people wait for years. Many die while waiting. The average wait time is five years or more for a kidney from a deceased donor. However, there is another option: receiving a kidney from a living donor.
"As you can imagine, Asking anyone to consider donating a kidney to me is difficult, but it greatly improves my chances of getting a transplant. A living kidney donation typically lasts longer and has better function."
If being a protentional living donor for Graeme is something you'd like to consider, the details of his care team are as follows:
- 01236 713180
- donatelanarkshire@lanarkshire.Scot.nhs.uk
For more information on living donor donation please visit here.
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