To follow Scott Warren’s quest to find a living kidney donor, “like” his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AKidneyForScottW, or follow him on Twitter, @akidneyforscott.
To apply to be a living kidney donor for Scott Warren, call the Legacy Health transplant center at 503-413-7349 or visit www.legacylivingkidneydonor.org.
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Scott Warren of Vancouver is running a campaign unlike most others.
He’s not trying to persuade people to vote him into elected office. He’s trying to persuade someone to give him a kidney.
“You can live with one kidney,” Warren said.
Warren’s own kidneys failed him in May 2012 — the result of a disease that, over the course of 20 years, slowly destroyed his kidneys without him, or his doctors, knowing.
Soon after, Warren launched his campaign to find a living kidney donor.
Warren read an article about someone who found a kidney donor through Facebook. Warren decided it was worth a shot and launched his own Facebook page, A Kidney for Scott, in May 2013.
Then, he turned to Twitter and Google Plus. He shares videos of himself receiving dialysis treatment. He tells people how they can apply to be his donor. He asks people to give him a kidney.
“You’ve gotta ask,” said Warren, 46. “I’m never afraid to ask.”
Warren made a sign that he places in his car window while he’s working at the busy Fred Meyer at Mill Plain Boulevard and Chkalov Drive. The sign tells passers-by that he’s looking for a kidney and directs people to his Facebook page. He also made bumper stickers with his picture, name, blood type and the phone number to call to be his donor.
Warren also campaigns for others in need of kidney transplants. He frequently shares the pleas of other people from across the country with his 2,100 Facebook fans.
“I think I sort of have a duty to do so,” Warren said. “I don’t think Brian from Colorado is going to take my kidney, so I don’t mind helping.”
“There’s just such a need out there,” he added.
Across the country, more than 100,000 people are waiting for a kidney, and about 19 people die every day while waiting for a kidney transplant, according to Donate Life Northwest.
Kidneys from a living donor are expected to last twice as long as those from cadavers — 20 years instead of 10 years, Warren said. Given Warren’s age, he will likely need a second transplant, even if he finds a living donor. But the longer Warren can go before needing a second transplant, the better, he said.
The wait for a Type O cadaver kidney at the Legacy Health transplant center is about three to four years, Warren said. Given that time frame, his number may be up soon. If that happens, Warren won’t hesitate to accept.
“I’ll take whatever comes up,” he said.
Unusual symptoms
Warren first noticed unusual symptoms in October 2011. He began experiencing episodes when his entire body would itch and leg cramps so severe they would wake him from a sound sleep.
In January 2012, Warren began periodically vomiting in the mornings. That happened one or two times a week.
But it wasn’t until that May that Warren sought help.
“What really led me to go to the doctor was an episode where I passed out three times right in front of my wife,” he said.
Warren’s blood pressure was “sky high.” His doctor put him on blood pressure medications and ran several blood tests. A couple of days later, Warren’s doctor told him to go to the hospital immediately.
The results of the blood tests were in — and they weren’t good. Warren’s kidney function was gone.
“There were plenty of tears shed at that point,” Warren said, “because I knew what I’d be looking at, and this is it.”
What Warren was facing was a life reliant on dialysis and, eventually, a kidney transplant.
That first week in the hospital, doctors diagnosed Warren with IgA nephropathy, a type of kidney disease that occurs when an antibody — immunoglobulin A, or IgA — lodges in the kidneys. When that happens, inflammation hampers the kidney’s ability to filter waste, excess water and electrolytes from the blood, according to the Mayo Clinic.
IgA nephropathy progresses slowly over many years and can go unnoticed for decades. There is no cure.
On June 1, 2012, Warren underwent his first dialysis treatment while still in the hospital. When he left the hospital, Warren was connected with DaVita Vancouver Dialysis Center, where he would continue treatment.
“I’m in a lot better shape now,” he said. “Because at least with the dialysis, my blood gets clean.”
Warren began the process to be added to the transplant list in February 2013. By that August, after months of paperwork, interviews and tests, Warren was added to the list.
With no kidney function, Warren is anemic, always tired and easily fatigued. He has to follow a strict diet that limits his fluid intake to 32 ounces per day and prohibits certain foods, such as dairy, potatoes and tomato sauce.
Still, Warren continues to work, stocking the meat and cheese section at Fred Meyer, to help support his family. Warren and his wife, Debra, live in Cascade Park. Debra’s youngest son, Preston, 22, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car wreck last year. He’s disabled and lives with the couple.
Warren heads into work at 3 a.m. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Warrens leaves work and goes straight to dialysis, where he stays for four hours.
Warren hopes those visits won’t be necessary soon. He hopes to find a kidney donor and return to “the old Scott, where I have all my energy.”
He wants to have the energy to take on the long-neglected yard work. He wants to go hiking with his dogs. He wants to travel again.
“A new lease on life,” Warren said. “It’ll be almost a rebirth.”
“This is not something I’d wish on anyone,” he added.
