One Lambda Domestic Sales Team Gathers for a National Kidney Foundation Drive for Dialysis
During One Lambda’s 2020 Global Sales and Channel Partner Meeting, the Domestic Sales team came together for a volunteer event with the National Kidney Foundation.
A representative from the National Kidney Foundation gave a short talk on the various programs run by the organization to support advocacy, patient education, and scientific research. As participants learned, the National Kidney Foundation works broadly with clinicians, dialysis centers, transplant centers, and communities to help patients navigate the challenges of kidney disease, organ donation, and transplantation.
The One Lambda team assembled care packages for dialysis patients with handwritten notes of encouragement for each patient. The National Kidney Foundation will deliver the care packages to local dialysis centers in hopes that it will lift patients’ spirits and provide them with educational information on dialysis and transplantation.
Additionally, Angela Terrazas, a three-time kidney transplant recipient from the Los Angeles area, joined the event to speak on her patient experience. Angela suffered from kidney failure at an early age and had undergo dialysis from ages four to six years old. Her first transplant, which she received at age six, lasted until around the time she graduated high school. Unfortunately, she was forced to go back on dialysis right after graduation and remained on dialysis for next eight years.
Shortly after joining the waitlist, Angela was notified that there was a donor kidney available for her. “I was done with dialysis by that point,” she said. “I let it control my life.Angela Terrazas | Heart and Kidney Transplant Patient
Share this story
Transplant Patient Stories
Amy Waterman
Women in Transplantation: Taking Leadership in Transplantation to Solve the Organ Shortage Crisis
Regina Armstrong
The Life-Saving Power of Transplantation and the Need for Further Transplant Innovations
Mona Castro
Giving and Receiving the Gift of Life: Mona Castro Shares Her Family's Bittersweet Transplant Story
Terri Pilawa
Living Life to the Fullest: Terri Pilawa Shares Her Double Lung Transplant Story
Kim Payne
The Grief of Unexpected Loss, and the Healingpower of Deciding on Organ Donation
The second transplant was a success but after some time, Angela was unable to continue taking her immunosuppressive medicine as prescribed. Due to a lack of insurance, she was not able to purchase her medication, and as a result, she began to experience rejection. Eventually, Angela was put back on the waiting list and began dialysis again. For five more years, she waited for a donor organ. This time, dialysis was very taxing, both physically and emotionally.
Angela finally received her third transplant, and in April of 2020, it will have been five years since the surgery. She is now able to work and has access to lifesaving immunosuppressive drugs she needs to maintain the health of her transplant organ.
As a patient who has seen many setbacks, Angela and her story were a powerful reminder of the many patients on dialysis whose lives may be improved by a transplant. With the donor-recipient match and careful post-transplant management, patients like Angela can live a fuller, healthier life. Until then, the One Lambda Sales team hopes these patients find comfort in the care packages provided by the National Kidney Foundation.
Transplant Patient Stories
Amy Waterman
Women in Transplantation: Taking Leadership in Transplantation to Solve the Organ Shortage Crisis
Regina Armstrong
The Life-Saving Power of Transplantation and the Need for Further Transplant Innovations
Mona Castro
Giving and Receiving the Gift of Life: Mona Castro Shares Her Family's Bittersweet Transplant Story
Terri Pilawa
Living Life to the Fullest: Terri Pilawa Shares Her Double Lung Transplant Story
Kim Payne
The Grief of Unexpected Loss, and the Healingpower of Deciding on Organ Donation
