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Terry Young and his wife, Susan, will be getting their steps in this month. Terry at the Toronto West Walk as they walk 45km at seven different Kidney Walks this month to mark the 45th anniversary of Terry’s kidney transplant.

Forty-five years ago, on September 8, Terry gratefully received a kidney thanks to the decision a Winnipeg family made to donate their deceased loved one’s kidney.  “I am one of the lucky ones. The donated kidney I received 45 years ago gave me a chance to live a normal life,” said Terry.

In the early 1970’s, organ transplants were not a common form of treatment for kidney failure. Dialysis was provided to those who were well enough, and people were often required to relocate to larger urban centres where hospitals could deliver life-saving treatments three times a week.

Transplantation was in its infancy and rejection was common. In fact, within three years of transplant, only 26% of people still had their donated kidney. Today, the five-year survival rate for adults with transplanted kidneys is 82% from deceased donors.

“I am very fortunate, and I realize that,” says Terry. “However, like most transplant patients that I talk to, we all fear rejection. But given how fortunate I am, I also realize the need to give back whenever I can. I have been a volunteer with the Kidney Foundation for years. I enjoy the walks because it gives me an opportunity to talk to others who are affected by kidney disease, to hear their stories and, if I can, provide some hope and reason for optimism.”

For Terry, a diagnosis of kidney disease at age 15 while living in a small British Columbia town, meant the upheaval of his entire family as he and his mother moved to Vancouver for dialysis. His older brother stayed with friends to finish high school. Although overnight 10-hour dialysis treatments were life-saving, it wasn’t an easy road. “I had a shunt in my arm because more permanent fistula accesses were just starting then,” added Terry. “It was not uncommon to have the wound get infected, and occasionally the opening would get clogged and they would have to access a new site.”

One in 10 Canadians has kidney disease, and millions more are risk. More than 11,000 people in Ontario are on dialysis today and 1,100 are on the wait list for a transplant.  End-stage renal failure is a permanent, life-changing diagnosis. Undergoing dialysis treatments numerous times, a week takes its toll ... physically, psychologically, and financially, and can dramatically affect the patient as well as his/her family and friends.
“There are not many 45-year kidney transplant recipients around,” said Mr. Young. “Hopefully that will change. Through research efforts, funded in part by The Kidney Foundation of Canada, the success rate of a transplant has improved significantly in the past four decades.

Terry and his wife Susan joined by friends and family walked in Owen Sound, Barrie, Chatham, Toronto, his hometown of Brantford. They will finish their kidney walk tour next weekend in St. Catharines and Tillsonburg.
Didn't get a chance to participate in the walks? You can still make a difference by making a general donation to the walk or supporting one of many walkers like Terry.