UPDATE: Young Marine Needs Kidney Transplant

(NOTE: Jake received a donated kindney — please see: BREAKING UPDATE for all the details.) 

In March of this year, we posted here about a young man, USMC Sergeant Jake Chadwick. As you’ll recall, Jake needs a kidney transplant as both of his are inexplicably failing. From all of the coverage provided by KNBC in Los Angeles, KNSD in San Diego, and other news media that carried the story around the country, a donor had been found for Jake and we had great hopes for his recovery. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the initial donation will occur and the search for a kidney donor must begin anew.

Due to confidentiality policies, there is very little information the Center for Transplantation at the University of California at San Diego is able to provide as to the number of potential donors they may have for Jake, so we want to get the word out to as many people as possible – the more people who are tested, the better the chance a donor will be found.

Initial testing is easy from the donor perspective:

• A simple blood test is all that is needed to start.
• It takes about three weeks to receive test results.
• To be considered a potential kidney donor for Sgt. Chadwick, you must be blood type O — it makes no difference whether positive or negative.

If you – or anyone you know – would like to be considered as a donor for Jake, please contact Alejandra Munoz directly at the UCSD Transplant Center: (619) 574-8612.

The Chadwick Family

Have questions? Try the Kidney Transplant Helpline – “Ask an Organ Transplantation Question, Get an Answer ASAP!”