Donate Life - Darshell McGinley's Story
At a very young age, my mom was diagnosed with a rare disorder called Goodpasture Syndrome. Goodpasture Syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which your body makes antibodies that attack the kidneys and/or lungs. My mom had glomerulonephritis, which is Goodpasture that attacks the kidneys.
In her pre-teens, she underwent surgery to have access placed for hemodialysis and was placed on the kidney transplant list. When she was 13, prayers were answered and she received her first transplant, thanks to an organ donor.
In 1998, my mom starting to get sick again. She stayed in bed more, became more physically ill, and had to go to dialysis more frequently. One late fall afternoon, I stayed with my grandparents while my mom and dad traveled to get mom a new kidney. It was her second successful transplant, thanks again to an organ donor.
In 2012, I finished my first year of nursing school and was able to help mom with her medications, dialysis site care, etc. Mom was sick again and back on the transplant list. She had gone through yet another surgery for placement of a peritoneal dialysis access because her hemodialysis access sites were unusable. Things were not great, but more manageable. One hot summer night, she got a call for a transplant offer so we traveled to Barnes in St. Louis. There she had her third successful transplant, once again, thanks to an organ donor.
Organ donors saved my mom three different times. Those donors gave my mom the gift of increased quality and length of life. I am proud to be a registered organ donor, as well.
Learn More
To learn more about organ and tissue donation, visit our Donate Life page. To register to become a donor in Illinois, visit https://www.lifegoeson.com/.