12/03/2025
Please see the following message regarding our community member Ray Tate, who is in need of a living kidney donor:
Dear friends and family,
As some of you might know, I have a rare kidney disease called IgA Nephropathy. I’ve known about it for 20 years, and the disease has slowly caused my kidneys to stop working. Over the last few years, my numbers have gone down dramatically and my kidneys no longer function. I am currently doing at-home hemodialysis treatments.
I have been a high school math teacher for 24 years now. I started this school year teaching. I really love to teach and be in front of the students and be with the students, but medical complications with dialysis have prevented me from being in the classroom. Hemodialysis treatments keep me alive, but limit my time and ability to be with my students and do the things I love to do.
Right now my name is on a kidney transplant list at OHSU in Portland, Oregon. I am eligible to get a transplant and if I have a live donor available I can get a kidney transplant as soon as possible. Having a live kidney donor would mean a lot to me. I could get back to the things I love – gardening, teaching, going on walks, and visiting my daughters out of state. Personally, I am in prayer for it.
Finding a kidney for a transplant is not easy. There are 100,000+ people on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney. The average wait time is five years or more for a kidney from a deceased donor. However, there is another option: receiving a kidney from a living donor. Asking a family member or a friend to consider donating a kidney to me is difficult, but it greatly improves my chances of getting a transplant. A living kidney donation lasts longer and has better function.
You might not know a lot about living donation. I have learned a lot about it this last year. Here’s some basic information about kidney donation:
You only need one kidney to live a healthy, long life.
Most donor surgery is done laparoscopically, meaning through tiny incisions.
The recuperation period is usually fairly quick, generally two weeks.
The cost of your evaluation and surgery will be covered by my insurance. The hospital can give you extensive information on this.
You will have a separate team of healthcare professionals to evaluate you as a living donor. Their job is to help you understand the risks and benefits and look out for YOUR best interests.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story. If donating a kidney to me is something you would like to consider, you can learn more about living kidney donation on OHSU’s website at https://www.ohsu.edu/transplant/living-kidney-donation. If you are interested in becoming a donor, would like to talk to my family, or have any questions, please email my daughter, Lael Tate, at [email protected].
Living donation may not be right for everyone. Please help me by sharing my story with everyone you know. This may reach someone who feels called to consider a living donation.
Thank you,
Ray Tate
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Egh-10jfcaM5y4EiMYcyOPkZEN9SdPHkpRZPyd0papw/edit?fbclid=IwY2xjawOdcQFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFIY0JrNzQ2WlE3THVKbXZhc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsROOA8_V3-hCu6GHOTCZA_VubYyOM46c9QsZLm2YpFUnYrDgnjEDYDZw1t8_aem_et65wwwXo6xB6M9xhjCksA&tab=t.0
Dear friends and family, As some of you might know, I have a rare kidney disease called IgA Nephropathy. I’ve known about it for 20 years, and the disease has slowly caused my kidneys to stop working. Over the last few years, my numbers have gone down dramatically and my kidneys no longer fu...
