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Kidney Transplant Program

The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories

    Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of Mayo Clinic transplant patients.

    1. The Match of a Lifetime

      When Ed Waters needed a kidney transplant, his wife, Darlene, stepped up to be his donor. The couple was delighted to find that, just as in the rest of their married life, they were perfectly compatible. When Ed and Darlene Waters of Glenwood City, Wisconsin, got married 43 years ago, it seemed they were an [...]

    2. Crafting An Artist's Healthy Future

      Lupus was wreaking havoc on Emily Olson's health. Her Mayo Clinic care team's decision to employ a medication typically not used for this autoimmune disorder, along with a kidney transplant, not only saved Emily's life, it reignited her independence and confidence. Emily Olson has always loved drawing, and she wanted to make a living with [...]

    3. A New Kidney With a Little Help From His Friends

      When Fred Anderson needed a new kidney, he didn't have to look far to find eager donors. His friends Jim Ross and Ted Schreiber both stepped forward. Although Jim ended up being the donor, all three banded together to ensure the transplant journey included plenty of support and camaraderie. Fred Anderson of Great Falls, Montana, [...]

    4. Bidding Farewell to Enormous, Faulty Kidneys

      "Owner of the world's largest kidneys" was never a title Gene Okun wanted to have. Today, thanks to a living donor and a Mayo Clinic surgical team, he no longer does. Gene Okun's kidneys had to go. They were big. They didn't work. And they were ruining his life. "My stomach's so big that it [...]

    5. Kidney Transplant Opens the Door to Lanell Johnson's Next Adventure

      Lanell Johnson's path to a kidney transplant wasn't easy. But now that she's received a new kidney and is enjoying a return to good health, Lanell and her husband are eager to move forward. Lanell Johnson takes pride in what she calls her battle scars ? the result of her long journey to a successful [...]

    6. 'Lobby Days' Offer Life-Changing Information About Kidney Transplants

      After enduring kidney dialysis for years, a conversation Martin Ruiz Zerme?o had at his dialysis center with Mayo Clinic social worker Jeffrey Welch paved the way to a successful kidney transplant. Martin Ruiz Zerme?o's home was melancholy. "When you don't feel well, there's sadness at home," he says. Stealing joy from Martin's life was kidney [...]

    7. Liver and Kidney Transplants Revive Ron Hale's Zest for Life

      A host of serious medical problems put Ron Hale on a downward spiral of deteriorating health. But a liver and a kidney transplant at Mayo Clinic stopped Ron's decline and dramatically improved his quality of life. Diagnosed with cirrhosis in March 2013, Ron Hale spent several long years coping with declining health and frequent hospitalizations. [...]

    8. Bring Him Now: Transplant Teams Bring Together 'Mayo Clinic at Its Finest' For Young Patient

      When 4-year-old Maksim Messerer's kidney function declined suddenly and unexpectedly, surgical staff from across Mayo Clinic quickly came together to perform his kidney transplant several weeks ahead of schedule. New Year's Eve is supposed to be a time of celebration and hope. But for Jeremiah and Rachael Messerer, Dec. 31, 2014, was anything but celebratory. [...]

    9. Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Cements Brothers' Bond

      Always close growing up, a successful kidney donation and transplant strengthened the connection between siblings Jim Von Holtum and Greg Vaske. Jim Von Holtum is the third-youngest child, and the youngest boy, in a mixed family of eight brothers and sisters. His half-brother Greg Vaske was already 13 years old when his baby brother was [...]

    10. In Need of a Second Transplant, Remy Marceau Fights On

      Four years after receiving a life-saving transplant, Remy Marceau was devastated when his body rejected the new kidney. Today he's using humor and hope to buoy his spirits as he waits for another transplant. Remy Marceau of Phoenix never expected to look back with such fondness on the four years after he received a life-saving [...]
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    May 07, 2019

    Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has been recognized as the best Nephrology hospital in the nation for 2018-2019 by U.S. News & World Report.

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    Kidney Transplant Program

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