One Bay Area family extra grateful this Thanksgiving after kidney donation
As Robin Pearson gets ready to welcome her loved ones at her home in Danville this Thanksgiving, she has plenty to be thankful for.
In fact, you could argue that when it comes to being grateful this holiday, few come close.
"We've been through a lot as a family," she said.
It all started 30 years ago, when her brother Kevin was diagnosed with kidney failure. Their younger sibling, Brian, didn't hesitate and donated one of his own.
"Despite all the 'noogies' and all the 'wedgies' and all the torments that he gave me when I was a kid, I was definitely able to step up and save his life," Brian said.
A few years later, it was the eldest sibling Robin who needed a kidney after being diagnosed with the same disease. Thankfully her aunt was a match.
But just when they thought the worst was over, Brian -- who had donated a kidney to his older brother -- lost his remaining kidney to COVID. Because he had already donated, he went straight to the top of the list.
"It was a huge range of emotions: frustration, anger, confusion," he said.
The only sibling who didn't need a transplant is Bill, the middle child. It was only then that they learned kidney failure runs in the family. Their grandmother and great grandparents all died of kidney disease.
The Pearsons aren't the only ones. According to the National Kidney Foundation, African-American families are three times more likely to have kidney failure than White Americans.
"We're not able to keep up pace with how many people are added to the list each year," said Amy Hewitt, the Executive Director of the National Kindey Foundation on the West Coast.
She said thousands of people die each year due to a severe kidney shortage. That's why she donated her right kidney to a complete stranger in 2022.
"That feeling and creating hope for another human being is so powerful," she said. "Next to being a parent, this is the greatest thing that I've done as a human being."
The Pearsons say it's because of people like Hewitt, they're able to celebrate Thanksgiving together.
"It makes it even more special that we're all here," Robin said.
To learn more about becoming a living donor, go to the American Kidney Fund website.