My name is Brendan Alexander. I am a husband and a father of two and my story begins 12 years ago. I had left my career as a firefighter paramedic to join the world of organ and tissue transplant. I couldn’t believe that I could have a career that made such a positive impact in my community. I was absolutely hooked and I fully dedicated myself to working my way up in the OPO (Organ Procurement Organization) industry and learning many different skills, including tissue and ocular procurement along with organ perfusion. During these amazing years I have been fortunate to have had the privilege to work with many selfless, dedicated individuals within this industry. I have also received the joy of knowing that our work has saved or positively impacted the lives of 1000’s of people.
Unfortunately, or one could say ironically a few years ago, I was diagnosed with IGA Nephropathy. This is an autoimmune disease that effects your kidneys. I was told it would just be a matter of time before my kidneys failed. Since then, I have continued to work as a SPC (Surgical Preservation Coordinator) but as my conditioned worsened eventually I could no longer keep up with the physical requirements that this career demanded and I had to step down. This was a heavy and very difficult decision to make. One that took a heavy toll on me since this career and the impact it made to those in need brought me so much joy. Now my disease has come to a peak, and I have reached stage 4 kidney failure and now I am the one in need of a lifesaving organ.
Throughout my entire life, I have always stayed very busy as a volunteer in my local community wherever I am. This was ingrained into me since childhood. A wonderful gift taught to me by my parents and has brought me much joy. Because of this I have decided to use my journey of needing an organ transplant for something positive. I want to use my experience to spread awareness of the need for organ donation. I want to use this difficult situation that my family and I are going through to do something positive. I look forward to sharing my experience with anyone whom it may help and to continue to give back to my community.
