The incidence of kidney disease in South Texas is not just higher than the national average. South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley have the highest rates in the entire country.
An epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and hypertension are the biggest causes of kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, where kidneys alone cannot sustain life. At that point, patients face a difficult choice to stay alive: go on dialysis -- a draining process to cleanse the kidneys -- or seek a kidney transplant.
“Dialysis is life support,” explained Dr. Elizabeth Thomas, a transplant surgeon and director of the living kidney donor program at University Health Transplant Institute. “So many people think it’s routine. They’re like, ‘I go to dialysis three times a week; I’ll find a way to fit it into my schedule.’”
The reality, however, is that people die on dialysis.
“If you took 10 people and put them on dialysis, in five years, half are dead,” Thomas said.
Choosing transplantation
While a kidney transplant is the best way for a patient with kidney failure to regain their health and vitality, the gap between the need and availability is enormous.
The national transplant system known as UNOS reports that more than 94,000 people are on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney, but only 21,000 received one in 2025. The average wait is about five years. During that time, a patient’s health continues to decline.
That’s why Dr. Thomas is a vocal advocate for living donation.
“There are not enough organs for all the people who need them,” she said.
The benefits of living donation
A person needs just one healthy kidney to live a full, active life. Living donors are generous people who give one of their two healthy kidneys to someone who needs it to survive -- often dramatically improving outcomes.
Recipients benefit in several ways:
- They receive a transplant within weeks or months instead of years.
- The kidney begins working immediately.
- Living donor kidneys are often healthier, with better long-term outcomes.
At University Health Transplant Institute, Dr. Thomas helped create the Champion for Life program, which helps patients share their story with friends and family in a non-confrontational way that often leads to a living donor stepping forward.
Even if a donor isn’t a match with the patient to whom they want to donate, the transplant can move forward by being included in a paired exchange: Willing donors are matched with compatible recipients in exchange for their loved ones also being guaranteed transplants.
What it takes to become a living donor
The first step to being a living donor is simply learning more.
“The most important thing for people to know is that you just have to be healthy and interested,” Thomas said. “You don’t have to be perfect.”
That matters, because many people rule themselves out early.
Some worry they don’t have a matching blood type or incorrectly believe they won’t be able to have children. Others are concerned about work, recovery time or family responsibilities.
“Please do not rule yourself out,” Thomas said.
Transplant teams like those at University Health will look for ways to help donors cope with personal and medical concerns. They will dispel the myths that sometimes result in interested donors not stepping forward.
What to expect: surgery and recovery
For those who move forward, the donation process is often more manageable than they expect.
Kidney donation surgery typically takes two to three hours, followed by a short hospital stay -- often just one night. At University Health, robotic-assisted surgery allows for greater precision and smaller incisions, helping reduce pain and speed recovery.
“They’re walking the very next day, they’re eating, they’re up and about,” Thomas said.
Most donors are advised to avoid lifting for about six weeks, but many return to normal routines -- including work and exercise -- relatively quickly.
“We encourage that,” Thomas said. “People go back to their full, healthy normal lives.”
Choosing the right transplant center
For both donors and recipients, choosing a transplant center is an important part of the process.
Dr. Thomas recommends starting with outcomes.
“It’s your body. It’s a huge investment,” she said. “You should know how they’re going to perform.”
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) collects, analyzes and reports data on all solid organ transplants in the United States. At srtr.org, you’ll find a specific transplant center’s survival rates compared to national averages.
You can search by transplant center and organ type -- kidney, liver or lung, for example. Transplant programs like the kidney program at University Health Transplant Institute also post the SRTR patient outcomes they are proud of sharing on their websites.
In addition to patient survival, the STRT website also provides:
- Graft survival -- how long the transplant organ functions.
- Waitlist mortality -- how many patients die waiting for a transplant.
- Transplant wait -- how quickly patients get a transplant.
A life-changing experience -- for both sides
While recipients gain a second chance at life, many donors say the experience changes them, too.
Thomas said donors often describe a deep sense of fulfillment after surgery.
[Read more: Local doctor with one kidney scales Mt. Kilimanjaro]
“It’s a fulfillment that leaves them almost speechless,” she said.
That impact can last long after recovery. Donors carry a lasting sense of purpose, knowing they played a direct role in saving a life.
Ready to take the next step?
For those who are curious, getting started is simple and comes with no obligation.
At University Health, potential donors begin with a short online questionnaire, followed by phone conversations and, if they move forward, a one-day evaluation with testing and consultations.
Not everyone who begins the process will become a donor -- and that’s OK.
“Just be curious. Just learn more,” Thomas said.
Because for someone waiting on a transplant, that curiosity could save a life.
Start your journey or learn more at University Health.