My Kidney Transplant Story: Mark McIntosh 

August 2, 2024Mark McIntosh

In April 2023, I was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare bone marrow disorder that destroys your vital organs. It went after my kidneys.  

Once I realized I needed a kidney transplant, I started to get educated about how that works. I found out that 80% of kidney transplants are from deceased donors, but you really want a living donor. To find one, you have to educate yourself, know your options, and become your own best advocate.  

In my case, early on, everyone said, “Hitch your wagon to the NKR.” I was registered with a transplant center, but I decided to get connected with the NKR and register at Porter in Denver. That’s how I got my kidney—it was only because I was with Porter. If I was still at the other center, I think I’d still be waiting. I had heard nothing for months, then suddenly I was on Porter’s list, and they were saying, “Mark, we have a kidney.” It was only a month or two. 

The kidney was actually earmarked for someone else, but they dropped off the list and my name popped up next. I was playing golf and noticed I had a call from my coordinator. She said, “We got you a kidney, but you have to take it next Wednesday.” That was the next week, and I was supposed to be at a wedding, but I said, “Yup, I’ll take it!” 

I had my transplant on June 12, 2024. I didn’t know my donor, but a funny thing happened. My wife and some of her girlfriends were in the waiting room while I was getting my transplant. There were two other ladies in the waiting room, and one was the sister of the donor. They kind of put two and two together and realized that this woman’s sister was donating to me. The people from Porter came out and said, “You all are not supposed to know each other!” We haven’t officially met yet, but we have been in contact. 

I’m six weeks out, now—the kidney’s working well and it’s so liberating not to be chained to a machine. My energy levels have been good. I went from 165 pounds to 145. I’m back up to about 148 but I’m still a Skinny Minnie. My vitals are all pretty good. 

There’s no cure for what I have and I’m going to be on antirejection medication for the rest of my life, but that’s a small sacrifice to make for this new lease on life.  

We need more people like my donor, people to share their spare and leave a priceless legacy. She is my angel. You can live just fine with one kidney—we need more people to realize that. You can share something you have in abundance and save someone’s life.  

I have been shocked at how many people don’t realize you can live with one kidney, and also shocked that there aren’t more policies geared toward encouraging living kidney donation.

Mark McIntosh

I run three ministries and one of them, Drive for Five, is all about encouraging living organ donation, including advocating for better legislative policies concerning living donation and educating people about kidney disease. I have been shocked at how many people don’t realize you can live with one kidney, and also shocked that there aren’t more policies geared toward encouraging living kidney donation. I have 30,000 followers on social media. I know the power of a platform like that and I’m using it to educate people that you can share your spare.