Veteran Profile: Kevin Walker
Navy Veteran Kevin Walker served as a surgical technician.
Walker said he felt privileged to serve and is grateful for the educational opportunities he has had since his discharge. The 35-year-old has been working towards a degree in computer science and is particularly excited about a new app he has in development.
Walker's plans for his future have been challenged due to kidney failure, though, and he is dependent on hemodialysis treatments three times weekly.
Like many Veterans in similar situations, Walker's best hope is to find a living kidney donor, because the wait list for a kidney from a deceased donor is more than five years long. Unfortunately, the many family members and friends who stepped up to donate for Walker were ruled out medically.
Walker is a very private person and said he was reluctant to share his story, but he knows that sharing his story can help raise awareness and hopefully help other Veterans in need. VA Boston Healthcare System's Renal Clinic is working to find a living kidney donor through DOVE, which matches kidney donors with Veterans.
VA implemented a rule, July 1, 2022, describing support for live donation procedures and related care for those who donate an organ or bone marrow to Veterans for transplants. Support may include initial screening, medical care and services related to the donation procedure, and post-donation follow-up, at no cost to the live donor, as well as necessary travel and temporary lodging expenses.
“The more live donors we have, the more the gift of life is given to the Veterans we serve,” said VA National Director of Clinical Services Manimegalai Murugavel, DNP. “We know the availability of live organs and bone marrow does not meet the need for transplants nationwide. That’s why it’s important we find live donors to facilitate transplantation within a reasonably short time compared to the wait time of an organ from a deceased donor.”
On average, VA receives over 3,500 referrals for transplants nationwide each year and performs more than 480 solid organ and bone marrow transplant procedures, including live donor transplantation.
You can learn more about organ transplant care at VA and walk through the shoes of a Veteran getting a transplant by watching this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5sUy_6F7rs&t=279s