Kidney for Patti

Indianapolis, Indiana

Patti needs a kidney. Could you be the one?

Our sister, Patti (Nuxoll) Aldridge, has been on dialysis for two years. It is keeping her alive, but it is wearing her down. A living kidney donor could give her life back.

You don't have to know her. You don't have to be a match.

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Asking questions or filling out the form commits you to nothing.

Patti Aldridge smiling at the camera, wearing a blue beaded necklace.
Patti standing behind a vase of yellow and white flowers, smiling.

Her story

Patti has spent her career in long-term care, running nursing homes and looking after other people's parents and grandparents. Now she's the one who needs help.

For the past two years, dialysis has kept her alive. It has also taken a toll. The sessions are long and have grown more frequent. The exhaustion never really lifts, and sleep is hard to come by. Her family has watched ordinary days become harder and harder for her.

A kidney transplant is the way out. The wait for a deceased-donor kidney can stretch on for years. A living donor could shorten that wait dramatically and give Patti back her energy, her independence, and her health.

We love our sister very much. We want her healthy, we want her safe, and we want her here for a very long time. So we're asking everyone we know, and everyone they know, to consider it.

What living donation actually involves

Most people who could help never step forward because of things they assume about donating. Here is what IU Health's living donor program says. Details and the full picture are on their living kidney donation page.

  • You don't have to know her

    Donors don't need to be related to the recipient, or even to have met them. Compatibility comes down to blood type and tissue typing, not family ties.

  • You don't have to be a match

    Patti is blood type B+, so donors with type O or type B blood can give to her directly. If your blood type isn't compatible, paired donation (a "donor swap") pairs you with another donor and recipient so that both patients get a kidney. IU Health takes part in several paired exchanges.

  • The medical costs aren't yours

    A financial coordinator works with the recipient's insurance so that the evaluation, surgery, and care come at no cost to the donor. Travel, lodging, and time off work are the donor's responsibility, and a living donor advocate helps identify assistance for those.

  • You can stop at any time

    Filling out the form starts a conversation, not a commitment. You can withdraw at any point in the process, and everything between you and the transplant center stays confidential.

  • Recovery is measured in weeks

    The surgery is done laparoscopically or robotically through small incisions. Most donors go home after two or three days and return to work in two to six weeks, with no heavy lifting for eight weeks.

  • Donors are looked after

    Every potential donor gets an independent living donor advocate whose only job is their wellbeing. If a living donor ever needs a kidney themselves, they receive priority on the transplant waiting list.

Two ways to help

Find out if you could donate

  1. Read about the process on IU Health's living kidney donation page. There is also a donor education booklet that answers most questions.
  2. When you're ready, fill out the living donor evaluation form. It takes a few minutes. When it asks for the recipient's name, enter Patti Aldridge.
  3. A living donor coordinator will contact you within five business days to answer your questions and explain next steps. There is no obligation to go further.

Prefer to talk to a person? IU Health Transplant in Indianapolis: 317-944-4370

Learn about donating

Share this page

You may not be her donor, but someone you know might be. Every share widens the circle of people who could find the one person we're looking for.

A note from Patti's family

This page was put together by Patti's brothers and sisters. Patti knows about it and is grateful beyond words, but she isn't in a position to field messages right now, so please don't reach out to her directly.

Anything you share with IU Health stays between you and their transplant team. By law they can't tell Patti or us who has come forward, so there is no pressure and no awkwardness, whatever you decide.

Questions about this page, or want to help in another way? Email us at hello@kidney4patti.com.