LUBBOCK, Texas — Angel Espinoza, a Lubbock man told EverythingLubbock.com he was 14 years old when the doctor told him he had kidney failure and received a kidney transplant a year later.
“The summer of 2000, actually around my birthday, I ended up getting my first kidney transplant,” Espinoza said. “It was donated by one of my sisters. She was one of the only sisters out of five that was a perfect match and the same blood type as I have.”
Espinoza said he was able to live a normal life, but after 20 years of his first transplant, his kidney failed.
What time is Lubbock’s deadline to choose a power provider?
“It was heartbreaking. It really disappointed me. I was very depressed for a long time and I stayed on dialysis for three years,” Espinoza said. “I rounded out 1,758 hours on dialysis.”
Espinoza was told by the doctor that it was going to be a while before he was able to get a new kidney.
“Seven years to eight years for you to get a kidney because of your blood type,” Espinoza said. “I went to Dallas to see my transplant team and they were like, You’re too healthy. You’re too young to be on dialysis.”