PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — There are more than 360 Rhode Islanders currently waiting for a kidney transplant, according to the American Kidney Fund.
The organization recently worked with state lawmakers to craft legislation making it easier for people to become a donor. The Living Donor Bill, which passed in June, provides paid medical leave and job security for any full-time employee who donates.
Jeff Zurowski of Hope, R.I., has been waiting on a kidney for eight long months. Born with an underperforming and problematic kidney that was removed in his teens, he’s been living with only one kidney for most of his life. Now that the remaining kidney is failing, he’s not really living much at all.
“A lot of my routines are sleep, doctors, do nothing for the rest of the day,” he said. “Watching myself on a daily basis and seeing how the health has declined and thinking, ‘Will I still feel the same way as I do today tomorrow, or will it be worse?’”…