I'm The Reluctant Kidney Health Advocate. I say "reluctant" because I never intended to build my platform on advocacy; I was just looking for a Kidney donor. Along the way, I began educating people about Kidney Disease, failure, and transplant. Thus, The Reluctant Kidney Health Advocate was born.

In 2012, I went to get a routine physical, and my primary care physician noticed I had protein in my urine. She referred me to a pediatric nephrologist, and I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease by FSGS. By 2019, I was on Peritoneal Dialysis (P.D.) and the kidney transplant list.

I dialyzed myself every night for four years. During that time, I began my doctoral studies and taught classes for the Africology & African American Studies Department at Temple University. My research interests ranged from Scientific and Medical Racism to establishing Community Education as a formal disciplinary standard of African Studies Programs. I also began to build my platform around Kidney Health Advocacy on Instagram and TikTok.

Early 2023, I received a letter saying that UNOS (The United Network of Organ Sharing) mandated all U.S. kidney transplant centers to re-evaluate their Black American kidney transplant patients. Why? The standard evaluation process included a test that factored in race, ensuring all Black patients were deemed healthier than they actually were. Because of this mandate, I received 3.5 years occurred time on the transplant waiting list, giving me a combined total of 7.5 years on the list. I received my kidney transplant via a deceased donor on July 4, 2023.

My story is one of countless Black Americans who have been affected by the presence of racism in the U.S. Medical System. From birthing to organ transplants, patients are fighting for their voices to be heard and for physicians to do their due diligence in upholding their Hippocratic oath to "Do no harm."

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