Since last summer, the life of Lisa Hoogeveen from Hoorn has been turned upside down. She is affected by Goodpasture’s Syndrome. This means that she will lose both of her kidney functions. The mother of two young children, 13 and 10, has been dependent on kidney dialysis since then and has to go to the AMC in Amsterdam three times a week for treatment.
Since you must have at least one good kidney to live normally, Lisa has started a search for a suitable donor. “I have a lot of lovely people around me who have already signed up as a donor, but unfortunately no one has turned out to be a match so far,” says Lisa.
That is why she posted a video online last week, in the hope that a suitable donor will come forward. “What I especially want is to be able to drink everything and now I can only drink 500 ml a day, so that is sometimes very heavy. If I can drink and pee normally again, that seems wonderful. Stupid, isn’t it?”, she says with a smile.
Blood group A or O
The kidney donor must have blood group A, the same blood group as Lisa, or O. She also believes that the chance of a good match is more likely if the donor has a non-Western background. This is due to antibodies Lisa carries, she explains in the video.
“I’ll be honest, it’s not an easy process,” says Lisa. “The chance of a match must first be investigated. The donor must be in good health, and have the same blood or type O.”
It is ‘a dyke’ of a question she asks, the woman from Hoorn knows. “But I have to. I can’t work since the diagnosis and I’m dependent on a machine. That takes a lot of energy physically and mentally. I can’t live without dialysis and I want nothing more than to lead a normal life and see my children grow up .”
An acquaintance of Lisa, with whom she also appeared in the newspaper together, has found a suitable donor through the article. “I think it’s fantastic for them, very nice, she’s doing great. The longer it takes for me now, I notice that I really want that too. But I really wish it for everyone,” Lisa responds.
Below is the video in which Lisa makes her appeal