Connecticut Family Seeks Kidney Donor While Raising Disease Awareness

Richard Williams has already beaten kidney cancer twice. Now the 52-year-old Connecticut resident faces the toughest chapter yet: Stage 5 kidney disease and a long, uncertain wait for a lifesaving transplant.

His story—and the struggles of thousands of others on Connecticut’s transplant list—really shines a light on the growing need for kidney donors. There are deep racial and socioeconomic disparities in kidney health, and families like his show quiet courage every day as they fight through it.

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Connecticut Man Battles Stage 5 Kidney Disease After Surviving Cancer Twice

Williams first learned he had kidney cancer when he was just 35. Now, at 52, he’s living with end-stage kidney disease and has spent two years on the national kidney transplant list.

Despite those enormous health challenges, he’s determined to keep going. He still works for Xfinity and serves as a deacon in his church.

His wife, Paula, is a fighter too. She’s a breast cancer survivor and stands with him through every appointment, test, and treatment.

Together, they represent so many families across Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, and beyond. They quietly navigate life-threatening diagnoses while trying to hold on to some normalcy.

A Long Wait for a Lifesaving Kidney

Williams is one of more than 100,000 Americans waiting for organ transplants. Most of those people need kidneys.

In Connecticut, the situation feels especially stark. Thousands of residents from communities like Waterbury, New Britain, Stamford, Norwalk, and New London are on the kidney transplant waitlist.

For many, the wait drags on for six to seven years. That’s six to seven years of dialysis, endless doctors’ visits, and uncertainty.

Every day, they hope for a phone call that could come at any time, day or night. It’s a strange kind of limbo.

Hartford Hospital Surgeon Warns: Kidney Waitlist Keeps Growing

At Hartford Hospital, transplant surgeon Dr. Oscar Serrano sees this crisis up close. The hospital performs a lot of transplants each year, serving patients from all over Connecticut—places like Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, and Danbury.

Even with steady transplant activity, the number of people waiting for kidneys just keeps rising. It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by the need.

Dr. Serrano believes the growing waitlist isn’t just about supply and demand. It’s also about bigger public health problems that push more people toward kidney failure in the first place.

Why Kidney Disease Hits Minority Communities Harder

Data from the National Kidney Foundation and Dr. Serrano’s own experience both show that kidney failure hits Black and African American patients particularly hard. Yet, organ donor rates in these communities are lower, which creates a painful imbalance.

The people most likely to need a kidney are often the least likely to get one. That’s a tough reality.

Experts say this isn’t just about biology. Socioeconomic factors play a huge role in higher rates of chronic kidney disease, such as:

Limited access to regular primary care

Higher rates of diabetes and hypertension

Reduced access to healthy foods and safe places to exercise

Insurance and transportation barriers that delay treatment

These issues affect folks in cities like Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven, and in lower-income neighborhoods throughout the state. When routine care gets delayed or is just out of reach, preventable problems quietly turn into chronic kidney disease—and eventually, kidney failure.

Living, Working, and Serving While Waiting for a Match

Even with Stage 5 kidney disease, Richard Williams refuses to let his diagnosis define him. He still shows up for work at Xfinity and still serves his congregation as a church deacon.

For his family and community, his resilience feels like a lesson in faith and perseverance. It’s not easy, but he keeps going.

Like so many patients on the transplant list, Williams juggles daily medical needs with regular life. The uncertainty—never knowing when or if a kidney will become available—hangs over every decision.

Still, he keeps moving forward. What else can you do?

How Potential Donors Can Help Save a Life

For Williams and thousands like him across Connecticut, hope really depends on a donor stepping forward. Living kidney donation is safer than it used to be, and it’s become more common too.

One healthy person can change—or even save—someone else’s life. That’s a pretty big deal.

If you’re curious about what it takes to be a kidney donor, or just want to know how evaluation, surgery, and recovery work, there’s help available. You can call 860-696-2021 to talk with transplant specialists and ask whatever’s on your mind.

For families from Hartford to Stamford, or from New Haven to Waterbury, even one phone call could open a door. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to start a story that might lead to a second shot at life—right when it matters most.

Here is the source article for this story: CT family searches for a kidney while raising awareness about kidney disease

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