Almost since he was born, Times-Union Sports Editor Connor McCann has had issues with his kidneys.
Now, the 26-year-old, originally from Glenview, Ill., is hoping to find a donor.
“I was born with two kidneys, only one of them functioning. One of them had problems and caused a bunch of infections when I was younger, so when I was in the fourth grade they removed that one,” he said in an interview Thursday.
The other kidney worked, but never fully.
In 2019, McCann suffered from a rare muscle injury called Rhabdomyolysis. “Basically, it’s where the muscles start eating themselves and all the blood is contaminated and poisoned and that went into my kidney, and I had to undergo dialysis for that one time,” he said.
McCann has dealt with kidney disease since then and is now at stage 5.
“You are only allowed to go on the transplant list if one of two things happens: Either, one, you go on dialysis or, two, your GFR (glomerular filtration rate), which basically is the indication of kidney function, dips below 20,” he said.
As of March, the last time he had a blood test, McCann’s GFR has been hovering around 11.
“I have been doing blood tests ever since I found out I had kidney disease, pretty much to track the progression of it, see how it’s been going throughout the process. I went probably a year without getting one, where as I would usually go every four months because when I turned 26 I was no longer on my parents’ health insurance and it took a little bit to figure that out,” he said.
At his last blood test last year, he was still at stage 3 or 4 with his kidney disease. When he had his blood test this past March, he said his numbers were “completely out of whack” and he had to go to the emergency room to get checked out. That’s when he learned he was at stage 5.
Since discovering he was at stage 5 in March, McCann has started what’s called a renal diet. He avoids sodium, potassium and limits his protein and phosphorus as much as he can. He’s increased his workout time, focusing on cardio and lifting weights.
A few weeks ago, McCann traveled to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago to learn more about getting on the kidney transplant list.
“Technically, I’m not on the list yet. I had my initial meeting with the Center, and in September I will go to do some more tests, and after that I will be on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney,” he said. “But, I am eligible to receive a living donor kidney at any time.”
He would like to find someone to donate their kidney to him if possible. Until then, McCann wants to spread awareness about organ donation because many people have a lot of misconceptions about it.
“I think, first of all, it’s easier than ever to donate a kidney thanks to this thing called the national pairing program. You don’t even need to be a match with anybody anymore to donate a kidney. The way it works is, you can donate a kidney and, basically, if you’re in the national pairing program, you can donate that kidney to a random person - someone else who needs a kidney - and I would be able to receive one from someone who is a match with me because of your donation. It’s basically like getting a voucher for myself,” he explained.
McCann also said that a person who donates one of their kidneys will not get kidney disease.
“I have one kidney and I have kidney disease because I was kind of dealt a bad hand and was born with kidneys that didn’t really work. One in 750 people in the United States is born with one kidney and they live perfectly fine lives. People are still active after they donate kidneys,” he stated.
Though he’s in stage 5 kidney disease, McCann is not yet on dialysis, but that could change any day.
“I could wake up tomorrow and feel horrible and realize I need to start dialysis. But as of right now, I’m not there yet, but I am at stage 5 and my kidney is functioning at around 11% and I am just kind of taking it day by day, waiting for preferably a living donor because if I am able to get a living donor that process takes 90 days from the first test to when they can put it in me, whereas if I have to continue waiting for a deceased donor, the wait list is around five to seven years at a minimum,” he said.
He added that the testing process for donating is completely confidential due to HIPPA laws.
To get in touch with McCann, who has been the sports editor since August 2021, call his cell phone at 847-650-3166 or check out his Facebook page, Kidney4Connor, which he updates daily.
If anyone is interested in donating, he suggested they go to the donor screen at https://rush.donorscreen.org/register/now
His date of birth is 8/19/1997.