Jeff and Andi Williams from Peachtree City knew nothing about kidney disease until Andi’s brother Greg developed Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) almost 25 years ago. Greg, an Army Ranger, Hawaiian Ironman finisher, and extremely active triathlete found himself being slowly devasted physically by the incurable disease.
In 2011, he was in desperate need of a kidney transplant and both Andi and Jeff tested and were approved as a match. Due to an unforeseen urgency for his transplant, Andi flew to Austin TX on 12 hours’ notice and donated her kidney to Greg in August 2011. Andi was 53 years old at the time. While the transplant was successful, a rare virus occurred that made Greg’s kidney function less than ideal over time.
In 2020, Greg was in need of another kidney transplant, and Jeff (62 years old in 2020) was again deemed a compatible donor. The transplant was originally scheduled for the summer of 2020 but due to COVID, it was delayed until late September of that year. Fortunately, the second transplant was also a success and this time, the virus and other complications have been mitigated to where Greg is back to living a healthy active life.
Both Andi and Jeff had quick, uneventful recoveries from the donation surgery and have no limitations to their post-donation activities. Jeff took up pickleball for the first time about 10 weeks after donation.
Late last year they learned about the Transplant Games of America which is held every two years and is for living organ donors, organ transplant recipients, and families of deceased donors. The competitions include sporting events, trivia contests and a multitude of other activities and were held this year in Birmingham.
Jeff and Andi decided to compete in pickleball for Team Georgia which meant that Andi needed to learn the game too. She started playing earlier this year and the husband/wife mixed doubles pair competed at the Games in Birmingham earlier this month. They won the gold medal in their bracket and were the only husband/wife dual kidney donors to compete.
This experience, and others has brought a heightened awareness and “voice” to their advocacy for living kidney donation, and organ donation in general. Currently there are approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. waiting for a kidney transplant, yet only about 20,000 kidneys (from both living and deceased donors) come available each year. Unfortunately, that means many on the transplant list spend long periods of time on dialysis, and some do not live long enough to get the kidney transplant they need.
“We want to support those considering donation and let them know that healthy people of almost any age can be kidney donors and live a full, active life post-donation” says Andi. Jeff also mentions that “we realize not everyone can be a kidney donor, but everyone can sign up to be an organ donor regardless of age or health status”.
Jeff and Andi are 29-year residents of Peachtree City. Andi has worked in the Fayette County school system for 12 years, and currently works in the library at Peachtree City Elementary School. Jeff is retired from the medical device industry. He currently volunteers at Clothes Less Traveled and Midwest Food Bank and is also on the board of directors for Kidney Donor Athletes. Anyone interested in learning more about kidney donation or more specifically about Jeff or Andi’s donation experience can contact them at jeff@kidneydonorathlete.org
