Soon, northern Nevada will be able to give kidney transplants, so people don't have to travel out of state.
Southern Nevada administers kidney transplants already, but there's been no options in the northern part of the state.
In Nevada, there are 575 people currently on kidney transplant list.
By the end of the year, Renown Health on Mill Street will be able to operate on those transplants.
Renown Transplant Institute and the Nevada Transplant Institute have partnered to bring this care to Reno.
"Renown has a phenomenal hospital with a great infrastructure that's going to facilitate quicker transplants with great outcomes," said Joseph Ferreira, Founding Chair for the Nevada Transplant Institute.
The state awarded the Nevada Donor Network, the facilitator of the grant, $15 million to help bring this new program to life.
Ferreira says this program will be sustainable through Medicare reimbursement.
He also says that Nevada is one of the nation's leaders in donors, but they ship about 90 percent of organs across the country.
However, this program will change that.
"So we envision that very quickly, within six months of the program there will be hundreds of Nevadans, specifically up in northern Nevada, will be listed for a kidney transplant and many of the organs that will be recovered from the state will be able to stay in the state," Ferreira said.
The NTI is looking into plans for outreach clinics to help reach the rural communities in Nevada.Â
One local man got the news years ago that he was in need of a new kidney.
"I was diagnosed back in 2017 with high blood pressure and that's how I found out my kidney function had declined," said Jeremy Clark.
Clark says his kidney is now operating at 10 percent.
He says he feels very low on energy while doing stuff with his family, but a huge issue has been traveling to find the care.
Recently, he went all the way to Salt Lake City.
"I have to take time off work, time away from the rest of my family that's here," Clark said.
With the new program coming down the pipeline, Clark says he's going to reach out, but until then he says he's going to keep it rolling.
"That's the biggest thing is to keep pushing harder and keep pushing forward and I don't let it stress me out," he said. "You know, there's nothing I can do to fix it in that sort of sense. I try not to stress stuff that's not in my control."
If you would like to get on the waitlist or if you are interested in giving a living donation, you can call the line 1-833-RING-NTI.
An actual person will answer the call and be able to answer all of your questions.
The NTI says they are also working on a getting a program for liver transplants somewhere in the state, but they don't know when that will be.
