He's served the community as a public dispatcher for 26 years, and now, unfortunately, he's facing kidney failure.
In 2017, Jeremy Clark was diagnosed with stage 3B kidney failure, which has now advanced to stage 5 with only 7% functionality remaining.
Clark has recently started dialysis and will unfortunately require a life-saving kidney transplant.
On April 25 law enforcement agencies are teaming up with Renown and Nevada Donor Network to host a living donor drive for Clark.
They're encouraging the community to come to the event and fill out an application to see if they're a potential match to donate a kidney to Clark.
Even now, Clark is working at the Reno Police Department as a graveyard dispatcher.
"A beautiful thing about being able to donate to Jeremy is he's a father, he's a grandfather, he's a husband, and he's a public servant in our community, so this kidney donation can really help improve his life drastically," said Officer Hunter Mercurio, Reno Police Department. "He's currently on dialysis, so this could not only improve his life, but also help give him a longer life as well."
According to Renown workers, living donation is a common procedure nationally and is the best way to get an organ transplant in this country.
"It ensures not only the best outcome for the recipient, but it also makes available another deceased donor organ to go to someone who doesn't have the option of living donation," said Ashley Cardenas, the transplant administrator for Renown Transplant Institute.
It's a thorough process to become a living donor because they want to make sure the donor will not suffer after donating.
The most popular options for living donations are liver and kidney.
Cardenas says, "Kidney donation for living donors is the most common organ that is donated. It's also the organ that we have the highest level of need for. There are over 100,000 people on the list for an organ transplant. and the vast majority of those are waiting for a kidney."
Officer Mercurio adds, "If you have the organ donation on your ID card, that's a beautiful thing; it helps a ton of different people. You can help up to 30 different people with organ donations. Sometimes a living donor is a better match than a deceased person for a donation; there's a better match for the donation, and the recovery time is better as well."
Cardenas goes on to explain that they're seeing an increase in diseases that are leading to end-stage kidney failure, like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and stress, which are all increasing the rate of organ failure.
As for compatibility when donating, Cardenas says, "When it comes to matching for living donation, things like size and blood type do play a part, but just because you are not blood type compatible does not mean you are not able to donate."
There are programs in place now where a donor and recipient may not match one another but could be entered into a matching system, where that donor would donate to somebody else whose donor would then donate to the person they had originally wanted to receive their kidney. This process is called paired donation, which Cardenas says is an excellent option for incompatible pairs.
Cardenas tells us, "Living donor kidneys on average work faster, longer, and better than deceased donor organs. The typical life span now for a living donor for a kidney is 15 to 20 years."
It's also easy to find out if you're a match to donate.
Cardenas says, "The most important test to determine that compatibility is going to be your blood type testing and then another test called HLA. Essentially we're looking at how well your body would match the potential recipient."
"The process in order to be tested to become a living donor starts with just a basic medical and social screening," she said. "Next we would move on to some blood tests to determine what your overall health would look like and whether or not you may be a match for the person you're interested in donating to."
At the living donation event, the community will also learn more about the process for living donation and take a few more tests to make sure the applicant is healthy.
Officer Mercurio says, "If you are concerned about the donor process or donating a kidney, I know that can sound kind of scary, but just know coming out tomorrow there's a lot of information that will be spread, so you're not just coming out to sign up and there's a commitment or anything like that. It's more for informational purposes, and if you do feel like you gain that confidence through information, it's an opportunity to help warm you up to that."
The event will be Friday, April 25 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Reno Police Department on 911 Kuenzli Street in the Community Engagement Room.
Cardenas also reminds the community, "Previously patients like Jeremy had to travel hundreds of miles outside of the state to be able to access transplant-related care; now he has the option of potentially receiving his donation and his transplant right here at home in Reno, so if we're able to hold these kinds of events here at home, I think the solution is likely to be found here as well."
