A Rhode Island man discovered he had the same deadly disease as his twin brother only after he tried to donate a kidney to him.
Alex Peguero has been undergoing dialysis treatment for his end-stage renal disease since December, WLNE has reported.
The 26-year-old, from Providence, Rhode Island, found he had the illness when he tried to donate a kidney to his brother Nick Peguero around two years ago, according to a GoFundMe page.
Nick Peguero was diagnosed with stage-four kidney disease a few years ago. When he began dialysis after his condition worsened, his brother decided to see if he was a donor match.
"I'm thinking that maybe I don't have it, so I go and get checked myself," Alex Peguero told WLNE.
Nick Peguero said he was "devastated" when he learned his brother had the same kidney disease as he did. "It hit me really hard at first," he told the station.
He managed to find a donor after a year on dialysis and said he has been living a normal life since then—and he is hopeful that the same will happen for his brother.
But according to the GoFundMe page set up for Alex Peguero, he may be waiting up to five years for a kidney transplant.
"I learned to deal with it. You can't really pick and choose what you go through. So you've got to deal with what you've got," he told WLNE.
The GoFundMe page aims to raise funds to help him financially while he is out of work due to daily dialysis treatments, but also hopes to raise awareness so a donor may be found. The organizer has been contacted for comment.
"About two years ago when getting tested to try and donate a kidney to his twin brother, who was diagnosed with stage four kidney disease, Alex too found out that he has the same disease," a post on the page said.
"Although doctors were able to catch it early, this condition can only be managed. There is no real cure other than receiving a kidney transplant."
It added: "Alex was also placed on the transplant list in September of 2019 at Rhode Island Hospital. However, the transplant list has a waiting period of about 3 to 5 years."
It added: "Getting a living donor through a direct donation would be ideal for Alex. Unfortunately, kidney disease runs in his family. Due to this, there is an even greater challenge for him to find a compatible living donor."
Alex's blood type is A+ which can be matched to a donor with blood types A-, A+, O- and O+. Anyone interested in being a donor can contact the Rhode Island Kidney Donor Co-ordinator at 401-444-3091.
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