My name is Xian Xie ("SHE-an SHE-eh") . I came
to Springfield, MO as a student in the 1990's. I met Pastor Shiuming at the
school library. We had a nice talk and later he invited me to go to his church
for a visit. I visited his church and it was the first time I learned about Jesus
and Christianity. I did not have any belief at that time. Since then I went to
church often and received Jesus’ words little by little which opened my mind
and heart to Christianity and Jesus that enriched my spiritual life. I started
to accept Christianity and Jesus, in 1994, I was baptized by Pastor Lau.
After I graduated, I found a job
and moved to St. Louis. When I moved here, I visited several Chinese churches
in St. Louis to see which one I liked until one day I was surprised to see Pastor
Lau at Light of Christ church. Since then I followed him and became a member of
Light of Christ church.
I lost my kidney function in 2013 and now I go to
dialysis 3 times a week and depend on a machine to do the work that my kidneys
can no longer do. One dialysis session takes 4 hours. Altogether that's 12
hours a week every week, and I am exhausted after each session.
I need a kidney transplant that can make me return to a
healthier and normal life. But to make things worse, my doctor told me that in
addition to the kidney failure, the antibody level in my blood is very high,
which makes it even harder to find a kidney that matches me. The best and
perhaps the only option for me to get kidney transplant is to find a living
donor, according to my doctor. Otherwise, I will most likely to live with
kidney failure for the rest of my life.
The average wait time for a kidney transplant while on
the deceased donor waiting list is 3-10 years. I have been waiting for almost
six years, and in my situation, because of my high antibody level, as my doctor
told me, unless there are nice people who can donate a kidney to me, my chance
to get a kidney transplant equals to none. If it is not such case, I may just
wait until it is my turn, and would not ask for help. Living kidney donation is
the only option to help me get off the waiting list and live a healthier life.
What most people don’t know is that a healthy person only needs one kidney to
live a normal and healthy life! That’s why I am writing to all of you.
I would appreciate it very much if you would consider
donating your kidney and/or sharing my story to get the word out for me! That
would mean so much! Thank you all from my heart for your kindness and
time.
I have struggled with myself on if I should write this
letter for long time. As you can see from my name, I am a Chinese American. I
was worried that people might see me at a different angle even though I am an
American. But now I realize that with so many loving people around, it is wrong
of me to assume I will be judged by my ethnicity.
To those of you reading this, my biggest hope is that you
will see me as a person seeking desperately for a lifesaving help and please
keep me in your prayers.
My phone # 314-584-9125
E-mail address: xiexian6688@gmail.com
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Xian Xie
