2017 Keenan Cheung

KEENAN CHEUNG

Kidney Recipient

Olney, Maryland

Honored by OneLegacy at onelegacy.org

Keenan Cheung’s attitude is always let’s deal with this now and hope for the best. He was not shocked when receiving the news that he was in kidney failure and would need to go on dialysis and receive a transplant. Keenan’s grandfather, father, uncle and aunt have all had the same issue. However, since Keenan was Type O, he endured dialysis while waiting to find a matching donor. But one day, Keenan and Jeanne Cheung received a letter from UCLA informing them about this great new program that Dr. Veale had created as an opportunity to get a transplant, which was successful for all participants involved. Keenan reflects, “donors have all the choices and they choose… to do what they have done by making this huge sacrifice just leaves me speechless.”

Keenan’s Story

I wasn’t shocked when I received the news that I was in kidney failure and I would need to go on dialysis and receive a transplant. You see, my grandfather, my father, my uncle and my aunt have all had the same issue. My attitude was let’s deal with this now and hope for the best. However, since I was a Type O, I was not over optimistic that I would receive a transplant soon and had been prepared to live my life on dialysis for a while. But one day, we received a letter from UCLA informing us about this great new program that Dr. Veale had created and Jeanne and I saw an opportunity for me to get a transplant. I am so remarkably blessed to have someone love me so much that she would be willing to sacrifice her kidney so I could get one. This gift is just so overpowering… I don’t have any control over my emotions. I have no choice but to be in state of health I was in. Donors have all the choices and they chose…to do what they have done by making this huge sacrifice just leaves me speechless. Without a wife who loves, I would not be alive today. She is my saving Grace.