Robert Brown

Type of Donation:          kidney recipient

Age and Location:          Age 51 – Goodlettsville, TN

Donation Date:                1/03/2018

Sponsor:                              Honored by Tennessee Donor Services

ROBERT’S STORY

Robert Brown has been a critical member of the Tennessee Donor Services tissue recovery team since 2007 and is a Tissue Recovery Supervisor.

In 2011, Robert went in for a routine checkup and was told by his physician he was in kidney failure. He and his family were shocked, he had always been healthy and was not feeling bad at the time. Further testing confirmed the diagnosis. Close to the same time, his younger brother went in for a routine physical and was also told he was in kidney failure.  His brother’s physician performed a kidney biopsy, and both were diagnosed with Alport Syndrome; a genetic condition impacting 1 in 5,000 individuals.

Robert immediately went on the St. Thomas kidney transplant list in 2013. He began home peritoneal dialysis in 2015, which he described as “being like in prison.”  On January 3, 2018, Robert received the call every person on the transplant list waits for; they had found a match. He received his transplant the same day and stated it felt like someone had immediately flipped a light switch. Robert returned to work in March 2018. Since then he has returned to the activities he loves, hunting and fishing. He is currently building a home on 48 acres north of Nashville with his brother and parents. An avid outdoorsman, he has been able to return to his true love of hunting and fishing. As he states, the transplant gave him his life back. His brother is listed on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is on dialysis, waiting for his transplant.

Robert’s dedication to organ and tissue donation is unsurpassed through his tireless work in the field, training others to honor the gift of tissue during recovery and educating the public on the need to register as a donor.