Donate Life Month Spotlight: Matt Freund’s Transplant Journey with the NKR Voucher Program

When kidney failure happens, dialysis or transplant become the only option. For many people with PKD, getting a transplant isn’t as simple as finding a willing donor.

Matt Freund knows this firsthand.

Diagnosed with PKD at age 15, Matt managed the disease for 37 years with the support of his family and the PKD Foundation community in Phoenix.

“My mother was a tireless advocate, participating in Walks and Christmas wrapping fundraisers.”

When Matt’s kidney function began to decline at age 51, he had something many patients don’t: five potential living donors ready to help.

But even with that support, the process moved slowly.

“The institution I was at would only test them one at a time. That policy turned a circle of support into a two-year waiting room.”

As each donor went through months of testing, Matt’s health continued to decline. He was just days away from starting dialysis when he finally had his transplant.

“I spent two years in testing limbo, living on the edge of a medical intervention that a preemptive voucher would have eliminated.”

For many patients, transplant planning doesn’t begin until their GFR reaches 20. But for people living with PKD, that can leave very little time to navigate the process before their kidney function worsens.

This is where the National Kidney Registry (NKR) Voucher Program can make a difference.

The program allows a living donor to donate a kidney on someone’s behalf before a transplant is actually needed. In return, the intended recipient receives a voucher that helps secure access to a future living-donor kidney when the time is right through the registry.

For patients like Matt, this kind of preemptive planning can offer major advantages like:

• Helping patients avoid the physical toll of dialysis.
• Allowing donors to give while they’re still healthy and eligible.
• Creating more flexibility for both the donor and recipient.
• Potentially improving access to a highly compatible living-donor match.

Matt and his sister-in-law ultimately chose that path.

“My sister-in-law and I were initially hesitant to move away from a simultaneous paired exchange; it felt safer to go in together. But by decoupling our surgeries through the voucher program, we gained control and flexibility.”

She donated her kidney in January and recovered quickly. Her gift became Matt’s security.

“Because of the registry’s reach, I received a near-perfect match from an unrelated donor in Utah who was donating on her mother’s behalf.”

During Donate Life Month, stories like Matt’s serve as a reminder of the life-changing impact of living donation—not just for individuals, but for the entire PKD community.

More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and programs like the NKR Voucher Program can help reduce some of the uncertainty and delays patients face.

Matt’s message to the PKD community is simple:

“If I could go back, I would have secured my voucher years earlier. I would have bypassed the two-year wait and fear of the dialysis machine. Don’t let an institution’s one-at-a-time testing policy dictate your survival. If you have a willing donor, look into the voucher program today. Give yourself the gift of a secured future and give your donor the freedom to help you while they’re at their best.”

Learn more about the NKR Voucher Program: kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/voucher-program/