Please Support Jeremy Goldsher in his Search for a Living Kidney Donor. READ ON.

Our Friend, Fellow Business Owner, Board Member, and All Around Great Guy Needs Our Help!

Many of you know Jeremy Goldsher from Hawks & Reed, Greenspace Co-Work, and as someone who has been engaged in Greenfield for many years. He works hard for his community, creating spaces where business owners and entrepreneurs can pursue their dreams. We at the GBA are proud to count him as a close friend and active Board Member as well, always sharing his ideas and time for the growth and strengthening of the Greenfield business community.

Jeremy is in need of a kidney, and has put an open letter out there in hopes of finding a donor. Please take a minute to read his letter and consider his request. Thank you for your support and attention!

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Letter from Jeremy Goldsher to his community:

For those who may not know me: My name is Jeremy Goldsher and I’m a 34-year-old Western Mass native living in the hills of Ashfield, MA. I am your friend, family member, neighbor, local business owner, and community member.

I have spent the better part of my life dedicated to helping others behind the scenes. Through building spaces and bridging communities I have worked to bring innovation, education and entertainment to this rural slice of Franklin County I call home. You may know me through my work with Greenspace CoWork and Hawks and Reed, community organizing, or simply as a friendly face about town. While I’ve accomplished many things, I know that I have a lot more life to live and a lot more to offer. In order to do this, a kidney transplant is my only option.

Learn more at National Kidney Registry - www.kidneyregistry.org

Earlier this summer, I was diagnosed with end-stage renal (kidney) disease, a result of a genetic autoimmune disorder called IgAN. Unfortunately, the disease has progressed to a critical point where I need to humbly ask for your help. I am seeking a living kidney donor. In order to find a donor, I’ll need your support. Please take a moment to read my story and, most importantly, please share this post with friends, family, colleagues, and your local community.

Without a transplant, I now depend on dialysis via a chest catheter to survive. Dialysis is not a long-term solution. My kidneys are currently functioning at 5% capacity and my health will continue to decline. Until June, I had no idea I was at risk for kidney disease. I was instead diagnosed with a series of seemingly unrelated symptoms, which I’ve quietly shouldered for many years - fatigue, body aches, weight fluctuation, gout attacks & nausea to name a few. By the time doctors correctly identified the root of these various ailments as IgAN and acute interstitial nephritis, my kidneys had already deteriorated to Stage 4 (about 15% functionality), one step away from complete renal failure.

It is no easy task for me to write this letter. I am a man who wishes to be known by his actions rather than words, and I am more comfortable shouldering my burden than sharing. The nature of being an invisible helping hand often means putting everything before yourself, so despite my dire need for transparency, I find I am fighting extreme trepidation to approach my community and ask you for help. Maybe I was in denial, but I thought my numbers might stabilize and dialysis could be avoided; perhaps I’d make a recovery of sorts. But now I have done extensive research and know that’s impossible. Today, there are more than 114,000 people on the organ transplant waitlist, with nearly 95,000 waiting for a kidney. The average wait time on transplant waitlists is five years, and while some people on the list will receive a kidney from a deceased donor, the vast majority will not. Many deceased donors do not have viable organs, and therefore there is a shortage in organs for transplant.

Finding a living organ donor is my best option for having a second chance at life. What many don’t know is that a person can live a full and healthy life with only one kidney. Not only does living kidney donation involve minimal risk to the donor (less then 1% long-term complication risk), it also increases the quality of life of the recipient and has a much greater outcome and longevity than a kidney from a deceased donor.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming my living donor, please visit (www.mghlivingdonors.org), and you can provide my personal information:[Jeremy Goldsher, Birth Date 02/25/1989, Patient of Mass General Hospital].

If you visit the National Kidney Foundation, you can also review statistics surrounding donation, learn more about the process, and read the stories of others who have given the Gift of Life.

This letter is not a call for you specifically to give me your kidney. It is a simple request for you to understand my story and help spread the word about how living donation can save my life and the lives of many others. It is also a call for you to make the most of the time you have in this world - we all imagine there’s always more time to travel, to further our careers and try new hobbies, or to take care of your parents as they get older. But life works in unexpected ways and you may find that YOU are the one in need of care - so seize the day and live your best life!

If you or anyone you know has any questions about my situation or transplantation in general, please do not hesitate to contact me at: jgoldsher@gmail.com

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and share with others.

Your support means the world to me.

Jeremy