Melrose Couple Seek The Wright Kidney

MELROSE, MA — John Wright Needs a Kidney.

That's the name of a small Facebook group Lisa Wilson-Wright created last July. The goal: To get her husband a kidney.

The group seemed to be no longer necessary when a potential match was found. But the Wrights recently got the disappointing news that, for medical reasons, it wouldn't work out.

"You try not to think about it, but in this recent case ... we got the sense it was really close," John Wright said from his Ledgewood Avenue home. "We got our hopes up, made plans. When that option was taken away because of health issues they learned at the very end — that was very depressing for a few days. For that reason, you try not to think about it."

So the hunt is on again, as it has been to varying degrees for much of his life.

This time it's a bit different, though. Wright, 51, is on his second transplant and seeking a third. The first one came when he was 17 and lasted until grad school. His current transplant has lasted about a quarter-century — close to "unheard of" territory, his wife says — but it's time for a change.

The Wrights knew this time was nearing. They squeezed in a big family trip to Hawaii right at the beginning of 2020.

Then came the pandemic.

Then, in December, dialysis.

Wright isn't sure what first caused his kidneys to fail. It doesn't matter now; all that matters is finding the next match to avoid staying on dialysis for the rest of his life.

The Wrights have lived in Melrose since 2005. Their son is a Melrose High junior. John works at MIT; he's still able to do his job, but he can no longer give his international presentations even absent a pandemic. The domestic ones, with setting up dialysis needs, are challenging enough.

He had been biking to Cambridge every day, but he just doesn't have the strength anymore.

COVID might be winding down, but the Wrights are still stuck in a semi-open lifestyle.

"It impacts every aspect of your day," John said. "Every aspect of your life from food to your energy level to your job."

The Wrights are now looking for another donor. John's on the waitlist, but he could easily be there for several more years. There's also the hope that someone — perhaps even someone reading this — would consider donating one of their own.

"Donating a kidney does not really impact your health," John said. "Your remaining kidney is more than capable of doing the job."

And it's at no cost. The donor never sees a bill through the entire process, he said.

John is B positive, but a donor doesn't necessarily need to be a perfect match thanks to chain donation, which bumps compatible kidneys around to different recipients.

Behind John's push for a kidney is his wife. The dialysis process, he said, has brought them closer together.

"It's a weird kind of intimacy, like helping me stick needles in my arm and take them out," he said. "She's really stepped up in terms of sickness and health."

But Lisa, while his biggest supporter, is ready to trade the needles in for traveling, biking and new restaurants on the other side of this. "Having intimacy not be about putting needles in his arm," as she put it.

The Wrights aren't looking for money (though you can donate to the National Kidney Foundation) or pity. They're just hoping for a kidney — and the life that comes along with it.

"The thing that kidney transplants have done for me is allow me to live my life," John said. "I don't think I'd have a family or my job if I hadn't gotten [them.] That's what they're giving."

Anyone interested in donating a kidney to John or anyone else can do so through Mass General Hospital. Click here for more information. Read about the MGH Living Kidney Donor Program here.

Here are some more links about kidney donation:

• National Kidney Registry
• National Kidney Foundation
• Living Kidney Donor Network
• Donor to Donor
• Sermon from Reverend Doctor Susanne Intriligator, the minister at the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church about Altruistic Donation. The sermon starts at about 39 minutes.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.