Iggy’s Kidney Updates – Roz Gibson needs a kidney!

—UPDATE–August 26th, 2026–

Greetings everyone! It’s Iggy and I am doing alright about 7 months after kidney transplant. Tink also got a kidney from a living donor a little over a month ago and they are recovering. I found out recently in one of the communities I am a part of that another person is in need of a living kidney donor, ideally swiftly.

Please consider applying to help Roz! If you would be so kind as to pass along their story to various groups you know and repost social posts to help their message get out to people who would love to help, but need to know where to send the love! I cannot stress enough how much power there is in word of mouth and you never know where a cleared living donor may come from. Thank you!

How to donate a kidney to Roz Gibson

Roz is working with UCLA for a kidney transplant. They only accept living donor applications via their web application : https://www.uclakidneydonor.org/

On that form, so they can connect your intention to donate with them, you’ll need to enter their name – Roz Gibson and their DOB 7/7/1963. After filling out the form, UCLA will reach out to you and you will have a login to their medical system to message them directly. Please be sure to check spam/phone messages.

It is a long process, one you’ll be asked a lot of questions, and have plenty of opportunities to ask questions yourself. So I encourage you if you’re at all interested to apply and talk with them to see if you’d be a good candidate. They will not let someone donate unless it is safe for the donor to do so and there is financial help available.

Things to repost

I am putting together materials for reposting and using this page as a hub so anything a donor needs is here to get started and reach me or Roz.

Bluesky Post: https://bsky.app/profile/iggydinosaur.bsky.social/post/3mtzbm7f5oc24

Roz’s story on FA: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11388100/

Roz’s Socials

Contacting Iggy

Contacting Roz

Roz is best reached via direct message on their social platforms.

Roz’s Story

Roz wrote their story up on one of their sites they share their work: furaffinity.net/journal/11388100/

Answers to some common questions

UCLA is a member of of National Kidney Registry

I did contact UCLA and learn a bit about how their process works. They are a NKR member: https://www.kidneyregistry.com/about/map-of-member-centers/ . This means testing and even the donation surgery could be entirely done at one of these centers without a donor needing to go to UCLA.

You do not need to be a direct match

Not everyone who donates is a direct match to the intended recipient. There is a paired donation/kidney swap program : https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/transplants/kidney-transplant/kidney-exchange/kidney-swap . You get cleared to donate despite not being a match and you essentially switch around kidneys so everyone gets a compatible one.

You can only donate if it is safe for you to do so

It cannot be stressed enough, a donor cannot donate unless it is safe for the donor to do so. A bunch of testing, questions, etc. will be done. None of these hospitals ever want to harm a donor and

What’s life like after donating?

A lot of people are born with one kidney. You should be given guidance by the donor team about this. You can read more at kidney.org but it starts with: “Life doesn’t change much after donating. After recovering from surgery, donors are able to return to work, physical activity and are able to eat a regular diet.”

https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/what-to-expect-after-donation

I’d like to talk to someone who’s donated

If you’d like to talk to someone who’s donated to understand more about what it’s like going through the donor process and what life is like after, you are more than welcome to reach out to me to connect you to them!

Additional Information/Remarks from Iggy

If you would like to be notified and receive emails on how to help Roz and others who need a kidney donor, please fill this form out: Iggy’s Donor Email List Form . I will let you know when there’s an event we would like people to share little business cards with their donor information on and when there’s an update/ a new post to share. No spam, etc. I just want an option for people who use email and will actually read that instead of social posts that are easily lost!

You can also reach out to me if you have an event, a podcast, anything you’d be willing to have someone seeking a kidney on or myself to talk and share their donor information.

I’ve met a lot of people along the way and can only think it best to share the love and give hope to others who also need a transplant. The various communication channels I have are the best ways to stay in contact and they are listed below.

Word of mouth is such a powerful thing and you literally never know who is in a position to help.

So again thank you all very much. Several friends have said to me they’re happy to hear I’m sticking around as they’ve grown quite fond of me. I know no better way than paying it forward than helping others who need the help to reach people. Thank you so much to everyone that’s been a part of this.

Cheers,

-Iggy