How a kidney transplant gave one Veteran his life back

“I didn’t really know how important kidneys were until they were gone. ” Army Veteran Quinn Huynh was energetic and active, and he didn’t think he needed VA health care. Then the headaches started.

“I was initially hesitant to use VA. I was young and athletic, and I felt like I didn’t deserve or need VA because it seemed like it was more for Veterans with major issues,” he recalled. “But one day I decided to go in and see why I was having all these headaches.

” What started as a routine check-up quickly turned into a potentially life or death situation after his blood work came back. A few days later, his VA doctor called and told him to get to the emergency room immediately. “They told me my kidney was failing,” he shared.

“It was a good thing I got to VA on time. If I didn’t, something worse would have happened to me. ” From athlete to dialysis patient Once at the Edward Hines Jr.

VA Hospital in Chicago , medical staff rushed around him as he tried to understand what was happening. Huynh was placed on peritoneal dialysis and added to the transplant waiting list. For someone who played sports regularly and had run 5Ks and half-marathons, dialysis changed everything.

While lifesaving, going through dialysis felt like a chore to Huynh. “Before this, I was doing races and playing sports, so to transition from that to someone who could only do about 25% of what I was doing was hard,” he said. “I had to hold back because of the medications and symptoms I was experiencing.

” The experience taught him something he had taken for granted. “I didn’t really know how important kidneys were until they were gone,” he said. Hines VA’s track record of success Since launching in November 2020, the program at Hines, one of eight VA Kidney Transplant Programs , has performed nearly 400 transplants—the most of any VA kidney transplant program.

On the Hines list, 287 Veterans are awaiting a kidney transplant and are competing for kidneys locally and nationally. Nationwide, there are approximately 1,000 Veterans on the kidney transplant list across all VA kidney programs combined. To put this into perspective, the national waiting list for kidneys is currently at 94,209, and in Illinois alone, it is 3,828.

According to Hines VA Program Director Dr. Reynold Lopez-Soler, the teams work tirelessly to get Veterans evaluated and accepted into the program within 28 days. “Our excellent team works aggressively to get patients in for evaluation as soon as possible,” he said.

“Our center will see 99% of Veterans for transplant within this time. It is a testament to the systemwide team approach to Veteran care. ” Why timing matters “The doctors really pushed me to get on the list as soon as possible,” Huynh said.

Getting on the transplant list quickly can be lifesaving. Mortality for end-stage renal disease patients on dialysis is very high—30-40% within five years. Huynh’s doctors pushed him to complete his evaluation and get on the list right away, noting that the faster someone gets on a waitlist, the better chance they have of getting a transplant sooner.

His wait was about a year and a half, far less than the five or so years he had been told it could take. How the matching process works Once a Veteran is evaluated and listed as “active,” they are placed on a national kidney transplant list and typically wait 3-6 years on average. When a kidney becomes available, a computer algorithm matches all patients needing a kidney with every donor hospital nationwide, ranking candidates based on factors that include time on the list and dialysis, and proximity to the donor hospital.

When a Veteran is “primary,” the transplant program receives the offer from the Health Resources and Services Administration/United Network for Organ Sharing, and if accepted, the Veteran and kidney are brought to the transplant center for surgery. The transplant journey When a patient arrives at Hines for their transplant, things move fast. The team can typically get them prepped and into the operating room within 1-2 hours.

Patients are hospitalized for 3-4 days and are educated on caring for their new kidney, preventing infection, and managing anti-rejection medications. Veterans who don’t live near Hines stay at a local hotel for 4-6 weeks, returning 2-3 times a week for labs and medication adjustments. Once stable, they return home.

The Hines transplant team manages patients through local labs and video appointments for two years following surgery before transitioning care to the Veteran’s local team. While every case is unique, Veterans who receive transplants at other VA facilities can expect a similar process. Back to running, climbing and lifting Army Veteran Quinn Huynh.

Today, Huynh is back to the active lifestyle he thought he might have lost. “This new kidney is great. I would like to say that I feel 110%,” he said.

“As a result of the transplant, I am eating healthier and in better shape than ever. I got back into running, climbing and lifting. ” His experience transformed his view of VA health care.

“I fully trust VA’s ability to do major things,” Huynh said. “I wouldn’t hesitate to contact VA whenever I have any other health issues. They are there for us Veterans, so if you have any questions, just ask.

” Looking ahead after five years Lopez-Soler reflected on the program’s remarkable growth since its inception. “I could not imagine when we began this journey five years ago what we would accomplish. Everything we did here at Hines, we did for the first time,” he said.

“It has always been my goal to give back to men and women who have given so much to us, and I am so proud to have contributed to the health and care of all these incredible people. ” Looking ahead, he sees the milestone as just the beginning. “This milestone is just that, a milestone.

We have so much more to do for so many, and I am so very excited for what the next five years hold for this program,” he added. The Hines VA Kidney Transplant Program operates in collaboration with Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, a VA academic affiliate. Learn more about VA’s transplant programs .