Find a Kidney For Marissa

Find a Kidney For Marissa Hello, I created this page to find a living kidney donor. Please help share my story! My name is Marissa Lisowski. headaches, itchy skin. God Bless you all!

This page is to help me create awareness towards Polycystic Kidney Disease and to also get my story out in hopes that a living angel will donate a kidney to me. I currently have Stage 4 Polycystic Kidney Disease and am listed on the living donor transplant list at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida. Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is an inherited, incurable and very progressive disease of the kidneys that form fluid filled sacs that crowd both kidneys as well as other organs causing them to shut down and fail. A normal sized kidney is the size of your fist, a polycystic kidney can grown as large as a football. My complications have worsened in the last few years to the point that basic daily functions have become extremely difficult to do and my quality of life is very poor as well as my mental health due to this disease. My kidneys have developed hundreds of cysts all over and have become enlarged and projected to weigh a total of 20lbs causing them to push up on other organs as well as my ribcage making it very hard to breathe. I have daily chronic pain which causes me to be opioid dependent on pain medication. I have reoccurring renal cyst ruptures that cause urinary tract infections, kidney infections and ER visits. Most times antibiotics and my heating pad are my best friends. My hope is to find a living donor so I can have a double nephrectomy with transplant all in one surgery (around a 5 hour surgery with two different surgeons, one who surgically removes both kidneys while the other places a living donor kidney in my groin). Living donor kidneys are a better option because they survive longer and have a way shorter wait time than waiting on a deceased kidney. Being on the deceased donor list could take up to 5 years to get matched and in most situations kidney failure could already occur while waiting for the call causing people to have to go on dialysis. Dialysis does the work that your kidneys can no longer do on their own but it is not a long term fix. The 5-year survival rate for a patient undergoing long-term dialysis in the United States is approximately 35%. Not to mention the other serious health risks people can develop such as having problems with the AV fistula or graft that connects to the vein, This may develop into an infection, poor blood flow or a blockage from scar tissue or a blood clot. This can be life threatening and need immediate surgery. Others experience extreme fatigue, chest or back pain. muscle cramps, restless legs syndrome, low blood pressure during or immediately after that can make you feel nauseous, dizzy or faint. I am hoping to get a living donor transplant before the need for dialysis. My kidney function has gotten as low as 26%. but my kidneys are still functioning to the point I do not need dialysis yet. Two of my family members have already tested and were not passed through to be a living donor. If you are interested in donating, I am here to answer any questions you may have and direct you to the site where you can fill out your information to be called by a transplant nurse to set up testing. The site is https://mayoclinic.org/forms/florida-living-donor-transplant and after you can call the living donor coordinator at 904-956-3302, for updates. The hospital is the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and they have a paired exchange program if a donor is not the same blood type as I am. They will be matched to someone who is the same blood type and I will be matched as well. I know this is a big ask, but, its also a big give. A life changing gift of life and second chances. Any further questions please message me. The only chance I have is by word of mouth and social media at this time so please share my story. I appreciate you all for taking the time to read this.

I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ AND SHARE 🙏Hello, my name is Marissa Lisowski, I'm 44 years old and live in North Port Flo...
12/03/2025

I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ AND SHARE 🙏

Hello, my name is Marissa Lisowski, I'm 44 years old and live in North Port Florida. I have been struggling with a very progressive and incurable kidney disease called polycystic kidney disease, also known as PKD. I'm currently in stage 4 with only 17% kidney function. These are my monsters. I live with them everyday. The pain is excruciating and the cysts rupture without any warning. All the white circles you see are fluid filled cysts. There are thousands and the doctors can't find my actual kidney because of all the layers of cysts there are. My kidneys push up against other organs as well as my ribcage making it harder to breathe. There is no room for my kidneys to go since they are so enlarged. They are the size of footballs and will eventually need to be surgically removed. Please consider being a living kidney donor. You can be my hero and give me a second chance at life. Click the link to my Microsite from the National Kidney Registry if you are interested in becoming my living donor. You can read my full story to better understand what it's like to live with this disease everyday and the battles I'm currently facing and will be facing in the very near future.

https://nkr.org/QNR989

I also created a GoFundMe.
Please consider donating to help me pay off medical expenses my insurance doesn't cover. I have been unable to work and fully disabled since March of 2020. We are currently relying solely on my husband's paycheck and his company's insurance. It's becoming very difficult to make ends meet financially. Although we are blessed to have insurance, not everything is covered such as specific medications and procedures I need to take. I'm currently taking 22 different medications monthly and that will change once I receive a kidney transplant to much more because of the anti-rejection medications I'll need to take for the rest of my life to keep my kidney working. I'm also multi-listed at two hospitals, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida and UF Health Shands hospital in Gainesville Florida. Each hospital calls for their own tests and my insurance will only pay for one hospital testing, the rest is on my shoulders to fund. Being multi-listed helps me to receive a deceased kidney donor quicker but, there are over 100,000 people who are currently waiting for a deceased kidney. Fact is, there are people dying everyday before receiving a call for a deceased donor. I've been waiting for 3 and a half years. Finding a living kidney donor match could only take a few months instead of continuing to wait on the transplant list. Please consider becoming a living kidney donor. It could save lives, like mine. Also any donations, big or small, will go towards any medical expenses due to needing a kidney transplant. Thank you for your support.
https://gofund.me/b2827f1d



Marissa Lisowski Mike Lisowski Joe DeRosa WINK News The News-Press (Fort Myers and Cape Coral) WFLA News Channel 8 News 6 WKMG / ClickOrlando

11/21/2025
I'm very grateful that I was selected to be written about in the Charlotte Sun newspaper this week by Commentary Editor,...
11/17/2025

I'm very grateful that I was selected to be written about in the Charlotte Sun newspaper this week by Commentary Editor, John Hackworth. I got up super early this morning with my husband, Mike Lisowski to pick the paper up at a local Publix. I'll share the link to my microsite here:
https://nkr.org/QNR989
The link will take you to a page that was designed solely to create awareness about what it's like living with polycystic kidney disease and information about living kidney donation. If you are interested in becoming a living kidney donor or if you are wanting to learn more about me and my daily struggles, please click on the link. You can also message me anytime and I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have. Thank you all for your continued love and support ❣️🙏

It's almost time to decorate for my favorite holiday. But, while others are making plans and filling out their Christmas...
11/10/2025

It's almost time to decorate for my favorite holiday. But, while others are making plans and filling out their Christmas lists, I'm just praying for one thing....A second chance at life. It's amazing how much we take for granted until you are faced with a debilitating illness that's incurable and you're only faced with two options:
1). Fight for as long as you can to stay alive with the help of being hooked up to a dialysis machine for 4 hours, 3 days a week.
OR
2). Receive a kidney transplant which can take years of waiting and is still not a cure. Even the perfect matches can fail over time and be rejected. Most need more than one transplant in a lifetime, especially for young people since a deceased kidney only lasts 10 years and a living donor kidney can last on average 20 years.

Remember this is an incurable disease, these options are only treatments. But, they are our only options to live. Our ONLY line of defense is to try living as close to a healthy life as possible while either being slaves to a machine that filters our blood of toxins or by taking 8-12 anti-rejection medications for life. These medications prevent the body's immune system from rejecting or killing off the new organ. So, we basically no longer have an immune system and are prone to all types of illnesses, infections and diseases. The same medications that keep your new transplanted kidney functioning can also make you lose your hair, gain weight upwards of 75-100lbs, and cause skin cancer (among several other horrible side effects).

So, when you are celebrating with your family and friends this holiday season, please consider becoming a living kidney donor and save a life like mine. Although our options to stay alive aren't much, it's everything to us and our loved ones to live as long as we can no matter what the cost. There are over 100,000 people currently on the kidney transplant list just like myself waiting for that amazing call that will change our lives.
HELP SAVE A LIFE, HELP SAVE MY LIFE🙏❤️

Please click on the link if you want more information about becoming a living kidney donor https://nkr.org/QNR989

I also created a GoFundMe.
Please consider donating to help me pay off medical expenses due to needing a life changing kidney transplant. This is my kidney transplant journey and even though we are blessed to have insurance, it doesn't cover all of the imaging, procedures to help with chronic pain, medications and testing to get multi listed at more than one hospital. I have been unable to work and fully disabled since March of 2020. We are currently relying solely on my husband's paychecks. I'm also in the process of waiting on social security to evaluate my case which can take up to a year or longer. We are blessed to have insurance but I'm currently taking 22 different medications monthly and that will change once I receive a kidney transplant to much more because of the anti-rejection medications I'll need to take for the rest of my life to help keep my kidney functioning. I'm currently multi-listed at two hospitals, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida and UF Health Shands hospital in Gainesville Florida. In January, I'll be trying to get multi listed at Tampa General hospital because it's only an hour and a half away from our home. Each hospital calls for their own tests and my insurance will only pay for one annual testing, the rest is on my shoulders to fund. Being multi-listed helps me to receive a deceased kidney donor quicker if I'm unable to find a living donor (I already had 6 amazing people in my life test but unfortunately they couldn't donate due to either emotional, mental or physical reasons). Any donations, big or small, will go towards any medical expenses due to needing a kidney transplant.

Thank you for your support.
https://gofund.me/b2827f1d

Wishing you all a very happy holiday from our family to yours.



Mike Lisowski
Marissa Lisowski
Joe DeRosa

11/09/2025

Our health insurance changes in January from Cigna to Aetna and I'm actually looking very forward to Tampa General and Sarasota Memorial Hospital being back in network. My local nephrologist put in a referral to Tampa General so I can get multi listed there. It's only an hour and a half away. Mike Lisowski wants to get retested there as well. I know I hate change more than anything but this is a good change. I honestly have no idea what this new insurance will cover but I know that these two hospitals weren't in our coverage before and to be honest the Sarasota Memorial Hospital emergency on Toledo blade is amazing and extremely thorough. Glad to know if I have an emergency I only need to travel a few miles up the road from my home instead of driving 35-45 minutes to the next town over. I'll keep you all updated on what happens. Hoping to get through the holidays without any issues but it would be amazing to get another kidney offer for Christmas. Keep the prayers coming please, it's greatly appreciated ❤️🙏

A basic conversation between family and friends usually starts with either "How are you doing?", "How's it going?" or "W...
10/28/2025

A basic conversation between family and friends usually starts with either "How are you doing?", "How's it going?" or "What's up?"
I stopped sugar coating the answer. I started telling them the truth and stopped saying what I thought others would want to hear to make them feel more comfortable. I guess I just stopped caring about what other people thought and started caring more about how I actually felt. I cared more about my feelings than theirs. At home, I'm free to talk and open up to my husband, Mike Lisowski . He knows the truth and sees my daily struggles. He's my number one supporter and accepts me for me. I never have to act or pretend in front of him. He took the vows "through sickness and in health" seriously! I'm grateful for his love and support everyday. When it comes to your own mental health, sometimes you need to put yourself first. It's not selfish to prioritize your own feelings. But , it's very important to be your true unapologetic self. So, when people ask me how I'm doing, the truth comes out and it may make them feel uncomfortable. And that's O.K. because your people will accept you for your true self and the others can just leave. As my fifth grade math teacher used to say, "The door swings both ways." Sending you all hope and light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep going, You got this❣️🙏

I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ AND SHARE 🙏Hello, my name is Marissa Lisowski, I'm 44 years old and live in North Port Flo...
10/16/2025

I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ AND SHARE 🙏

Hello, my name is Marissa Lisowski, I'm 44 years old and live in North Port Florida. I have been struggling with a very progressive and incurable kidney disease called polycystic kidney disease, also known as PKD. I'm currently in stage 4 with only 17% kidney function. These are my monsters. I live with them everyday. The pain is excruciating and the cysts rupture without any warning. All the white circles you see are fluid filled cysts. There are thousands and the doctors can't find my actual kidney because of all the layers of cysts there are. My kidneys push up against other organs as well as my ribcage making it harder to breathe. There is no room for my kidneys to go since they are so enlarged. They are the size of footballs and will eventually need to be surgically removed. Please consider being a living kidney donor. You can be my hero and give me a second chance at life. Click the link to my Microsite from the National Kidney Registry if you are interested in becoming my living donor. You can read my full story to better understand what it's like to live with this disease everyday and the battles I'm currently facing and will be facing in the very near future.

https://nkr.org/QNR989

I also created a GoFundMe.
Please consider donating to help me pay off medical expenses my insurance doesn't cover. I have been unable to work and fully disabled since March of 2020. We are currently relying solely on my husband's paycheck and his company's insurance. It's becoming very difficult to make ends meet financially. Although we are blessed to have insurance, not everything is covered such as specific medications and procedures I need to take. I'm currently taking 22 different medications monthly and that will change once I receive a kidney transplant to much more because of the anti-rejection medications I'll need to take for the rest of my life to keep my kidney working. I'm also multi-listed at two hospitals, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida and UF Health Shands hospital in Gainesville Florida. Each hospital calls for their own tests and my insurance will only pay for one hospital testing, the rest is on my shoulders to fund. Being multi-listed helps me to receive a deceased kidney donor quicker but, there are over 100,000 people who are currently waiting for a deceased kidney. Fact is, there are people dying everyday before receiving a call for a deceased donor. I've been waiting for 3 and a half years. Finding a living kidney donor match could only take a few months instead of continuing to wait on the transplant list. Please consider becoming a living kidney donor. It could save lives, like mine. Also any donations, big or small, will go towards any medical expenses due to needing a kidney transplant. Thank you for your support.
https://gofund.me/b2827f1d



Marissa Lisowski Mike Lisowski Joe DeRosa WINK News The News-Press (Fort Myers and Cape Coral) WFLA News Channel 8 News 6 WKMG / ClickOrlando

***UPDATE***Yesterday, October 15th, I got my labs done and had to send back the lab kits to UF Health Shands hospital i...
10/16/2025

***UPDATE***
Yesterday, October 15th, I got my labs done and had to send back the lab kits to UF Health Shands hospital in Gainesville FL and the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville FL. These kits are sent to me every 90 days to make sure they find me the best match. Checking for antibodies and which blood groups I can accept for the best chance of accepting a deceased donor kidney without rejection. Both hospitals send in their own kits, each hospital wants their own results. One wants the kit sent back through FedEx and the other says to put it in my mailbox to be picked up by the postman. I still can't get my head around me traveling with my own blood vials in a box. Just handing it off to a complete stranger in hopes it gets where it needs to go without the vials breaking (that has actually happened two times already). Anyways, both kits were sent out. Waiting on the hospitals to know they received them. Checked my LabCorp patient portal this morning and my kidney function is still 17%. No change from last month which is a win for me. Still battling with insurance and hospital bills. Mike's insurance is changing in January and I can't get a straight answer if it will still be in network for both of my transplant hospitals. I still have no idea what my copay and deductible will be for specialists and how much my 22 medications will cost me monthly. And on top of all of this I'm getting reevaluated for social security disability. If I didn't have bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. I'm trying to stay calm and positive but it seems no matter what I do there is always another hurdle to jump over. I pray daily and have faith that God will get me through. He never gives us more than we can handle. Please please please share my story! Share my GoFundMe page, help me to reach my goal. I have so much weighing on me physically with my health and complications of living with stage 4 polycystic kidney disease. It's hard enough feeling the chronic pain and fatigue every single day. Please help relieve my financial burden so I can focus 100% on finding a donor and navigating through life with this very progress incurable kidney disease. Thank you for your support and God bless you 🙏❤️

Mike Lisowski Marissa Lisowski

Hello, my name is Marissa Lisowski. I am 44 years old and live … Marissa Lisowski needs your support for Support Marissa Lisowski's Kidney Transplant Journey

Address

North Port, FL

Telephone

+19417639807

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Find a Kidney For Marissa posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Find a Kidney For Marissa:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category