Woman in Thomaston in need of a transplant

THOMASTON, Conn. (WFSB) - April is National Donate Life Month, and for those in need of an organ donation the time spent waiting is often counted in years.

Lisa Bugnacki, a woman from Thomaston is in need of a transplant, and the community is rallying around her to find a living donor.

Bugnacki needs a kidney due to Bergers disease which damages the filters of the kidney.

She has had the disease since she was 8 years old.

“I am not a quitter”, said Bugnacki.

She needs the transplant after learning the donation she got from her ex-husband didn’t take, and she has been in rejection all along.

With her medical background she recently learned that her options for a match are limited.

Dr. Glyn Morgan, Chief of transplant surgery at Hartford Hospital says roughly 950 people are waiting for a kidney in Connecticut making the odds of getting a kidney from an altruistic stranger are slim.

“We probably have people come in like that maybe 7 or 8 times a year...of those 7 or 8 less than half will actually be suitable”, said Morgan.

Bugnacki’s family is handling the day to day care but when it comes to finding a kidney, it turns out location a donor is just one more thing that takes a village.

Due to Lisa’s dialysis treatments, she is too tired to cook so she has become a regular customer at the corner diner Rozzi’s.

Rozzi’s servers noticed the growing number of deliveries headed to her address, and say they make everything with love.

There is no clear end to the pendulum sway of Lisa’s illness but the community’s support for her is rock solid.

“It’s touching, they don’t want to see you give up”, said Bugnacki.

If you want to get tested and learn more about donating a kidney, call 860-696-2021 or visit nkr.org/VNS265.

Copyright 2023 WFSB. All rights reserved.