Son of local advocate receives kidney after waiting over a year

MCCANDLESS, Pa. — After more than a year, the wait is finally over for 34-year-old Alex Reed.

“He hasn’t quit smiling since he woke up. He woke up smiling,” said Alex’s mother Bobbie Reed.

Alex’s mom remembers the phone call from the hospital last Tuesday, March 5 with the good news.

“I was really speechless again,” Bobbie Reed said. “It was indescribable. It actually really did happen.”

Alex was getting a kidney during National Kidney Month. He went into surgery that same day he got the call, and on Friday, he was able to go home from the hospital.

“After the kidney transplant, he was a different human being,” said Bobbie Reed. “You could just see as if a light bulb came on. Very energetic. It is very much life-changing.”

Channel 11 first met Bobbie Reed at her McCandless home in July of 2023.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> Local advocate working to find kidney for her son, raise awareness for others in similar situations

A staunch advocate for organ donation for the last decade, Reed was fighting to find her son a kidney.

Alex was 22 when his kidneys started failing. He was able to get the life-saving transplant from a living donor until that kidney also started failing 14 months ago.

“I’m very hopeful this will last him a very, very long time,” Bobbie Reed said.

Thousands of Pennsylvanians are on transplant waiting lists with more being added every day.

Grateful that her son is getting a second chance, Reed is vowing to continue her advocacy work and raise awareness about kidney disease.

Reed volunteers with the National Kidney Foundation, the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), and the American Kidney Fund.

She encourages everyone to sign up to be a donor and take a simple blood test to see if they are at risk for kidney disease.

“When caught early, it’s treatable, and you can lead a much more happy life,” Reed said.

Reed said Alex is doing well and has a follow-up doctor’s appointment on Monday to make sure his new kidney is still working as it should.

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