World Kidney Day is a worldwide initiative to raise awareness about the significance of kidneys. Volunteers and staff from the Kidney Foundation will participate in community events aimed at raising awareness and teaching about preventative behaviors and risk factors, as well as highlighting our services and programs.

The story of Ryker

Ryker’s kidneys failed at the age of 5 weeks, and he was placed on perineal dialysis a week afterward. Ryker was linked up to the machine throughout the first 12 years of its existence. Ryker was recommended for transplantation at BC Children’s Hospital when he was 22 months old. Ryker’s father immediately undertook screening to become a kidney donor with the intention of rescuing his kid.

Ryker’s father’s donor kidney was safely transplanted into him on October 4, 2016, after 5 months of planning and setbacks. While his father, Mark, healed from the operation, his mother, Magda, who was unable to work since Ryker’s sickness, could be the major carer for Ryker in the hospital. The David Foster Foundation assisted the parents not just with the additional costs of the transplantation, but also with non-medical daily expenses that they were unable to pay prior to and after the transplant, allowing the family to concentrate on Ryker.