FORT WORTH, Texas — On July 17, 2021, an early morning phone call sent Carlos Duran rushing to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, not for a work emergency but for a kidney transplant.

Carlos Duran

After three years of juggling life with dialysis, Duran was ready to shed his three times a week dialysis schedule, which ate up much of his time, making it nearly impossible to go on trips with his family or friends.

“We had to work all our schedules around dialysis,” said Duran, MBA, an information systems specialist for facilities projects in Texas Health’s IT Project Management Office.

For Duran, having the surgery done at Texas Health Fort Worth just seemed right.

“It’s kind of funny because for some reason, we gravitate back to that hospital,” Duran said. “My son was born at the Fort Worth hospital. He became a junior volunteer at the hospital when he was in high school, and he later worked at that hospital transporting patients in Mission Control.”

And the experience strengthened those ties, with the kidney beginning to work immediately.

“Everybody was excellent,” Duran said. “They explained to us and my family what was going on and as far as what we're to expect and what not to expect. Everybody was just so attentive.”

Duran said the biggest benefit from his transplant has been the freedom he has regained.

“I didn’t have to be tied down to a machine anymore and just sit there, feeling like I have so much to do and I can’t do it because I’m stuck here,” Duran said.

He hopes to one day meet and thank in person the family of the young man whose kidney improved his quality of life and gave him back precious time with his family.

“I feel super blessed but, at the same time, sad that this young man lost his life,” Duran said. “Even if it’s 10, 15 years from now, if they want to meet, I would definitely honor that. And for anyone thinking of being a donor, thank you. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for being thoughtful, for being so considerate of others.”