William- Kidney Recipient

In 2010, at the age of 38, William Powell, Jr., the husband of DuPont Circle Director of Admissions, Charmaine Powell, was hospitalized and told his kidneys had failed. With no known health issues that would have led to this diagnosis, this was a shock to William and his family.  Immediately, he began dialysis treatments that would last 4-5 hours, 3 days a week. 

William always kept a positive attitude and did his best to remain active and healthy despite the pain and exhaustion of dialysis treatments. He was eventually added to the transplant list. Several family members and friends tested to be living donors, but no one was a match.  On November 4th, William and Charmaine put their 3 year old son to bed and sat down to watch a movie. Just a short while into the movie, William’s phone rang and it was the transplant center saying that there was a kidney for William. 

He received his gift of life on November 5th, 2017…almost 7 years to the date of his original diagnosis. William and Charmaine became support systems for others on dialysis prior to his transplant and this year have also become Ambassadors for Donate Life through the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates. “Life can change at the blink of an eye. There are so many myths about organ and tissue donation out there and we want to “Be the Change” and create awareness for this cause. Without someone making the decision to donate life, William would still be battling everyday to keep his.”