A Father’s Fight Against Polycystic Kidney Disease — And the Two Family Members Who Saved His Life
For Chris Schroeder, a 58-year-old resident of Walnut Creek, California, life has been defined by both extraordinary misfortune and extraordinary blessings. Growing up, he knew his family carried a dangerous legacy: polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a hereditary condition that causes cysts to grow on the kidneys until they eventually fail.
Chris saw the devastating impact firsthand. His grandfather died at 56 from the disease, and his mother underwent a kidney transplant in her late 60s. So from childhood, he lived with the quiet fear that one day he would face the same fate.
The First Transplant: A Miracle Match
By his early 40s, doctors noticed his kidney function was slowly declining, but they believed he still had decades before needing a transplant. Unfortunately, things changed rapidly when Chris turned 50. In 2007, he was told he needed a kidney transplant much sooner than anyone expected.
What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.
Chris’s wife, Sonia, insisted on being tested as a potential donor. She and Chris come from completely different genetic backgrounds — she is of Mexican descent — making a match highly unlikely. Chris even tried to convince her not to go through testing. But she refused to step back.
Against incredible odds, they turned out to be a match.
The transplant was successful, and for five years Chris enjoyed a renewed life. But then a rare and unpredictable disease struck again.
A Rare Setback
Around the five-year mark, Chris’s transplanted kidney suddenly began to fail. Extensive testing at UCSF Medical Center eventually uncovered the cause: C1q nephropathy, an extremely rare condition that spontaneously attacked the donor kidney. It had nothing to do with Chris’s own genetic disease.
Chris was forced onto peritoneal dialysis, spending eight hours every night connected to a machine through a catheter in his abdomen. “I felt okay in the morning,” he recalls, “but by bedtime I felt awful.” With his kidney function falling below 10%, he was placed back on the transplant waiting list.
A Son’s Unexpected Offer
One day, Chris’s son Ezra, then a 19-year-old student at Diablo Valley College, quietly approached his mother and said he wanted to be tested as a donor.
When Ezra eventually told his father, Chris broke down in tears. The offer filled him with pride — and fear. “It’s one thing for your wife to do this for you. But another thing when it’s your teenager. It was emotional and overwhelming.”
There was another complication: Chris and his medical team had monitored Ezra his entire life, checking for the genetic signs of PKD through ultrasounds. Although he had shown no symptoms, three different genes can trigger the disease later in life. Before he could donate, Ezra had to undergo a long, tense genetic evaluation.
Finally, the results came back: Ezra did not have the genetic markers for PKD. He was healthy, eligible, and determined to help his father.
The Second Transplant at UCSF
On December 18, 2014, under the care of world-renowned transplant surgeon Dr. Nancy Ascher, father and son underwent simultaneous surgeries at the UCSF Connie Frank Transplant Center.
Chris was nervous, but confident. “UCSF pioneered kidney transplant programs. They perform more than 600 transplants a year. I knew I was in the best hands.”
But recovery was far from easy.
A Difficult Recovery
Chris left the hospital on Christmas Eve — only to return two days later. A side effect of his pain medication caused his large intestine to shut down. After four days of treatment, he was discharged again, only for the same symptoms to return three days later.
This time, the issue was a kink in his small intestine — even more painful than before. He spent another five days in the hospital as doctors worked to solve the problem without another major surgery.
Because his second transplant also required the removal of his massively enlarged, cyst-covered native kidneys, Chris had undergone a much larger incision than usual — from pelvis to breastbone. Each diseased kidney weighed about three pounds.
Thankfully, after the final hospital stay, Chris’s digestive system stabilized and he avoided further surgery.
Ezra’s Recovery
For Ezra, the recovery was tougher than expected. “Cutting through strong pelvic muscles in such a young, athletic person made it more painful,” Chris explains. Still, thanks to winter break, Ezra had time to heal and was back on the basketball court within a month.
A Future Full of Gratitude
Today, Chris’s prognosis is strong. Doctors say that receiving a kidney from someone close in body size and sharing a 50% genetic match gives him the best chance for long-term success. He will undergo regular biopsies but expects this kidney to last the rest of his life — as long as he maintains a healthy lifestyle.
Reflecting on his journey, Chris is overwhelmed with gratitude.
“I’m amazed that my wife gave me her kidney first, and then my son — at such a young age — stepped up to save my life. The fact that they were both willing to go through something so difficult for me is incredible. I will never take that gift for granted.”
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