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2015 RIDER

 GILDA GOPAL

Kidney Recipient
Age 47 ~ Daly City, CA
Sales Associate

Sponsored by California Transplant Donor Network


In 2002, at age 35, Philippines native Gilda Gopal was living in the Bay Area and working in a home improvement store. Until then, she had always enjoyed good health, but was now bothered by a cough and fatigue. When she finally went to a doctor, the news was devastating - she was in renal failure and was immediately sent to the ER, where she was put on dialysis. Because she needed regular treatments, she and her husband, Raj, could not travel much and the rigors of dialysis left her drained. "After each session, I wanted to sleep all day, but I had to work full time," she said. Four years later, Gilda's life was restored thanks to a kidney donor. Now Gilda and Raj volunteer as Donate Life Ambassadors for the California Transplant Donor Network.


Gilda's Story

In 2002, at age 35, Philippines native Gilda Gopal was living in the Bay Area and working in a home improvement store. Until then, she had always enjoyed good health, but now was bothered by a cough and fatigue. She eventually saw a doctor and received stunning news.

After reviewing her blood work, her doctor told her that her kidneys were not functioning properly and that she was in renal failure. "My doctor told me I had no time to waste, I had to get to the emergency room right away," she recalled.

A day after going to the ER, Gilda was placed on dialysis. From now on Gilda would need to undergo dialysis three days a week, for several hours at a time.

Gilda's life and that of her husband, Raj, were turned upside down. Because she needed regular treatments, the couple could not travel much and the rigors of dialysis left her drained. "I wanted to sleep all day after treatments, but I had to work full time," she said.

Gilda could be freed from the dialysis machines if she received a transplant. But doctors told her because of the shortage of organ donors, Gilda would probably have to wait years for a new kidney.

"It was hard after a while. I began to give up hope that I would ever have the opportunity to be transplanted. I thought maybe there was no hope for me," said Gilda.

Her husband, Raj, said seeing his wife struggle hurt him as well: "It was hard for me to keep her spirits up because she had lost hope."

Four years passed. On February 5, 2006, Gilda and Raj decided to visit some of the missions south of San Francisco. Just as they walked into the mission they received "the call" from the University of California, San Francisco. They immediately traveled back to San Francisco, and Gilda received her new kidney. Because someone said "yes" to donation, Gilda now leads a normal life, dialysis-free. She continues to work, and she and her husband can now travel.

"Life is so good now. I am so thankful to my donor for giving me a second chance at life", she proclaimed. "Raj and I volunteer as Donate Life Ambassadors for the California Transplant Donor Network, explaining to people how registering as an organ and tissue donor may save someone's life. When people ask me how I can say that, I tell them 'look at me, I am the proof that it does.'"