Juan Carlos (JC) Montañez

Type of Donation:          kidney recipient

Age and Location:          Age 45 – Denver, CO

Donation Date:                7/05/2015

Sponsor:                              Honored by Donor Alliance

JUAN’S STORY

The youngest of nine siblings, Juan Carlos (JC) Montañez was born to migrant farm workers in rural California. Throughout his formative years, he was high achieving in school, but struggled at times at home. After junior high, peer pressure led him to join a neighborhood gang. Engulfed in a culture of addiction and incarceration, he realized he needed to leave the small town where he grew up.

JC’s pursuit of higher education brought him to Colorado. Over the next decade, he ended up dropping out of college but found success, first as an architectural drafter and store planner for a grocery chain, then as an international development director for a Mexico-based builder. However, in 2008 when the economic bubble burst, he lost everything. He knew he needed change but had no idea that his life was about to change more than he could have ever expected.

“In 2009, while working abroad, I was diagnosed with acute End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and placed on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. After six years on nightly peritoneal dialysis, at 41 years-old, I received the gift of life with a transplant in July 2015. This experience, and the other experiences I’ve lived through, are what drive me to be an advocate and guide for others living with chronic illness.”

Since his diagnosis, JC has returned to college to pursue a career in healthcare to pay it forward. While on peritoneal dialysis—then, post-transplant—he earned associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees – all focused on patient safety and quality-of-care for those navigating the U.S. healthcare system. He also spends as much time as possible volunteering: he is a peer mentor for students and disabled persons, an advisor for a telehealth startup, an active Donor Alliance and National Kidney Foundation advocate, and a pro bono English-Spanish translator for his state bar association’s advocacy/outreach programs.

Through all his hardships, JC has realized how truly blessed he is. “I’m grateful to my donor to still be alive and have not only committed to bettering myself, but also helping others in my local and extended patient family.”