Minnesota woman in need of kidney donor as she battles end-stage renal disease

Could you have a life-saving kidney? A Minnesota woman says she needs one.

"The journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster," said Laura Bachmeier. 

Last winter, Bachmeier was told she had end-stage renal disease and that her kidneys are operating at less than 10%.

"A good way to explain it is I just had no energy whatsoever," she told WCCO.

The 34-year-old grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and works in the agriculture supply chain field. Bachmeier says the diagnosis hit another wound.

"I've had diabetes for over 30 years, but this adds a whole other layer to it," she said.

Six months later, Bachmeier is on a lifesaving list for a perfect organ and says she's waiting on a perfect organ match.

"I'm on dialysis seven days a week, every night," she said.

Bachmeier needs a match with Type O blood and a matching tissue type. She's also looking for a pancreas that would cure her diabetes.

"Sometimes if my blood sugar is low, is it because of my diabetes or is it [because] I'm not feeling good because of my dialysis?" Bachmeier said.

She says she could get a call any time of the day or night saying there's a match. When she gets that call, she'll need to drive from Alexandria, Minnesota, to her doctors in the Twin Cities within hours.

When WCCO told her, "You seem very optimistic," she responded by saying, "I'm very optimistic." 

She added that there were times she didn't feel that way.

"Being a burden on the family, things like that, or, 'Do we have to accommodate Laura differently than we did before?'" Bachmeier said.

Donate Life says 13 people die daily waiting for a transplant. A journey changing her life perspective.

"I'm hopeful," said Bachmeier.

You can register to be a living donor on M Health Fairview's website. The program allows you to specify Laura's name.