New Port Richey father battles kidney disease while searching for donor

Raising kidney disease awareness

The National Kidney Foundation says about 500,000 people in the U.S. are battling polycystic kidney disease. Among them: Dennis Santino of New Port Richey. FOX 13’s Regina Gonzalez reports.

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - March marks National Kidney Month; a time to raise awareness about kidney diseases, like polycystic kidney disease.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, about half a million people in the United States are battling it.

One of them is Dennis Santino of New Port Richey.

Pictured: Dennis Santino.

The backstory:

Over a decade ago, 49-year-old Santino went to the emergency room for intense back pain while on vacation with his daughter Gigi. He never could've imagined he'd receive life-changing news.

"They came in and said, 'we've got good news, and we got bad news,'" Santino recalled. "The good news is there's nothing wrong with your back. The bad news is you have an incurable kidney disease that we found, and that's what's causing the pain. What they diagnosed me with was polycystic kidney disease, which is hereditary kidney disease. Basically, what happens is, over time, cysts start to form until your kidney is completely taken over by the cysts."

Dennis tried everything from experimental drug trials to changing his diet in order to avoid dialysis over the last ten years, but his doctors say soon, he may not have a choice.

Pictured: Dennis Santino with his daughter GiGi.

"Renal failure is 15 and below. I'm at an eight. "So, the next step for me is eventually dialysis," Santino added.

Even though they're pushing for treatment he can do at home, it's still not sustainable as a single father with a full-time, labor-intensive job.

"I have a 15-year-old daughter. I can't be in my room from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the rest of my life," Santino said.

His daughter GiGi is his constant motivation to find a living donor, since nobody in his extended family qualified.

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Big picture view:

In December 2024, he was put on the national transplant waitlist but was advised it could be years before he gets a call.

"There are, I believe, close to 90,000 patients in the nation on the national waitlists to get a kidney transplant," said TGH's Dr. Hunter Witt.

Dr. Hunter Witt is an abdominal transplant surgeon at the TGH Transplant Institute, and says living kidney donations are a crucial solution.

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Their program allows friends, relatives or even an anonymous person to donate a kidney to help someone in need.

"We also participate in a program called the National Kidney Registry," Dr. Witt explained. Other hospitals throughout the nation are also in this program. So, a loved one might not be a match for someone needing a kidney transplant, but they might be a match for someone in New Hampshire or Arizona and that person might have a loved one who's a match."

To be a kidney donor, you generally need to be at least 18 years old, in good physical and mental health, and free of certain medical conditions. Tests and consultations are conducted first, where those interested can learn more, and ask questions.

Dr. Witt says his team answers this question a lot:

"Yes, kidney donors live just as long as patients who haven't donated their kidneys," Dr. Witt laughed. "We get that all the time. Of the thousands of people in America in the past 30, 40 years who have donated their kidneys, there's been no observable change in total lifespan."

Pictured: Dennis Santino with his daughter GiGi.

That's why people like Santino are anxiously hoping their match is out there.

"I have a beautiful 15-year-old daughter that makes me smile every day," Santino said with tears in his eyes. "I'm all she's got. She's all I got. And that right there is more than enough reason to be sitting here with you and begging somebody to say, 'hey, let me keep waking up to this.' You know, most people run from teenagers. I want to live with one."

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a donor, the TGH transplant institute's website has educational guides, along with a questionnaire you can fill out, and phone numbers you can call for more information.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Regina Gonzalez.

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