Donors sought to help residents in need of organs

Before he received a new kidney, Nathan Fossett felt tired all the time....

Fossett, who learned in 2002 at age 58 that he had been born with just one kidney, said he was lucky. He only had to wait nine months for a transplant....

Fossett's story defies the numbers. People who need a kidney often spend about five years waiting for a transplant....

More than 350 Prince George's County residents — about 17 percent of the 2,100 on the Washington, D.C., suburban organ donation waiting list — are waiting for a transplant.

Minority health issues account for a great deal of the need for donors. Because of predispositions to high blood pressure, diabetes and other conditions, roughly 75 percent of the people whose kidneys shut down are black, transplant officials say. Kidneys filter toxins from the bloodstream.