Health LIFE D WORDS BY LAURIE WHITE KING
A successful kidney transplant has Dan Perkins back where he belongs
Dealing with adversity is nothing new to Dan Perkins.
After decades as a personal injury lawyer, serving as an advocate for causes as varied as Scouting America, The Salvation Army and civil rights, as well as living through a cancer diagnosis and recovery for Donna, his beloved wife of 41 years, he should have been shockproof when his personal physician told him he needed to see a doctor who specializes in kidney problems as soon as possible.
“ When I was 50 years old I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,” Dan said.“ I
PHOTO BY LAURIE WHITE KING immediately lost about 45-50 pounds. I started eating right. I started exercising. At the time, my mental outlook was‘ Oh, I’ m just going to be taking some medicine.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’ t going to be that simple. Despite his diabetes-inspired interventions, Dan began to experience a loss of kidney function and started seeing the recommended specialist who at that point could only monitor his condition.
“ I was in Stage 3 [ kidney failure ] and thought‘ OK, I’ m still living my life,’” he said.“ And then they told me I was hitting Stage 4, and I got really, really tired in the afternoon. After 2 o’ clock I was exhausted.”
By 2024, his kidney function had dropped to 20 % – Stage 5 kidney failure.“ I wasn’ t prepared for that. It was a huge shock for me.”
So, like the good lawyer he is, Dan began an intensive study of his options – primarily dialysis – making a“ barrage of appointments,” learning about the different types of dialysis and having his veins mapped. He learned enough to know dialysis was not the path he wanted to be forced to take.
His best option, he knew, was a transplant.
“ If you can avoid dialysis and get a kidney transplant, the benefits include greater life expectancy, better overall health and freedom from the severe restrictions of dialysis treatment,” he said in a speech he gave to The Salvation Army last year.
Without hesitation, his family – Donna and his three girls Kristen, Katie and Sarah – stepped up to donate a kidney.
Because of her past cancer, Donna was ineligible and Kristen was eliminated due to a medication she took. But both Katie and Sarah said‘ I’ ll be glad to do it Dad’ and“ that was our path forward,” he said.
“ So then Katie called me up and said‘ Dad, I’ ve got good news and bad news’ and I said‘ well, what … what?’ and she said‘ well the bad news is, I can’ t be a donor for you,’” Dan said.“ The good news is, I’ m pregnant.’ So that was a good thing. Then Sarah stepped up and agreed to be my donor,” said Perkins.
A battery of tests began and was approved for a transplant by both Baylor and UT-Southwestern in early March of 2025. The average wait for a kidney was four to five years, he was told.
“ That didn’ t concern me because Sarah had agreed to be my donor and a live donor kidney was better than a deceased donor kidney,” he said.“ My race against time was to get the live transplant before I had to go on dialysis.”
On March 19, Sarah underwent donor tests and she was cleared for the surgery. Dan was to meet with his surgeon that coming Friday, but the next
12 GREENVILLE LIFE