Dunkirk man continues efforts to battle kidney disease
Dunkirk man continues efforts to battle kidney disease
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This year marks the fifth anniversary of Jeff Griffin's efforts to raise awareness of kidney disease and to remember his late wife.
Griffin, a Dunkirk resident, has taken part in the past five Walk For Kidney Health benefits in Buffalo. Griffin's wife, Margaret, passed away in March 2022 due to Calciphylaxis, a rare disease with no known cure. Money raised from this walk each year goes to the Kidney Foundation of Western New York. This year, the walk was held September 6, and Griffin said they were able to raise $2,400, with the funds going towards helping those in need of kidney transplants and other kidney related diseases.
Griffin shared some statistics from the Kidney Foundation, including that kidney transplants have declined slightly in 2025, with 27,573 transplants performed: 21,052 from deceased donors and 6,521 from living donors. This represents 102 fewer transplants than in 2024. More than 90,000 Americans are still waiting for a lifesaving kidney transplant.
Currently, there have been 13,868 kidney transplants in the United States this year, and as of July 30, there are 95,492 people waiting on kidney transplants in the United States. In New York State for 2025, there were 2,037 kidney transplants, with 1,525 from a deceased donor and 512 from living donors. 1,117 kidney transplants were performed in New York so far in 2026, and 7,119 people are currently waiting on a kidney transplant in the state.
Kidney disease is personal for Griffin, following both his wife's passing and his own battle with kidney cancer. There is still no cure for Calciphylaxis, though Griffin said there are two medications being tried as of right now, noting that these medicines are not helping people with other diseases along with it, such as diabetes.
"We are trying to help people get kidney transplants so they can survive and enjoy their life, keep going," Griffin said. "There's a lot of young people in this world, and we really want to help bring awareness of kidney disease that keeps getting bigger and bigger in the U.S. I do it in memory of my wife. She was a great person. She would've done it. If she didn't have to get a kidney and could've given one she would have."
90% of the funds raised by the Kidney Foundation of Western New York goes towards taking care of people who need transportation, medical expenses, anything to do with kidney care. Only 10% of what is raised goes to administration fees.
"A lot of people with kidney disease can't work," Griffin said. "When you're on dialysis, being on dialysis is one of the most demoralizing things in the world to me. You're on a machine for four hours, you can't move and it's sucking the blood out of you, cleaning it, and putting it back into you. It's the most painful thing and when my wife would come home from dialysis, she was exhausted."
Griffin said the next day his wife would be refreshed, but coming home after she was exhausted, and three days later she would be exhausted again. Part of doing the walk every year is helping to raise money for people to get them through it to survive until they can get their transplant.
"We raise the money to help people live their lives and be with their families," Griffin said. "That was the one thing the donor said to my wife -- my wife lived 11 years after she got the transplant -- is that it helps people to keep going and be with their families and enjoy life. That's what I really want people to know, is to do this you have to bring awareness and help people."
Following Griffin's own battle with kidney cancer in 2014, Griffin only has one kidney of his own, now getting frequent kidney stones. If one of those stones were to block up his kidney, Griffin said he would go into renal failure and pass away.
"That's one of the biggest things people have to understand, people need kidneys to survive," Griffin said. "Renal failure is a killer. Kidney disease is one of the biggest things for disability with social security also, because you can't work. I hate to drill that home, but it's so tiring and so exhausting that you can't do it. Without a good kidney you can't be functional."
For more information on the Kidney Foundation of Western New York, visit kfwny.org.