Brent Holler, of Hendersonville, is making a public plea for a kidney donor. For 10 years Holler has been dealing with polycystic kidney disease and is now facing end-stage renal disease.
“What they would be doing is giving the gift of life,” Holler said of a donor. “I would be so grateful. One healthy kidney is all you need. God gave us two to have a spare.”
Holler said when he was diagnosed in 2014, he was at 50% kidney function.
"I am now at 4%," Holler said.
Holler is on dialysis 10 hours a day with a machine set up by his bed, a situation that has severely curtailed his life. The retired engineer can't take trips because he must stay close to home.
“Right now, I’m so limited physically," Holler said. "I can’t do the things I used to enjoy.”
He loves to ski and loves the outdoors. He and his wife Ava have been married 44 years.
“He remains optimistic and positive,” Ava said. “It helps me because if he were to fall apart, I would fall apart. There’s people out there that will do this. We hear about it all the time at the transplant centers.”
Lyn Ellen Burkett, an assistant music professor at Western Carolina University, gifted a kidney to a friend a decade ago.
“Today is my 10th transplant-a-versary,” Burkett said. “Ten years ago today, I was in surgery having my left kidney removed, and it was given to my friend Debby. I knew her because we were both church musicians in the same community.”
Burkett said they both played the organ. She had a chance run-in with Debby who mentioned she had to retire because her kidneys were failing. Burkett's donation changed Debby’s life.
“It was a need that I felt was something I could do for her. And I was happy to do it," Burkett said.
Burkett feels great joy in the gift she gave her friend.
"I went through a lot of tests to make sure I was healthy enough to donate. My health is great,” she said.
Lauren Fieldman is a living transplant coordinator for Duke University School of Medicine.
“I have the best job in the world,” Fieldman said. “I work with the kindest, most giving people. You know, it’s a big ask. How does someone say, ‘Hey, you know, can I have your kidney?’ But it only takes one person to answer.”
The ideal candidate to be a donor for Holler must be in good physical health and have Type O blood.
“I’m currently working with Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, but I haven’t found a donor," Holler said. "If someone contacts me and wants to be considered as a donor, I will give them the information to contact the transplant center.”
“He’s very generous,” Ava said of her husband. “If someone needs him to do something, he does it."
She wants anyone reading this story to know that.
"This gift would mean a world of difference to our family," Ava said.
Holler may be reached by phone at 828-808-5553 or email:
Click here to learn more about Wake Forest: Atrium Health Living Kidney Donor Program.
Duke Living Donor Transplant Coordinator Lauren Fieldman may be reached by email at
STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSHendersonville man makes plea for kidney donor amid end-stage renal disease | WLOS
