State Representative Juggles Public Life, 7 Children
And World's Most Common Life-Threatening Genetic Disease

Utah’s Susan Lawrence receives life-saving transplant
and heads back to work.

(Kansas City) March 19, 2006—One month after a kidney transplant Susan Lawrence was back at work with only a few changes to her hectic schedule. She’s not your typical working mom. Susan Lawrence is the mother of seven children and a Utah State Representative.

Rep. Lawrence had never heard of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) until she was diagnosed during her last pregnancy. For more than 10 years, she didn’t show any symptoms. By 2005, she suffered from high blood pressure, her kidneys had been removed, she was on dialysis and she needed a transplant.

PKD affects more people than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, Down syndrome and sickle cell anemia — combined. For some 600 thousand Americans with PKD, fluid-filled cysts grow on the kidneys. Over time, these cysts get bigger and multiply. Most PKD patients will suffer kidney failure. There is no treatment or cure for PKD.

Rep. Lawrence found support within her large family. She even found a donor. Lawrence and her sister, Marjorie King, went through a full year of tests. Over the Christmas holiday break, they checked into a Salt Lake City hospital for surgery.

Since her successful transplant, Rep. Lawrence has cut back on her public schedule, but only slightly. She’s back at work, taking anti-rejection medications, smiling through swollen cheeks, and hoping to inspire others.

The not-for-profit PKD Foundation is the only organization, worldwide, dedicated to finding a treatment and a cure for this devastating disease. For more information about PKD and the PKD Foundation, visit www.pkdcure.org or call 1-800-PKD-CURE.

March is National Kidney Month.

To schedule an interview with Rep. Susan Lawrence or other PKD patients and experts in your area, contact PKD Foundation Media Manager Jennifer Robinson at (816) 268-8493 or jenniferr@pkdcure.org.