‘The big ask, big give.’ Longtime West Richland firefighter in desperate need of a donor

Ray Newton has spent more than 20 years helping people.

The West Richland firefighter has battled fires, responded to car wrecks and taken people to the hospital during his career with Benton County Fire District 4.

Now, he has a big ask from someone in the community — a kidney.

Polycystic kidney disease, a degenerative condition that causes growths on his kidneys, has left Newton unable to go out on calls, and may cost him his career.

Newton was in his 20s when he discovered he’d developed the same condition his father suffers from.

Now 46, Newton has watched the condition of his kidneys slowly deteriorate as they have swollen to nearly double their normal size.

“My kidneys are like 26 centimeters,” Newton said. “Regular kidneys are not 26 centimeters.”

The disease has robbed him of his energy, and his ability to respond to emergencies.

Now, the District 4 captain is on light duty while he manages their fleet of fire trucks and does other tasks. While he is happy to continue working at the station, he would rather be responding to calls.

Working with the community runs in his family.

His father volunteered with District 4 and great-grandfather worked for the Hanford Fire Department.

“I like engaging with people when they’re having a really bad day and trying to make that day better,” he said. “Then there are other aspects to this — the team aspects. That’s one thing I missed because I’m not on my shift. I used to be the captain of A shift. ... Managing people and being around the kitchen table, I miss that.”

Now, Newton is hoping he can find someone quickly since his kidneys are in complete failure and he’s facing the prospect of dialysis.

Dialysis would mean the end of his work as a firefighter. The procedure, which filters extra salt, water and waste out of the bloodstream, can take several hours, multiple times a week.

“I can’t be on shift and be like, ‘Hey, I need to do dialysis at home,’” he said.

Kidney donations

While Newton is on the transplant list if a donated kidney becomes available, he is hoping to find living donor.

“Kidneys last a lot longer if I get it from a living donor,” Newton explained. “The average is like 12 years. My dad had a living donor transplant and his kidney that he received has been good for 20 years. Deceased donors, the average is eight years.”

And Heather is planning to donate her kidney to him, if needed.

For now, Ray Newton is working with Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle to arrange for a kidney donation.

Heather Newton has led efforts to get the word out about the need for living donors. She set up a Facebook group to help.

“We’re just putting the word out there to friends, family and the community, if anybody would like to help,” he said. “They call this the big ask, big give.”

There are some limitations to who can donate one of their two kidneys. The person can’t be suffering from diabetes, heart disease or cancer and must have normal kidney function.

Normally, the donor would need to match Newton’s blood type of O, he said.

But even if someone can’t give directly to Newton, there is a chance that giving to someone else may help find a donor for him.

If someone donates a kidney that goes to someone else, the person who found the donor receives a voucher to use to increase their priority on the National Kidney Registry.

And the surgery is covered by the recipient’s insurance, so the donor won’t have to worry about the cost of the two to three days in the hospital.

The entire procedure can take about six weeks to recover completely. The people can be ready to return to work within two weeks.

For more information contact the Virginia Mason kidney donor information line at 206-341-0925.