Amy is seeking a live kidney donor.
Maybe you or someone you know?
Amy is seeking a living donor transplant. Amy’s blood type is A+, but the donor does NOT have to be a compatible blood and tissue match, because there is the option of joining a paired exchange or transplant chain, in which your donation to a matching recipient allows Amy to receive a matched kidney.
What’s the story?
In 1996 beloved Bay Area composer/performer Amy X Neuburg received a life-saving kidney and pancreas transplant. But transplanted organs do not last forever, and now Amy’s kidney is failing. Three close friends went through the testing process but were found to be ineligible as donors, so now she is reaching out to the community for help. If you are healthy, you can live a full-length, normal life with only one kidney.
What does donation involve?
- Amy is under the care of UCSF. You can learn more about living donor kidney transplants at their donor information site.
- You can check to see if you are eligible for consideration as a kidney donor, without any obligation, using this online form. The form will ask for Amy’s birth date, which is 4/23/62.
- You do not have to live in the San Francisco area for initial testing as a potential donor, as long as you have access to a medical lab.
- The testing process requires a number of lab visits over several months. It is entirely confidential and is covered by insurance.
- Donation surgery is performed laparoscopically and requires several nights in the hospital. You can resume normal activities fairly quickly.
- This FAQ page will answer many of your questions about the donation process.
I’m not up for donating a kidney but I’d like to help. What can I do?
- Share this website with people you know. It’s fine to post on social media — perhaps with a personal message if you know Amy. It may take several more tries to find one donor, but it only takes one donor to give Amy another chance at life.
- Stop by Chez X and say hello! Join Amy for a walk or an art date. Friends and activities help keep her spirits up.
- If you have not yet registered as a tissue or organ donor in the event of death, you can do that quickly at this site if you live in California. 6,000 people in the U.S. die every year waiting for transplants.
Your questions about Amy
How is Amy now?
Amy is OK, though limited in energy. She is staying well through peritoneal dialysis (PD) — a procedure she performs at home using a nighttime machine — and a restrictive diet.
Can she survive on PD indefinitely?
No. Some people can prolong their lives for decades on dialysis, but around 70% die within the first five years.
Is Amy on a waiting list for a cadaver kidney?
Yes. But this list is years long because not enough people sign up as organ donors. The health of kidney patients continues to decline while on dialysis, often to the point that they become ineligible for transplant.
Is Amy still making music?
Occasionally. Amy is immunocompromised and taking a break from performing — to avoid crowded spaces during COVID — and in her unpredictable condition is not taking on new large projects. But at times she is able to compose and produce in her studio, and she continues to DJ at Soul Sanctuary dance. InterMusic SF is where you can support Amy’s artistic work.
If you have further questions for Amy or just want to send a greeting, you are welcome to contact her using this form.
Amy X Neuburg (Oakland, California) has been developing her own brand of irreverently genre-crossing works for voice, live electronics and chamber ensembles for over 25 years, known for her innovative use of live looping technology with electronic percussion, her 4-octave vocal range and her colorful — often humorous — lyrics. One of the earliest performers to work with live digital looping, Amy has presented her solo “avant-cabaret” songs at such diverse venues as the Other Minds and Bang on a Can new music festivals, the Berlin International Poetry Festival, the Wellington and Christchurch Jazz Festivals (New Zealand), the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, electronic music festivals, colleges, rock clubs and concert halls throughout the U.S. and abroad.