Help for the Bakke Family

In the fall of 2021, Matt Bakke was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Presently, his kidneys are functioning at approximately 10% - 15%, which puts him at a critical level. Matt has been doctoring at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and it has been recommended that he receive a kidney transplant in hopes of avoiding dialysis.

The process of undergoing a transplant at the age of 34 with three small children is overwhelming for this young family. It will mean five to seven weeks of separation as he recovers and is required to be near the clinic in Rochester, MN. This will come with a mountain of medical bills and additional living expenses. Matt has started this long process and has already made frequent trips to Rochester, MN, from the Devils Lake area in North Dakota in preparation for this transplant.

To help this family with all these challenges and give them the opportunity to only worry about healing, we are setting up a GoFundMe page to establish financial assistance to address the growing medical bills, including the travel and living expenses before, during, and after the transplant.

Matt is also looking for potential living kidney donors. If you are willing to consider being a living donor, here is some general information to get you started with the process. Please visit https://mayoclinic.org/livingdonor and click on “Start your donor evaluation.” Follow the links and fill out the survey. You will need Matt’s date of birth which is 05/19/1987. Thank you for your consideration and for helping this family with this very important medical process.