SACRED HEART KIDNEY TRANSPLANT 3-16-17

A local man who has been on a kidney transplant waiting list for six years finally received a kidney. The transplant was performed at Sacred Heart Hospital, their first kidney transplant. Renwick Avant, of Pensacola, was diagnosed with kidney disease 8 years ago and as his kidneys began to fail he had to have dialysis three times a week. Avant was a baseball and football coach with the Myrtle Grove Youth Association, but had to give that all up. Sacred Heart’s transplant surgeon, Dr. Rick Stevens said the average wait time for patients needing a transplant is 4 to10 years. So far, Dr. Stevens has performed three transplants and he hopes to do about 100 transplants a year.