How would you like to help the Ann & George Lopez Foundation? Donate your kidney. That’s exactly what Ann Lopez did in 2005 when her husband, comedian George Lopez, suffered from kidney failure. To most it sounds like a sacrifice of unspeakable proportions, but when Voluntales asked Ann if she had any doubts about live donating an organ, her answer was an unequivocal, “No. None.” Lopez jokes – well, sort of – that her mission is to have the whole world walk around with one kidney. Don’t worry, if you’re not quite ready for that, the Ann & George Lopez Foundation needs plenty of help in other areas. Read on for our heartfelt conversation about a silent killer and what the Lopez family is doing to fight back.
So before you started your own foundation you were obviously supporting a number of different organizations?
Yeah. It’s funny, because whenever you’re in the public eye, you get so many requests every single day for things, and it’s hard to focus. It’s hard to say no. You could be doing charity things every single day of the year. But you kind of have to focus and, of course, for us, because of everything that happened, organ donation and live donation has been a very, very big component. We also wanted to branch out into education, and George is very interested in veterans. It’s a subject very dear to his heart. Because of his kidney, he can’t go to Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq, so he tries to do it here at home. He visits veterans’ hospitals every city he goes to do a concert in. We bought companion dogs for men who have had their legs blown off. We were doing those things on our own, and we thought, why don’t we start our own foundation now and wrap everything that we’re interested in, in one fell swoop. So that’s how we decided to do it.
Yeah. It’s funny, because whenever you’re in the public eye, you get so many requests every single day for things, and it’s hard to focus. It’s hard to say no. You could be doing charity things every single day of the year. But you kind of have to focus and, of course, for us, because of everything that happened, organ donation and live donation has been a very, very big component. We also wanted to branch out into education, and George is very interested in veterans. It’s a subject very dear to his heart. Because of his kidney, he can’t go to Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq, so he tries to do it here at home. He visits veterans’ hospitals every city he goes to do a concert in. We bought companion dogs for men who have had their legs blown off. We were doing those things on our own, and we thought, why don’t we start our own foundation now and wrap everything that we’re interested in, in one fell swoop. So that’s how we decided to do it.
How much did George’s own kidney transplant impact you?
It was five years ago, and we were working with the National Kidney Foundation for quite a while. That was great, but we wanted to focus on our own thing and expand it a little more to help in general, obviously with an emphasis on organ donation and live donation and raising awareness for live donation. That’s one of the things that I’m really passionate about because there’s about 100,000 Americans waiting for an organ, and about 90,000 of them are kidneys. It’s an overwhelming percentage of the people that need kidneys. And if people only knew how easy it was to give a kidney. I mean for me, it was easier than having a baby. It really was. It’s not a hard operation anymore. There’s a lot of misconception out there about what it’s like. It’s all laparoscopic. I have a small four-inch scar on my stomach and three little scars where they went in. It was a very, very, very easy operation. So one of the things we want to get out is the message of live donation because people don’t have to wait on the list. If you get yourself tested, you can just be a donor right away.
You two are in the public eye and you’re trying to spread this message. Have you noticed an improvement? Do you get feedback?
Oh, yeah. I think George and I actually coming forward and talking about our experience made a very big impact. I think a lot of people started a dialogue, especially with husbands and wives. I talk to a lot of people who are thinking about being live donors and walk them through the whole process. And we also have a lot of people who have said, ‘I wasn’t scared to go through my transplant, because I can see you on television every night and you’re doing well. You’re healthy.’ I think that we helped take away a lot of the taboo. And that’s what we want to continue to do. We want to continue to [fight the misconception] that after you have an organ transplant you’re sick. No, actually, you’re sick before you have the organ transplant. George was playing golf ten days after surgery. As for me, I have so much energy. Giving my kidney has not impacted me at all. I still ride my horse. I still exercise. I’m a mom. I’m a television producer. I have a very busy life, and it hasn’t impacted me at all. My goal is for everyone to just walk around with one kidney. Everyone needs to donate a kidney, because it’s fabulous. You save someone’s life, and it has no impact on your own health. So go give the kidney.
But isn’t it insane that 90 percent of that list is kidney transplants?
Well, George had a genetic defect from birth that he didn’t even know about. He had a narrowing of a urethra. So his urine was going back into his kidney his whole life, damaging his kidney. He didn’t know. So there’s things like that. Diabetes is also on the rise, and diabetes is a precursor to kidney disease. And high blood pressure. It’s also kind of a silent disease. George had signs – he was getting tired. Well, he was flying around the country all the time. He was working hard. Aren’t we all tired? We live such busy lives now. I know I’m tired. You may not think, but that actually could be a sign of kidney disease. The signs are very subtle. So once you actually go to the doctor, and something is really wrong, this could have been happening for a long time. It creeps up on you until it’s too late.
Did you have any doubt in your mind about giving your own?
No. No. None. Both my parents were physicians, so I’ve been around medicine my whole life. It’s really funny because when I was 16 years old, I put a donor thing on my license, because it was something I really believed in. It’s funny that I got kind of called, shall I say, to see if my belief was real. I’m very proud that it was. I had no qualms. It was such an easy thing to do to save my husband’s life. When you’re put in the position to be able to actually save a life through something so simple, it’s quite powerful. It’s probably, after giving birth to my own daughter, the most important thing I’ve ever done. Unfortunately people do back out. And you have to go through testing. You have to go through psychological testing. There’s a panel of doctors who have to look at your own health, to see if it impacts your health in any way. And then they approve you. Then you have to be a match on top of that. So not only do they have to approve you, physically and psychologically, you also have to be the right match to give your kidney to another person.
So you got really lucky.
Well, I feel like we had a little angel on our shoulder. That’s why we want to give back so much. And one of my things that I’m very passionate about, is children with kidney disease. When you have one child in the family that is ill, it impacts the whole family. One of the things that we do is we go up to Lake Hughes, to the Painted Turtle Camp. We raise funds to send about a hundred – I think this year it was 120 – children to camp for a week. It’s very expensive because you have to bring dialysis machines, doctors and nurses up there with you. But they get to be regular kids for a week and have a camp experience. They only allow us to visit for one day. My favorite, favorite day of the year is when I get to go and visit the kids at camp.
How much has having a foundation empowered you?
It gives us a chance to get grants, and for us to be able to fundraise and be able to do even more things. That’s what’s great about it. You can do more things. My hero is Michael J. Fox. He’s raised what? Seventy million dollars for Parkinson’s disease. It’s an amazing, amazing thing what he’s done, and I hope we can get to that point.
What’s the biggest challenge in running a foundation?
I think the biggest challenge is the economy right now. It really is a challenge to get grants and sponsorships. Everyone is hurting, so you really have to be creative. You have to step up and ask your friends, but also really plead with companies. We started this foundation in a really bad economy. I think there’s so much need in our country on a normal basis, and then when there’s a recession, people need even more help, and yet there’s less dollars. So that’s been a real challenge.
Do you have any need for volunteers within the foundation?
Absolutely. Are you kidding? Yes, we do. Especially when we have an event, we need people. Right now we’re planning a fashion show. And then we’re going to be doing our golf tournament again. You always need people to stuff invitations, to do goody bags, to help out at the event itself. So absolutely, without volunteers, we couldn’t do it. The doctors and the nurses at the kids’ camp all volunteer their time that week. All the camp counselors volunteer their time. It wouldn’t be possible without the volunteers. Volunteers are everything.
For more information about the Ann & George Lopez Foundation, visit www.thelopezfoundation.org
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