The family of a Navy veteran is seeking community support to qualify for a life-saving organ transplant.

In April, John Hill, who served in the Gulf War as a corpsman for the Fleet Marine Force, went to see a doctor in April to figure out why he had been feeling “sluggish.”

He was then diagnosed with kidney failure.

According to the American Kidney Fund, kidney failure, also called end-of stage kidney disease, happens when a person’s kidneys don’t work well enough for a patient to survive without dialysis — which consists of using a machine to regularly clean the patient’s blood — or a kidney transplant. One of the most common causes is diabetes, a condition Hill has had for a decade.

Since then, Hill has had two surgeries and undergoes a four-hour dialysis three times every week in Anacortes. Yet his life expectancy and quality of life can be greatly improved with a transplant.

On Dec. 3, during a transplant evaluation at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle, Hill learned that he needs to have $10,000 in hand to prove he is financially prepared to cover out of pocket cost of medications and other post-surgery needs for up to six months after the transplant, according to his wife Katie Hill.

Since he didn’t have $10,000 available, his application has been put on hold.

Katie Hill organized a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise $100,000, which would help the family pay for medications, gas and a hotel room located within 45 minutes of the hospital as medical bills continue to accumulate. Because he has been working less hours, Hill’s income as a dental assistant also took a hit.

As of Dec. 19, the family has raised $8,865 with the help of 59 donors. The fundraiser can be found by searching “Rally for John Hill’s Life-Saving Transplant” online.

While he knew it wouldn’t be cheap, he did not expect being asked to show $10,000 to be added to the national transplant waiting list.

When she found out, Katie Hill was shocked. When she talked to a few other medical professionals about it, they found it odd.

“I kind of understand where they’re coming from,” she said. “They want to make sure that we have our ducks in a row, but at the same time, I feel like time is limited.”

According to the American Kidney Fund, there are approximately 92,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant in the country. Most wait three to five years, depending on how soon a matching donor becomes available.

In an email, Rea Berg, director of ambulatory services at Virginia Mason Medical Center, said the ability to cover costs for post-transplant needs like anti-rejection medications, follow-up care, and temporary housing if they must stay near the transplant center for several weeks after the surgery are essential to prevent complications and maximize the success of the transplant.

The hospital, she wrote, works with patients on individual treatment plans and collaborates with them and their insurance providers to connect patients with financial assistance programs, if needed. However, while insurance can cover part of the costs, there are still out of pocket expenses that vary by patient and coverage type.

“Insurance covers what they cover, then the rest is up to us,” Katie Hill wrote in a text. “And we still don’t know what that is.”