ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — More than 100,000 people across the country — including more than 5,000 people in Florida — are waiting to get a potentially life-saving organ transplant, and organ-donor network administrators and doctors said the COVID-19 pandemic could make that wait even longer.

What You Need To Know

  • More than 5,000 people in Florida are waiting for an organ transplant

  • The wait list hasn't grown significantly yet, donor advocates say

  • COVID increases need for organ donors

Krystle Pitts loves to perform.  She’s worked at Disney, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens.  But back in 2015, her dream was nearly derailed when she found out she had Stage 5 kidney disease.

For three days each week, she had to endure dialysis just to stay alive.

“Sometimes I would have dialysis in the morning — like 6 [a.m.] to 10 [a.m.] — and then I would go straight to work and do shows,” Pitts said.

After four years of waiting and wondering if she ever would get a kidney, she did receive one on Easter weekend in April.

“Everyone doesn’t get that second chance, and so this was a gift I was given because someone made that choice to give,” Pitts said.

But even people willing to donate may not be able to if they contract COVID-19.

“Now we are facing the shortage of donors — like millions of people that have been infected all over the states — and those were all, or a majority of them,  potential donors,” according to Sajid Chaudhary, who has treated COVID-19 patients for several months.

That shortage, combined with the pandemic delaying transplant procedures, could make the wait longer for those who need organs, Chaudhary said.

The wait list hasn’t grown dramatically yet, according to Donate Life Florida, but the organization is now urging as many people as possible to join the donor list. A new license plate, now available, will also help get that message across.

“A small act of someone signing up online can save someone’s life years down the road,” Pitts said.

She no longer has to endure dialysis.

“I just celebrated six months with my new kidney,” Pitts said. “Things are going well. I’ve been performing again.”

Despite losing her job with Disney a few weeks ago, she is picking up part-time work.  And even during a pandemic, she is carefully enjoying her second chance.

“I’m doing some part-time work, and I have a gig for the Halloween season, so I’m able to do things, but I’m very, very cautious,” Pitts said.

Pitts also works to educate people on the organ transplant process on her website.