Hi – I am so glad you found your way to this website, my name is Shaley Thomas and I am advocating for a living kidney donor on behalf of my Uncle and Godfather, Doug Witt. Thank you in advance for your time visiting this page and reading Doug’s story! 

Meet Doug

Doug has been battling kidney failure since December of 2022 when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He had to undergo quintuple bypass heart surgery in January of 2023. That was also the time when he started his dialysis journey with Hemodialysis. Doug had to go to the dialysis clinic 3 days a week for 4 hours each day at 5 in the morning. As you can imagine, this is a devastating life change. A few months later his situation improved when he was able to switch to Peritoneal Dialysis which allows him to do his dialysis every night at home for a 9-hour period. Doug is 56 years old and has now been on dialysis for 2 years. He recently received great news that he was approved to be on the National Kidney Donor list due to his much-improved heart functioning and passing all required tests. This news brought so much hope however, he recently learned that due to his blood type (B+) it is harder to find a match and they estimated an additional 4-7 years until they expect him to find a match. 

Family is everything to us! When we heard of Doug’s emergency in December of 2022, our entire world was shaken because it’s Doug, he’s a superhero in my eyes and superheroes aren’t supposed to get sick. He has handled this process with so much strength and courage, and he knows he is not alone, but most days Doug does battle this journey alone. He has never been married or had children of his own. He is very independent and private and never wants to feel like he is bothering anyone or be a burden, so rarely ever asks for help. We have multiple family members who only have one kidney and others who cannot medically be approved to donate a kidney as well as some who aren't eligible based on their stage of life.

To say that baseball is Doug’s life and passion is an understatement. His career has spanned 30+ years working in professional baseball. He started in 1992 as a bullpen catcher and now works as a scout. During his 7 seasons as the bullpen catcher with the Texas Rangers, my dad, his brother Bobby Witt, also pitched for the Rangers. As Doug would say, “We are a baseball family.” His baseball family includes Doug’s brother who played for 16 years, Doug’s nephew who currently plays baseball for the Kansas City Royals and three nephews-in-laws who all play/played professional baseball as well as baseball overseas in Japan. We know…it’s a lot of baseball!

This is where we need your help spreading the word!

Doug is currently a professional baseball scout for the Los Angeles Angels. With the at-home dialysis he is able to travel more, but it is still extremely restrictive. While it is such a blessing he is still able to work and is very grateful for all the L.A.A. organization has done for him, it is still much harder for him to work to his fullest potential and participate in all the baseball events, which is his passion. A simple and frequent task in his line of work such as going on a road trip to scout players is much more challenging of a task now.  He has to know all of his out of state travel weeks in advance, coordinate with clinics to send his supplies to the hotel, transport all of his equipment and not to mention the delays in travel that can severely impact his dialysis treatment, which has happened. All that to say, being on dialysis has slowed him down doing his job as well as simply enjoying many moments of his life. Doug has the best attitude and has accepted what he has to do. He has been working constantly on his healthy life-style, and he knows his limitations due to his kidney failure. Again, him still being able to work is an immense blessing and do what he loves, but in the back of his mind the restrictiveness of his dialysis is keeping him from being his best and being able to live life to his fullest.

First, please keep Doug in your prayers and specifically for him to find a kidney transplant donor and match. Second, please share Doug’s story to anyone you know that may be willing to read it. If you or anyone you know has any interest in being a living kidney Donor for Doug please reach out to us via email at donorfordoug@gmail.com Or directly fill out the details at livingdonorfortworth.org & call the living donor team at 817-922-2990. Even if you aren’t able donate, spreading the word about Doug’s need could make all the difference in the world. 

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read Doug’s story, and for any support you can provide. Every share, every connection, and every prayer brings Doug closer to the help he needs. 

With Deepest Gratitude, 

Shaley Thomas