Retired, decorated Chicago firefighter who saved girls from burning building needs a kidney donor

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A retired Chicago firefighter who was honored by the state for the lives he saved during his 30-year career is now in desperate need of a kidney.

Patrick McDermott was with the Chicago Fire Department for three decades. In that time he saved dozens of lives, including three young girls from a burning building while he was off duty in 2000. He's a highly decorated public servant who has received dozens of awards in Chicago and around the world.

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The former lieutenant also has Stage 5 chronic kidney disease and is pleading for the public's help with his own life on the line.

"So many instances of people almost dying, and I'm there!" he said. "I don't want to say it was a gift, but I've always been led by God."

McDermott is now leaning on his faith more than ever after being diagnosed in 2024 with Stage 4 chronic kidney disease.

"When I found out it shocked me. I was totally depressed. I felt my mortality. I felt, there was nothing I could do but die. Stage 4 is Stage 4. There are only five stages," he said.

Now, his condition has reached Stage 5. His kidneys are failing.

"I'm scared as hell. That's just it. You never know what tomorrow brings. But I know today what I have to deal with and this is not nice," he said.

McDermott is in need of a kidney donor. Doctors have tested five people in his life, including his wife, but none are viable candidates.

While dialysis is an option, it can take a vicious toll on the body, so he's praying someone will be willing to donate their kidney.

"To wait for somebody to help you when you're used to being the person helping, it's an odd position to be in," McDermott said. "It's almost like you're begging for mercy."

His wife Carol created a flyer with the help of the University of Chicago, where her husband is being treated, and shared it on social media and within her community in hopes someone will help save her husband.

"For him to always be interested in helping other people, we need to help him now. I don't care what it takes, I don't care what I have to do. I'm going to make sure I do everything," she said. "I just said, I'm going to start with Samantha and see where it leads me."

Dr. Ashley Suah, a transplant surgeon at the University of Chicago and part of McDermott's care team, said kidney disease can be a silent illness. In McDermott's case, he also has diabetes and high blood pressure, which could have led to his kidney failure.

Suah said waiting on a deceased kidney donor can take anywhere from three to five years; there simply aren't enough organ donors to meet the need. She encourages patients like McDermott to try to identify a living donor.

"Sometimes those are loved ones, family members, friends, sometimes they might be strangers depending on how you get your story out there," Suah said.

The doctor, who is one of the only Black female transplant surgeons in the country, said there are racial disparities in living donor kidney transplantation. Suah said more Black patients in the U.S. have end stage kidney disease, but are less likely to receive a living donor compared to non-Black patients.

"There's a lack of knowledge on living donations, nationwide but also in certain communities where transplant is still taboo and trusting the medical system to do the right thing is still something that we're working through," she said.

Suah herself only has one kidney, but she's also a marathon runner. She said many people can live with just one kidney and have a normal, healthy life, and that the transplant procedure is a lot less invasive than people think.

"We have ways to even reduce size of incision and reduce pain for our donors. Most of them go home the next day," said Suah.

She applauds McDermott for speaking out and bringing the need for more donors to the forefront of the conversation.

Meanwhile, the retired Chicago firefighter is remaining prayerful that a donor will come forward.

"It's out of my hands," he said. "I pray every night. We do two prayers every night and it's out of my hands. We have to give it to God."

McDermott said if he is able to get a donor, he has vowed to commit his life to advocating for other people who need donors, especially in the Black community.

If you are interested in helping McDermott or becoming a kidney donor, you can call UChicago Medicine at 773-702-0620, or visit their Living Donor Kidney Transplant website.