LA GRANDE — One can’t blame Marcia Anderson for feeling a tad anxious these days.

There’s the pandemic, of course, but she has another worry as well. Her kidneys are slowly shutting down.

Anderson is one of almost 750,000 Americans with end-stage kidney disease. Her quality of life hinges on receiving a kidney donation. Without one, she eventually will need dialysis treatments to remove waste and excess fluid from her body.

Anderson learned she had kidney disease a couple of years ago when a serious sinus infection landed her in the hospital.

“They did some blood work,” Anderson said. “They came back and said did you know your kidneys are only functioning at 25%? It was a shock.”

Now she needs kidney transplant surgery at a time when beds, operating rooms and ventilators are in short supply. Most hospitals temporarily halted elective surgeries, such as knee replacement and hernia operations.

“There have been huge impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care in general in the United States, but especially for solid organ transplant recipients,” said Dr. Joseph Vassalotti, chief medical officer at the National Kidney Foundation.

Kidney patients such as Anderson can take heart, though.

“In March and April when the first wave of the pandemic hit there definitely was an impact,” Vassalotti said. “There was a decrease in living donor kidney transplants, but the pace picked up again in mid-May.”

Now, the national rate is staying steady. The most common way of getting a kidney, from donors who have died, is also relatively unaffected despite a small, but significant, drop in early July. The nephrologist said that transplants of kidneys from deceased donors aren’t an elective surgery that can be postponed.

“When a deceased kidney becomes available there is a finite amount of time when it can be used,” said Vassalotti, who teaches at New York’s Icahn School of Medicine. “This is in a sense an emergency surgery because if you delay that surgery the kidney may no longer be viable for transplantation.”

The Legacy Health transplant center in Portland paused its living donor program early in the pandemic to prevent transmission of the virus, but has resumed regular transplantation services, according to Communications Director Brian Terrett.

That’s good news for Anderson, though the retired social worker still has trouble believing she’s in such trouble. The former marathoner walks several miles a day and feels mostly fine.

“I don’t look sick, I don’t feel sick,” she said. “They say it’s a silent killer and it is.”

Anderson knew kidney issues were a possibility. Twenty years ago she was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure, which run in her family and are risk factors for kidney disease.

Last year, after her kidney function dropped further, Anderson and her husband Larry moved to La Grande from Boardman to settle near their daughter and her family. Her nephrologist placed a shunt for vascular access in her arm for eventual dialysis. She believes she has staved off dialysis with daily walks or stationary bike sessions, a nutritious diet and drinking a lot of water.

Anderson was tested at Legacy Health in Portland, found healthy enough for a transplant and in June was placed on the deceased donor transplant wait list. Instead of simply waiting for a kidney from someone who has died, she is searching for a live donor through Legacy’s Erase the Wait program. She sent letters to family and friends encouraging them to become live kidney donors. She also entered a paired exchange program that allows recipients with willing but incompatible living donors to match with other pairs who are in the same boat. The pairs in effect swap kidneys.

“They’re saying you can wait for years and years and years to get a deceased donor’s kidney,” Anderson said. “You can wait forever. They want you to be very proactive in looking for a live donor. I’ve been doing that.”

According to Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network statistics, 91,516 Americans are on the wait list for kidneys as of Thursday. Last year, 39,034 kidney transplants were performed, 33,309 from deceased donors and 5,725 from living donors.

The idea of getting COVID-19 from transplantation is worrying, though so far not a reality.

“It doesn’t appear that transmission has happened, but it’s definitely a concern,” Vassalotti said. “It seems like it’s clearly possible. For that reason there is epidemiological screening, questionnaires and specialized testing of patients, living donors and deceased donors for potential COVID-19.”

The pandemic itself is bringing more kidney failure to Americans. Early data from Wuhan, China, and New York City suggest that from 14% to 30% of COVID intensive care unit patients lose kidney function and need emergency dialysis.

Marci and Larry are taking pains to avoid the virus. The couple’s daughter and granddaughters do their shopping and drop it by. Marcia ventures outside to walk but gives other people a wide berth. They practice the three W’s: wearing a mask, watching six feet of distance between them and others in public and practice frequent hand washing.

Anderson keeps a suitcase packed for when that telephone call comes informing her that her kidney is available. She will have 11 hours to travel to Portland for her transplant.

She urged anyone who is interested in learning about becoming a kidney donor to call Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center at 503-413-6555 and speak to the transplant director or visit legacy health.org.