Former NBA player Nate Robinson has revealed the worsening plight he’s enduring as he waits for a kidney donor.
The 40-year-old has been dealing with kidney disease for the past 18 years and his life is in danger the longer he goes without a donor.
The former three-time NBA Dunk Champion recently revealed to Men’s Health that his kidneys are functioning at less than 15 percent of their optimal capacity.
He says he is hoping to receive a kidney from “family, friends, or a cool-ass fan”.
“The Black people I know that go through this — [getting a kidney] is always harder for them,” Robinson told Men’s Health. “For some reason, they make it harder for us, bro. To get healthy, to get a kidney, to do anything. Our people go through tough times.”
The former NBA guard also hopes to get on the Washington state kidney transplant waitlist, and the national list soon.
And isn’t giving up hope.
“I’ve never been a quitter and I ain’t gon’ start now,” Robinson said . “I’m gonna be a testimony to somebody. My story doesn’t end here.”
He added, “I gotta stick around. I want to stay alive for the next 40 years: be a grandpa, see my kids’ kids, take them to the gym, tell them the stories of when I was in the NBA around ’Bron and Kob’ and all these guys. I gotta fight for it.”
Robinson first publicly announced he had failing kidneys in October of 2022.
He was officially diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006 and revealed that he isolated himself from his family and friends during the first two years of his dialysis treatment in Seattle.
“Nobody saw me,” he said of that time. “I was in the depths about this sh*t. Some days I didn’t want to leave the house; I just didn’t want to do dialysis no more. Some days, I did wanna be here, and do this, until I find a kidney.”
With some dark days behind him, Robinson is hoping there are some brighter ones ahead.
“I learned that I had to count my blessings,” Robinson. “There are people here with diabetes. They’re blind or have piss bags or something is wrong with their insides. And for the most part, I’m healthy. So count your blessings. Humble yourself. My [family] kept telling me that I couldn’t stop living.”
READ MORE: Nate Robinson Reveals He ‘Doesn’t Have Long to Live’