Organ donation and transplantation remain the best and cheapest clinical approach for people in the terminal stage of organ failure. Given the growing numbers of incidences of patients treated for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and how the rate of kidney transplantation plummeted in the US and Southeast Asia (Chan-On, 2017), little is known about the understanding of the life stories of kidney organ transplant recipients, specifically, in the Philippines. The present study aimed to provide a narrative study about the life stories of individuals who received kidney transplantation through either a live or a deceased organ donor. By employing Dewey’s theory of experience, the shared stories of the transplant recipients yielded the following themes: carefree life, struggles before transplant, and psychological effects for the stories of the past, support system, journey to liminality, and positive outlook in life, for the stories in the present, and giving back, fatalistic view of life, and sense of normalcy were the themes that emerged for the future aspirations or stories of the future of the respondents. Kidney transplantation goes beyond the surgical process; it encompasses a life-long social and psychological transition and transformation for kidney transplant recipients.

Keywords: Kidney Transplant, Organ Donation, Transplant