In I Want to Live: The Impact of Nephrology Nursing, filmmaker Carolyn Jones turns her lens toward a group of medical professionals whose work rarely sees the spotlight: nephrology nurses. Premiering earlier this year at the ANNA National Symposium in Portland, the short documentary is both a tribute and a revelation, revealing the emotional and technical rigor behind caring for the 37 million Americans living with chronic kidney disease.
Jones, celebrated for her compassionate portraits of nurses, intricately weaves together personal stories from various parts of the nation. In Seattle, the documentary showcases two lifelong friends—one giving a kidney to the other—highlighting the emotional tension, tenderness, and appreciation that accompany transplantation. Meanwhile, in Alabama, the lens captures the vibrant energy and determination of the Transplant Games, and in New York, audiences experience the struggles of patients facing the unyielding rhythm of hemodialysis.
What emerges is a portrait of a specialty defined by quiet heroics. “Their extraordinary dedication, balancing technical skill with deep compassion,” says ANNA President Dr. Faith Lynch in the film, plays out in scenes that underscore the heavy emotional terrain nephrology nurses navigate daily. They manage life-sustaining dialysis machines one moment and guide families through fear, grief, and hope the next.
As the rates of kidney disease continue to rise in the U.S. and around the world, this documentary acts as a rallying cry. Nancy Colobong Smith, the Immediate Past President of ANNA, presents the film as both a tribute and a recruitment tool—an open invitation for aspiring nurses to join a profession where technical skills intertwine with deep human connections.
Created in collaboration with the American Nephrology Nurses Association, I Want to Live aligns perfectly with Jones’s long-term investigation into the influence of nursing. With a blend of warmth and subtlety, it transforms routine clinical tasks into cinematic storytelling, reminding audiences that behind every dialysis chair and transplant success, there is a nurse advocating for someone’s opportunity to survive.
“I Want to Live: The Impact of Nephrology Nursing” is available to stream online.
