Rep. David Dill says he’s hoping to set the record straight, after erroneous media reports last week suggested he’s slated for a kidney transplant next month.

The report, which first surfaced in Politics in Minnesota, before getting picked up more widely in statewide media, said Dill was scheduled for surgery in mid-March and would likely miss most of the rest of the legislative session.

That’s not true, says Dill, who acknowledges he has been dealing with kidney disease for a long time— a disease that may well require an organ transplant at some point in the future.

When a transplant might be needed isn’t clear, according to Dill. Kidney disease is often a chronic condition, where sufferers slowly lose kidney function over time. Dill said his case was first diagnosed in 1996 and that doctors have been monitoring the condition ever since. To date, said Dill, it hasn’t affected his activities. “I feel fine,” he said. “I haven’t missed a day of work in fifteen years.”

Nor has the condition affected his political plans— he said he absolutely intends to seek a fifth term in the House this fall.

Ironically, the issue arose, in part, because Dill’s health had taken a turn for the better. Dill, who has also suffered from diabetes for a number of years, had opted for a gastric bypass about 16 months ago to help him control his weight. The surgery has proven highly successful in Dill’s case, helping him shed 140 pounds over the past year. The weight loss was a plus for Dill’s health, and allowed him to stop taking the medication that previously controlled his blood sugar. “That’s been a blessing,” said Dill.

The weight loss was so dramatic, however, that it led to some questions that Dill may be dealing with other health concerns, possibly cancer.

It was rumors to that effect that prompted the request for an interview from the editor of the weekly newsletter, Politics in Minnesota.

While Dill denied any suggestion he has cancer, he told the editor that he had been dealing with kidney disease for a long time. He also revealed that he was intending to begin the process of qualifying for a kidney transplant, should that become necessary. That process starts with the viewing of an hour-long orientation video at a hospital, something he plans to do in mid-March.

Dill said he already has four potential donors, including a sibling, who have offered kidneys, if and when a transplant becomes necessary. Dill said he’s looking to get all the paperwork and other steps completed well ahead of time, in order to speed the process along should he actually qualify for a transplant.

Dill says he would rather have the operation sooner rather than later. “If I could get it done right now, I would. But at this point I don’t qualify.” That’s because his kidney function remains above the level at which a transplant, or dialysis, becomes necessary.

If and when Dill does qualify for a transplant, he said the procedure is typically followed by a week to ten days in the hospital and several more weeks of regular blood testing to ensure that the new kidney is functioning normally. Dill said he would plan to schedule such a procedure for when the Legislature is out of session.