SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has the seventh highest rate of suicide in the country, and the state is hoping to raise awareness and resources to help prevent suicide in Utah through the Generations Mental Health Conference.

The number of suicides in Utah has nearly doubled in the last seven years, and it’s the second leading cause of death in Utahns between the ages of 10 and 17.

The conference began Monday morning, and it was a joint effort by the Utah Department of Health and several other organizations. The conference provides training on screening, assessment and safety planning tools for suicide prevention.

Rick Hendy is a licensed clinical social worker with the Utah State Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and he said suicide is a problem that doesn’t get the attention it requires.

SALT LAKE CITY — Fox 13 has been following a Utah man’s search for a kidney donor for the last three months, and now that man has a donor approved and a surgery on the way.

James Humphreys was young and healthy before he found out his kidneys were dying. Some time ago a friend of his, Patrick Buckendorf, stepped forward to donate a kidney. He had to undergo many tests to see if he could even donate the organ to his friend, and now the pair have found out Patrick was accepted as a donor.

Humphreys said the approaching surgery is something not everyone in his position gets.

“About a third of patients with my type of renal failure don’t make it to transplant,” he said.

Humphreys learned last fall that his kidneys were barely functioning.

SALT LAKE CITY — In an earlier story Fox 13 covered a man’s search for a kidney donor, and now that man has found someone willing to give a life-saving organ.

James Humphreys has lived with the knowledge that his kidneys are dying for the last five months.

“When he said I was sick it was kind of mind numbing,” he said. “I was at 13 percent kidney function [and] had no idea there was anything wrong with me.”

Humphreys raced through all of the tests and paperwork necessary to get approved for a kidney transplant, but his life was dependent on the kindness of others.

“Prospects are good only if there are people willing to say, ‘I’ll be tested,’” he said. “And I’ve been fortunate that a number of people are coming forward to do so.”