Elk River schools step up to help employee find kidney

Elk River schools step up to help employee find kidney

Article by: EMMA CAREW GROVUM , Star Tribune Updated: November 1, 2011 - 11:27 PM

A computer programmer hopes to find a donor by the end of the year.

Drawing on past experience with colleagues sharing an organ to save a life, Elk River schools officials are trying to raise awareness to help a district worker currently in need.

Computer programmer Keith Stevens first needed a kidney transplant a decade ago. He had gone into renal failure in 1998, a complication of juvenile diabetes, he said, and he received a kidney from his sister.

But the anti-rejection medications that Stevens takes are tough on kidneys, and now the one he received is also failing.

Elk River Assistant Superintendent Jana Hennen-Burr, who donated one of her kidneys to a colleague in 2003, heard about Stevens' situation from his supervisor.

"I went to my superintendent and said, 'I'm willing to help in any way,'" Hennen-Burr said.

She and district Superintendent Mark Bezek worked with Communications Director Casey Mahon to put together an informational video about Stevens' condition and Hennen-Burr's experience as a live kidney donor.

They have shared the video on the district's YouTube channel and in a staff newsletter, hoping to inspire staff members to get tested to see if they can be a donor for Stevens -- or anyone else in need.

"He's one of ours, he's part of our team, so we felt it was very appropriate to ask internally," said Bezek. "We have a very caring community and staff. We think it's very likely someone will come forward."

There are more than 90,000 people waiting for kidneys nationwide, and about 1,860 in Minnesota, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees organ transplants in this country. Last year, there were 285 living donor kidney transplants in Minnesota, and 166 cadaver transplants.

Stevens said because he is blood type O, he can receive a kidney only from someone with that blood type. His doctors have told him the average wait for a cadaver kidney with the same blood type is five years.

"Technically, yes, I'm eligible for it," he said. But his doctors have told him he could have to start dialysis again before the end of December. "There is a possibility I wouldn't necessarily survive the wait for a cadaver kidney."

In Hennen-Burr's case, the process of becoming a kidney donor was relatively painless, she said. After a blood and urine test confirmed that she could donate eight years ago, she underwent a two-day work-up at the Mayo Clinic to ensure she was a match. Her surgery came about 10 months after the initial decision to donate. Hennen-Burr said that the cost of the procedure is usually covered by the recipient, and that she missed about five weeks of school after the surgery to regain her strength.

Her colleague died a few years ago after battling cancer unrelated to the kidney failure. "That's the bittersweet part of this, too," Hennen-Burr said. "Usually they say kidneys can endure 10 to 12 years."

Stevens said at first he was hesitant to ask the community for help. "I am more of a background person. I don't like putting myself forward." But he is only 41 and said he knows this is his best shot at having a healthy future.

Since telling her story on the video, Hennen-Burr said she has received five inquiries from colleagues about the donor process.

"All we need is one."

Emma Carew Grovum • 612-673-4154 Twitter: @CarewGrovum

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