Generosity of a stranger: Man gets kidney from living donor, a fellow Louisvilli

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Generosity of a stranger: Man gets kidney from living donor, a fellow Louisvillian
10:13 PM, Dec. 24, 2011

Written by Laura Ungar
courier-journal.com

Andy Campbell’s eyes glistened with tears as she talked about the sense of peace she felt after deciding to give a kidney to a stranger.

“I knew this was something God wanted me to do,” said Campbell, 48, of Louisville. “It’s an awesome gift to someone at Christmas time.”

Campbell, who underwent surgery this week at Jewish Hospital, made the decision in honor of a co-worker at UPS who received a kidney from a deceased donor in March.

Campbell’s altruistic gift placed her in a small but growing group. Across the United States, the National Kidney Foundation said there were 203 anonymous, living kidney donor transplants in 2010, up from 68 in 2006.

The man who received Campbell’s kidney, 54-year-old James Baines of Louisville, said he is amazed and touched by her generosity.

“This is someone who doesn’t know you giving a part of themselves,” said Baines, director of research at the Louisville Downtown Management District and a retired volunteer firefighter. “I was surprised anyone would do that.”

Before the transplant, Baines had suffered for his whole life from polycystic kidney disease, an inherited condition in which clusters of cysts develop within the kidneys. He lived with only one kidney and did home hemodialysis, in which a machine filters wastes, salts and fluids from the blood, for about three hours, six nights a week.

Baines said Campbell‘s gift is “helping me get my life back to normal.”

Doctors said both patients were doing well after Tuesday’s surgery; Campbell was released from the hospital Thursday; Baines’ stay was to be longer. Although both face risks such as infection, doctors said kidney transplants are generally safe.

“We don’t make the donor any better, but we make the recipient a whole lot better,” said Dr. Michael Hughes, the transplant surgeon who operated on Campbell. “By donating a kidney to someone, you have a profound effect on their life.”

Jenny Miller Jones, director of education for Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, said more than 90,000 people are on a waiting list nationally for a new kidney, including 517 in Kentucky and 1,210 in Indiana.

“The numbers are sad,” said Campbell, who took training for volunteering at KODA and worked once at a health fair on its behalf. “I’m healthy. I can have a good life with one kidney. It was an easy decision.”

A friend's plight
Campbell, who works in international training at UPS, said she first considered donating a kidney when her friend Ernest Green spent five years on the waiting list and four years on dialysis.

Green, a software developer who has worked with Campbell for 12 years, was born with one kidney and suffered from high blood pressure that resulted in end-stage kidney disease. Campbell, however, was not a tissue match for Green.

So she offered to donate on Green’s behalf in what is called a “paired donation.” That’s when a donor and recipient who are incompatible join with another incompatible donor and recipient so that the donor in one pair gives to the recipient in the other.

“I was kind of blown away,” Green, 47, said of Campbell’s offer. “She has a big heart.”

Campbell underwent a series of tests, such as blood work, a chest X-ray and a CT scan, and met with a psychiatrist.

But in March, Green learned he would receive a kidney from a deceased donor. The operation gave him renewed vigor. And it inspired Campbell to move forward with plans to donate her kidney, even though Green no longer needed the paired match.

“I just felt so strongly about organ donation,” said Campbell, who went on short-term disability for the surgery.

Campbell talked with her family, including her adult daughters, Kayla and Alexa Finnell, and her pastor at Kenwood Heights Christian Church. And she prayed, she said, feeling “an overwhelming sense of peace.”

“It’s such a great thing to do,” Kayla, 21, said of her mother’s decision. “I’m really, really proud of her for stepping up and saving somebody’s life.”

Baines, who is married with two grown sons, said he got a call Monday that a kidney had been found for him. He had been on the waiting list since early this year. It was the final step in his struggle with kidney disease. Though he had had it all his life, he was diagnosed at age 22 and in May 2010 had his right kidney removed. He went on dialysis for six months after that, then home dialysis — which would take up most of his evenings after work and supper.

“It was pretty time-consuming,” he said. “Being able to get the time back will be great.”

Altruism in action
Dr. Bryan Becker, a Chicago physician who is immediate past president of the National Kidney Foundation, said such altruistic donor transplants are on the rise for several reasons, including press coverage, outreach by transplant centers and a growing openness by medical professionals to people who want to donate to strangers.

As long as donors are evaluated and determined to be appropriate, Becker said, kidney transplants these days are less risky than ever, especially because they are typically done laparoscopically, a minimally invasive technique using small incisions.

“It’s not just a good thing to do,” Becker said. “It’s a good and safe thing to do.”

In a 2¾-hour surgery Tuesday morning, Hughes removed Campbell’s left kidney. Transplant surgeon Dr. Mary Eng inserted the organ into Baines’ body in a three-hour operation in an adjoining room.“Everything went well,” Hughes said shortly afterward. “The kidney is working well.”

Donors’ medical expenses are generally covered by the recipients’ insurance and Medicare, said Beth Tingle, living donor transplant coordinator for Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare. But she said later complications for a donor sometimes are covered by the donor’s insurance.

And while they are rare, complications can happen. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the nonprofit organization that operates the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network under contract with the federal government, at least seven of the 60,644 people who were living kidney donors from 1999 through 2008 were later listed for needing their own kidney transplant.

But the agency said the medical problems that led to their listing may or may not have stemmed from the donation.

Hughes, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Louisville, said there’s even a remote possibility a kidney donor could die from the procedure — a risk he estimated at four in 10,000, about the same as the chance of dying in a car crash in the next year.

But usually, Hughes said, donors get by just fine with one kidney. Campbell may face a few problems, such as nausea, pain and constipation shortly after the surgery, and she can’t lift anything weighing more than 10 pounds for six weeks. After that, he said, the only change she’ll need to make is not to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, which can harm the kidneys.

As for Baines, Eng said he will need to stay home from work for three months, take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life and keep eating a heart-healthy diet. Otherwise, she said, he can live a normal life.

Baines said it’s difficult to comprehend Campbell’s generosity, but he does understand what inspired it — a desire to help others.

“Everything I did as a volunteer firefighter was to help people,” Baines said. “But this is way more than me giving up 36 years to do that.”

Tingle said Campbell’s decision reflects her humanity and is an example to everyone.

“It’s humbling when people like her step forward,” Tingle said. “It’s amazing.”

Reporter Laura Ungar can be reached at (502)582-7190.

More info:

Fitness: Living donors of kidneys should be in good overall health, free from problems such as HIV/AIDS and organ diseases. Donors must be fully informed of the risks and complete a full medical and psychosocial evaluation.
Payment: By law, a living donor cannot be paid for the organ. But living donors may receive reimbursement for certain expenses related to the donation process.
Relationship to recipient: A directed donation goes to a biologically related recipient or a recipient with some sort of social connection, such as spouse or friend. A non-directed donation goes to an anonymous candidate on the waiting list.
Tests: Donors undergo numerous medical tests, including a blood test to check blood type compatibility, tissue typing and antibody screen.
Risks: Donation involves anesthesia and major surgery and could result in complications such as infection, or death. But experts say overall risks are low.
Source: United Network for Organ Sharing
Donating organs
Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates encourages residents interested in donating organs to join the Kentucky Organ Donor Registry at www.donatelifeky.org or to sign the organ donor line the next time they get their driver’s license.

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