Columbus resident Clay Taber receives kidney donation from Emory transplant nurse
By TIM CHITWOOD - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Derailed by a rare disease that attacked his kidneys, 23-year-old Clay Taber's life is back on track thanks to a nurse who donated a kidney to the young Columbus man.
Emory University Hospital nurse Allison Batson contributed the organ during an operation Jan. 10, about a year after she got to know Taber during his treatment at the Atlanta hospital.
The successful operation means Taber, a graduate of Columbus High School and Auburn University, can get on with his life, pursuing a career in finance and marrying his sweetheart Laura Calhoun. The wedding's set for June 9, said his father Allen Taber, president and chief executive officer of SunTrust Bank's West Georgia market.
Columbus resident Clay Taber with Emory University Hospital nurse Allison Batson.
- . /Special to the Ledger-Enquirer
Clay Taber has been working part-time for Cotton States Insurance, where prior to the transplant his boss gave him the necessary time off to undergo dialysis three times a week.
He has been invited to stay with the company, if he wants to work in that field, he said.
"I majored in finance at Auburn, and I would love to maybe pursue a banking career, and also it would be really cool to do something at Auburn's athletic department," he said during a 2 p.m. press conference today at the Atlanta hospital. "Maybe a couple of months before all the surgery and everything, I applied for a job there."
Clay Taber in 2010 was diagnosed with Goodpasture's Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder characterized by kidney disease and lung hemorrhage.
No exact cause is known for Goodpasture's disease, which makes the body's immune system fight normal tissues by creating antibodies that attack the lungs and kidneys.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/01/13/1892087/columbus-resident-clay-taber-receives.html