Acts of kindness- More than friend, a lifesaver

Acts of kindness

More than friend, a lifesaver

Chicago Sun Times
April 10, 2007

Desperate to find a kidney for his ailing wife, Don Spindler sent an e-mail to members of a volunteer group he'd been involved with for years.

The Mokena man asked if anyone might know a potential donor.

Victoria Bittner wrote back to say she found someone willing to help: herself.

Bittner, 56, of Las Vegas, barely knew Spindler's wife, Janice. Over the years, the two had met a few times and made small talk at events held by TelecomPioneers.

The women were clearly more acquaintances than friends. Yet Bittner was willing to undergo surgery and give up an organ.

"I always thought that if somebody in my family needed a kidney, I'd do it," Bittner said. "I knew these were nice people. I thought, 'This is my opportunity.' "

Unlike Janice Spindler's family members, Bittner proved to be a suitable donor.

"I was suffering with the dialysis so bad, I don't think I would've made it another year," said Spindler, 64.

Bittner flew in earlier this year to have the operation at University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center. When Bittner arrived in Chicago, she gave Spindler a framed X-ray of her healthy kidneys.

"She said, 'The one on the left is yours,'" Spindler said. "I still can't believe it. We were almost strangers, and she gave me a second chance at life."

Register to be a donor

Basics

http://www.OrganDonor.gov
Looking for straightforward information on what and how you can donate? As the official web resource for government information about organ & tissue donation and transplantation, you'll find info on religious views on donation, how transplants work and what legislation surrounds the issue. The site's glossary will help you familiarize yourself with all terms you're likely to hear during the decision-making process.

Medline Plus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/organdonation.html
Serviced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, you'll find detailed information on specific conditions and circumstances as well as FAQs, glossaries, organization directories and statistics. If you have a concern about a rumor you've heard or something you've read in the news, look here for a serious catalog of official statements from heavy hitters like the FDA, Department of Health and Human Services and the Red Cross.
Register as a donor

http://www.LifeGoesOn.com
This is your place to go with questions about the new First-Person Consent law (which eliminates the need for family permission) and to register yourself. A page of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's larger policy site, LifeGoesOn offers the last word for Illinois residents about local organ donation policy, registries, donor license plates and links to other officially recognized sites.

http://www.GiftofHope.org
Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network is the federally designated nonprofit agency responsible for coordinating organ and tissue donation in most of Illinois and northwest Indiana, servicing 183 area hospitals with donation and transplant coordination, family support and community education. Its site presents facts in a gentle, reassuring way without patronizing. Check here to find volunteer opportunities, to access education programs for schools and workplaces, or to learn more about multicultural donor outreach.

Find a donor

OPTN http://www.optn.org/
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network is the nationally supported network uniting donors, patients and professional caregivers...in other words, the waiting list. The site provides current news links and to-the-minute updates of wait-list numbers (95,606 candidates when we last checked) and recent transplant and donor statistics.

http://www.MatchingDonors.com
A veritable Lavalife for donors and patients, this nonprofit organization allows potential donors to browse profiles of potential patients in the hopes that a match will be secured before the national program provides the life-saving solution. Though bypassing bureaucracy has many merits, MatchingDonors does charge fees for patients to post ($595 for lifetime membership, with less expensive shorter-term options), and in doing so has sparked controversy about equal opportunity. MatchingDonors does, however, often waive fees for low-income patients, and the expense can sometimes be deducted from taxes or covered by insurance.

Support for donors and patients

http://www.LivingDonorsOnline.org
This non-flashy site offers support and information to a very niche group: living organ donors. If you are considering living organ donation for any reason, check here for unbiased, down-to-earth answers to your questions about the surgical process, the recovery process and the very personal self-evaluation of whether this decision is appropriate for you. Living donors at any stage can connect with peers via the site's message board.

http://www.TransplantLiving.org
This matter-of-fact site is an oasis for transplant patients who want to feel more in control. It's easy to navigate through the detailed information to find answers to questions about organ disease, getting on the wait list, selecting a hospital, financing and preparing for a transplant. For patients who have been matched, Transplant Living offers a step-by-step breakdown of the medical procedures for each organ, and demystifies life after transplant, from post-surgery meds to pregnancy issues.

Personal Stories

I am. Are you? http://www.iam-areyou.blogspot.com/
A great grassroots effort from the Illinois organ donor and transplant community, this blog offers campaign news and events, expert commentary and, of course, the homespun postings of donors, recipients and their friends and families. Blog personalities include "Jaundice Jill," a living-donor liver transplant recipient, and others who have lived, or are living, through the process.

The Gift of a Lifetime http://www.organtransplants.org/journey/
To help you wrap your head around the importance of the organ donation issue, journalists in Philadelphia and Los Angeles chronicle the story of organ donations from the perspectives of both donor and patient. On one side, follow the emotional stories of several families asked to debate organ donation in the face of their grief over a lost loved one. On the other side, become acquainted with remarkable individuals faced with the excruciating waiting process.

(http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/334211,CST-NWS-healthkind10.article)
http://www.suntimes.com/jump/315199,Transplants_041007.jumparticle

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