Ailing Los Gatos resident waiting for kidney donorBy Judy Peterson
Los Gatos Weekly Times
Article Launched: 02/19/2008 12:52:44 PM PST
When Jeff Lopes graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1976, he never dreamed his family's ties to the community might one day save his life.
Jeff is suffering from a bad disease, ironically called good pasture, that has destroyed his kidneys and requires him to undergo home dialysis for four or five hours a day. Good pasture is a rare autoimmune disease that also attacks the lungs.
Jeff was in Hong Kong when he became ill in August 2006. "I felt a little under the weather for about a week. I had a shortness of breath," he said. "But then I almost couldn't breathe at all." He checked into a hospital, and doctors were able to save his lungs, but within a few days his kidneys were destroyed. Now he needs a kidney transplant.
Jeff is married and has three children. He says one of the biggest drawbacks to dialysis is that he feels very tired. "Besides that, I feel OK," he said.
Because he is hooked up to a machine for so many of his waking hours, Jeff's activities are severely limited. The dialysis machine runs a water solution through his body that removes toxins.
"No one pays attention to kidney or liver diseases until it happens to your family," said Tom Lopes, who is Jeff's father.
The family has taken out ads in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times asking people to give them "The Gift of Life." They have received two responses from the ads and sent medical health forms to the individuals to fill out.
"We know a lot of people in the area, so
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we're getting lots of condolence calls," Tom said. Tom graduated from Los Gatos High in 1940. Following World War II he and his wife moved to Santa Clara, then built a house in Monte Sereno in 1962. "All my kids and my grandson went to Los Gatos High School," he said.
So Tom is hoping his lifelong community ties will help Jeff survive. "What he needs is a healthy donor whose blood type is O positive," he said.
None of Jeff's siblings' is compatible, so he is on a transplant list. But the waiting period is anywhere from five to seven years, and Tom says most people die before they can get a transplant. "It almost gets to the point of desperation," he said.
The newspaper ad prompted one Los Gatos resident, whose name is Claudia, to talk about her experience as a kidney donor. At her request, we have excluded her last name in the interest of privacy for the kidney recipient.
Claudia donated a kidney two years ago and says the process "isn't as bad as people think."
First, a transplant coordinator, a social worker and a doctor interviewed her. When a blood test showed she was a good match, Claudia was given a physical exam, a CT scan and a chest X-ray.
Claudia says on the day of the operation she had the usual fear of not waking up after surgery. "But as anyone knows who has been put under general anesthetic, you're awake before you know you've been asleep."
Claudia's kidney was donated on a Wednesday and she went home the following Saturday. Within two weeks she had resumed her walking routine and today she exercises five times a week.
"The recipient of my kidney and I celebrated our two-year anniversary in January," she said. "She looks so healthy and vibrant, and so am I."
To contact the Lopes family, call (408) 354-8147 or send an e-mail to slopes@lubeoil.com.
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