Finding the perfect match

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Finding the perfect match
Petaluma native Derek Tennyson is one of thousands of people on the waiting list for an organ transplant

By YOVANNA BIEBERICH,
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

Published: Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 3:54 p.m.

Just a few years ago, Derek Tennyson was a healthy, busy young man in his mid-20s enjoying a career as a cabinetmaker and woodworker.

He was also a volunteer with Sonoma County Regional Parks, donating more than 800 hours of his time before something began to go terribly wrong with his health.

Early in the summer of 2008, Tennyson began getting confused easily and suffering from slurred speech — unusual symptoms that came completely out of nowhere.

“I didn’t realize I was sick until I began having such horrible headaches that they would leave me on the floor crying,” said Tennyson, a Petaluma native. “I ended up in the emergency room. It took months for them to figure out what was wrong with me. I was in and out of the hospital three times a day. That went on for 41⁄2 months.”

Tennyson was diagnosed with two rare disorders, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and hemolytic-uremic syndrome, both of which cause organ damage. In Tennyson’s case, the disorders sent him into acute renal failure in a very short time.

“When I came in to the hospital, my kidneys were still functioning,” said Tennyson. “A month later, my kidneys were dying.”

Tennyson undergoes dialysis every other day in order to stay alive. He is one of the many thousands on the national waiting list for an organ transplant.

According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, there are more than 100,000 individuals on the waiting list for an organ transplant. Kidneys are the organ with the highest number of people on the waiting list.

“The wait is about four to five years, unless I find a donor myself,” said Tennyson. “If I find a match, then it’s about three to six months before I can get the transplant because of all the additional testing that’s involved. It’s more than just matching blood type.”

Petaluma chiropractor Jim Larsen knows first-hand about the organ donation process. Seven years ago, he donated a kidney to his wife, Ramona, who suffers from an autoimmune disease that attacks the kidney.

“Her first kidney transplant was from her sister in 1985,” said Larsen. “That one lasted for 17 1⁄2 years before it started to head downhill. As it turned out, three other family members were pregnant at the time and couldn’t donate, so I decided to step up to the plate and see if I was a match.”

As it turned out, Larsen was indeed a match, and started undergoing the rigorous testing involved with donating an organ.

“I went through lots of tests to check for blood type, conflicting antibodies and proteins in the blood,” said Larsen. “They look for anything that could cause conflict and rejection in the organ recipient. There was nothing conflicting in my blood, so we were able to do the transplant on Sept. 3, 2002.”

The procedure for Larsen took 11⁄2 hours and involved laparoscopic surgery, in which very small incisions are made to allow for the insertion of laparoscopic instruments, including a miniature camera. Then, a small incision is made for removal of the kidney.

“There’s little blood loss and they released me 24 hours later,” said Larsen. “I just did really well. The procedure for me was pretty comfortable.”

Larsen added that there’s also a lot of follow-up done on organ donors to ensure their health down the road.

“They have a program to check on you afterward,” said Larsen. “They were amazed I recovered so quickly. Sometimes, I think back about it all. It was a risk. But when it’s someone you love, it’s a different story.”

Unfortunately for Tenny-son, there are no family members that have proven a suitable match for a kidney transplant. He also may need to undergo more than one kidney transplant during his lifetime, which isn’t unusual for many kidney transplant recipients.

Cases such as Tennyson’s and Ramona Larsen’s highlight the desperate need for more organ donors.

“If I get a new kidney, there’s still a chance for these disorders to flare up, and I’ll have to go through this again,” said Tennyson. “This can go on for the rest of my life.”

To learn more about becoming an organ donor, visit www.organdonor.gov.

(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@argus courier.com)

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100211/COMMUNITY/100219861?Title=Finding-the-perfect-match