Katrine Conroy gives organ to stranger so her husband can receive kidney in retu

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MLA recovering from kidney transplant
Katrine Conroy gives organ to stranger so her husband can receive kidney in return

June 24,2010

By Valerie Rossi
Times Staff

Sharing has always been a motto that MLA Katrine Conroy and her husband Ed have lived by.

After Ed spent 10 years as a New Democrat member of the B.C. legislature during the 1990s, Conroy has kept the ball rolling for the past five as MLA for Kootenay West –formerly known as West Kootenay-Boundary.

The couple have shared the responsibilities of breeding prize-winning Polled Hereford cattle from their home in Pass Creek, raising four children, spoiling five grandchildren and their latest feat – participating in a domino kidney transplant this spring.

“It was pretty emotional,” Conroy said Tuesday, recalling the surreal feeling that swept over her after she donated her kidney to a stranger in exchange for a healthy organ for Ed. “As an organ donor, you give up a few months of your life, and what you add to the recipient’s life is well worth it. If I had to do it over, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”

Ed’s health has been restored thanks to a new national Living Donor Paired Exchange Registry program, which had Conroy donating her kidney to another person in need of a kidney, who also had a willing but incompatible donor. That donor also benefited from yet another unmatched pair, seeing that Ed received his kidney.

Conroy is recovering from participating in the six-person domino procedure, which occurred last month.

The busy woman has had to slow her work down, refrain from lifting heavy objects and get plenty of rest, which has been a challenge for someone who works up to 15 hours a day.

When Conroy found out she wasn’t a match for Ed about a year ago, she realized there were other steps she could take to improve his health.

After several tests verified she was well enough to give up one of her kidneys, the couple’s specifics were entered into the program that pairs appropriate pairs across the country.

She found out in February that matches had been found – three donors and three recipients.

While she travelled to Ontario for her surgery, Ed went through a procedure in Vancouver. Simultaneously, the organs were donated.

“(Ed) had no idea how bad he felt until he started to feel better,” said Conroy. “He gets up in the morning now and feels good, has breakfast and is ready to get out and start his day – before he would get up and sleep all day some days.”

Ed was going to the renal unit at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital three days a week for nearly three years for dialysis. The hemodialysis machine removes waste products such as creatinine and urea, as well as water, from the blood.

For more information on organ donation, visit www.transplant.bc.ca

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