Five-kidney captain 'more intersting than normal man'

Five-kidney captain 'more intersting than normal man'

By NATALIE AKOORIE - Waikato Times | Saturday, 24 November 2007
PETER DRURY/Waikato Times

SUPRISE FIND: Bringham Nordstrom found out through a scan that he has five kidneys. He is pictured with his wife Lelanne and baby Milan.

Hautapu rugby captain Brigham Nordstrom is as much a phenomenon off the field as he is on it.

The 28-year-old Hamilton man has just found out he could have five kidneys, instead of the usual two.

Mr Nordstrom, who captained his side to a club rugby competition win this year and also played for the Waikato B team, made the discovery on Monday when he was admitted to Waikato Hospital with a kidney infection.

"The doctors took a scan. Then I had to get a second one done. They wanted to have another look."

Doctors had found one duplex kidney and one triplex kidney. Instead of having one tube or ureter joining each kidney to the bladder, Mr Nordstrom had two tubes on the left and three on the right.

Accordingly, the duplex kidney has two parts and the triplex has three parts, meaning it is quite likely Mr Nordstrom has five kidneys altogether.

"It was a real surprise," wife Leianne said.

Despite the situation being "highly unusual" Mr Nordstrom said for 27 years he never knew any difference.

He is now awaiting an MRI scan to confirm the situation exactly. However doctors told him there was nothing wong with having extra ureter.

The couple, who have a seven month-old daughter, said urology doctors told them there was nothing to worry about and Mr Nordstrom's health would be unaffected.

"They just said he was a bit more interesting than the normal man," Mrs Nordstrom said.

She said her husband, not listed as a donor on his driver's licence, would not be donating any of the extra parts.

"He's a generous guy but he wouldn't have contemplated that and neither has it been asked of him. They (doctors) said any type of surgery has complications."

Mr Nordstrom, whose father and two brothers are also involved with the Hautapu rugby team, said he was preparing for "a bit of ribbing" from his family and friends about the discovery.

"One of my brothers has such a big appetite that he's been joking about having three stomachs." Around the world a 17-year-old Chinese girl, a Serbian man, a Latvian man and two European brothers all made headlines when doctors discovered they each had four kidneys.

But for now Mr Nordstrom, a Waikato University law student, is more interested in emulating Hautapu's success next year.

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