Sisters receive enough donations for kidney transplants

[okarol]

Sisters receive enough donations for kidney transplants

BY NASEEM S. MILLER
STAR-BANNER
Published Feb. 24, 2008 7:30 am 

OCALA – Two sisters in renal failure now have a higher chance of getting new kidneys because of the community's generosity.

Twanda Kenner Bates, 46, and her sister Shaunda Kenner, 35, each needed $5,000 before their transplant hospitals gave them a new kidney.

But their financial resources were limited and they set up a donation fund at a local bank in hopes of slowly raising the money.

Their story appeared in the Star-Banner on Feb. 4.

"The next day after the story, one check was in the mail," said Scott Hackmyer, principal of Fessenden Elementary School. He has been managing the donations. "The second day I got 15 donations, and the day after another dozen."

The sisters' Independent National Bank account, which had $3,500 in donations before Feb. 4, reached $6,600 by Feb. 9. And on Friday, it reached $11,500.

"I'm overwhelmed that the community I grew up in loves me and my sister," said Twanda, who lives in Georgia. "There's no possible way for me to thank them that would be sufficient. I would like to thank them and let them know that I love them and their generosity has touched me. I can't explain it. There are no words for it."

The donations have ranged from $5 to $2,000.

"That speaks to this community's warm heart and its generosity," said Hackmyer, who got involved because he knows the sisters' father, Henry Kenner, a former substitute teacher at the school. Henry and Yvonne Kenner still live in Ocala.

Transplant patients must prove they can pay for anti-rejection medications before they can get clearance to receive a donated organ. It's a challenge that many times gets in the way of a timely transplant, as it has for the Kenner sisters.

Although the two have been on transplant lists – Shaunda at Mayo Clinic at Jacksonville and Twanda at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta – they would not get a transplant without enough money.

The money "will expedite things and [the hospital] will move faster," said Shaunda, who lives in Daytona Beach. She has been on dialysis since 2002 and "I'm ready to be off of it," she said.

The Kenner sisters inherited a gene from their father that makes them susceptible to kidney disease. This disease has killed some of their paternal aunts already.

They both began to show signs of kidney disease after their pregnancies. Twanda is now in end-stage renal failure and undergoes dialysis at home. Shaunda has roughly 20 percent kidney function left and goes to a dialysis center three times a week.

With enough money in their account, the sisters now have to wait for a matching kidney.

And when they get their kidney transplants, "this community can take credit for it," Hackmyer said.

Naseem S. Miller may be reached at naseem.miller@starbanner.com or 867-4140.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080224/NEWS/802240347/1001/NEWS01&tc=yahoo

[rookiegirl]

Why did they need to raise $5K each?  Is this normal for anyone wanting a transplant?

[okarol]

Why did they need to raise $5K each?  Is this normal for anyone wanting a transplant?

If you don't have private insurance in addition to Medicare you might be required to pay a percentage of the cost in advance. Every transplant center is different and this is something to ask about when being evaluated for a transplant. If you read Goofynina's introduction you will see that this was a problem she encountered.

[paris]

Going over all your finances is part of the transplant evaluation. The financial co-ordinator contacts your insurance company and then goes over all the expenses with you.  They have to make sure you are financially capable of all that goes with a transplant.  Most people only have co-pays.