Cousin's kidney gives woman new life

[okarol]

Sunday, July 20, 2008 6:22 AM CDT
Cousin's kidney gives woman new life
By LAURA GREVAS, Courier Staff Writer
MADISON, Wis. --- She didn't want to ask.

When doctors told Karla Scharnhorst of Fairbank in early 2007 she needed a new kidney, they also said her best bet was to seek out a live donor.

"It's not something you can just ask somebody to do," she said.

She didn't have to ask. Her family members volunteered.

Like Scharnhorst, her father and one sister also had polycystic kidney disease. Her other sister was tested but had kidney stones. Her husband, who had borderline high blood pressure, was kept on standby as a last resort.

All the while, Scharnhorst's cousin, Michelle Even of Gilbertville, kept reminding Scharnhorst she was ready to be tested. Finally, Even insisted.

"I just thought, 'Hey it needs to be done, if there's something I can do, let me try,'" she said.

After several rounds of blood tests, Even went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Hospital and Clinics for a donor evaluation day. In January, they got the news: Even was a viable donor.

"I was excited, but yet a little nervous," Scharnhorst said, "People can still back out of it. Obviously you want to do it, but at the same time you're thinking, 'Do you want to do it?'"

Even did, and the sooner the better.

Scharnhorst's physician, Dr. Vinay Kantamneni of Cedar Valley Medical Specialists, said the average waiting time for a cadaver donor is three years.

"She could have continued on dialysis until she got a kidney, but the longer you wait, the more complications she would have," he said.

Living kidney donation is a growing trend. Paul Sodders, public affairs manager for the Iowa Donor Network, said of the 87 organ donors in Iowa in 2007, 32 were living donors --- and all 32 donated a kidney. The need is great. Kidney patients make up 75 percent of those waiting for an organ nationally, and 78 percent in Iowa.

Even and Scharnhorst coordinated their surgeon's schedules and agreed on a date: March 26, a Wednesday.

They drove to Madison after work on Monday, giving them plenty of time to take a dip in the hotel pool and hit the mall with their husbands. Even smiles as she talks about the morning of the surgery.

"We just got our IVs hooked up and sat around and waited for surgery," she said simply. As a certified medical assistant, Even was more concerned about the particulars of the surgery than actually going under the knife.

She also was reassured by a little-known fact: Those who donate organs earlier in life go to the top of the list if they ever need a transplant.

The surgery was successful, and the women were placed in two rooms at opposite ends of the hall for recovery.

When Even could walk, she tackled the long hall to Scharnhorst's room. The women greeted each other with jokes.

"My kids are younger, so when they found out about the surgery they said, 'Mom's giving Karla a pee holder,' Even explained. "So, when I saw her, I said, 'Whatcha doing with my pee holder?'" She laughs.

Even was in recovery for about four weeks. Since the kidney was taken out through a scar from her previous C-sections, she said, her recovery felt more like recovery from a C-section than an organ donation.

Scharnhorst remains in recovery. She will be on anti-rejection medication for the rest of her life and has to have periodic blood tests, but she's hoping to return to her work as a cook at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein soon.

"That's the best I've ever felt after a surgery," she said.

She's had surgeries before, including a hysterectomy last year to remove endometrial cancer.

"I'm kind of ready for a little break," she said.

It is a break she'll be around to take, thanks to her cousin. Even said donating an organ was a worthwhile experience. She wants people to know potential donors are thoroughly checked out for their own health and safety.

"If anybody can (donate) it's definitely worth it. Many people don't know you can be a living donor. It's out there. It works. "

As for the kidney-sharing cousins, they still talk on the phone once a week.

"We were pretty close before, but I think it just makes you a little closer," Scharnhorst said.

Contact Laura Grevas

at (319) 291-1423 or

laura.grevas@wcfcourier.com.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/07/20/news/regional/10420244.txt