Oakland man donating kidney to longtime mentor

Oakland man donating kidney to longtime mentor
Men say they want to raise awareness of the need for organ donations from people of color
By Angela Hill
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 08/11/2009 03:30:49 PM PDT
Updated: 08/11/2009 08:22:32 PM PDT

SAN LEANDRO — In the coming months, don't be surprised to see Faheem Malik Jahaan suddenly break out with some uncharacteristic dance moves.

Just blame it on the kidney.

"My donor can dance and I can't, so I'm hoping that'll wear off on me a little," said Jahaan, 57, joking last week in his San Leandro home with longtime friend Qa'id Aqeel, 36, of Oakland, who is donating one of his kidneys to Jahaan to free him from a life of dialysis treatments, improve his quality of life and, maybe, infuse him with a little sassy rhythm.

"As side effects go, that's not such a bad deal," Aqeel joked back, doing a little shimmy to show Jahaan what he is in for.

They kid, but they know this isn't just a waltz in the park. It's not every day a man offers an internal organ in friendship, much less one that happens to be a match. In addition, it is a serious operation that carries significant risks.

Aqeel and Jahaan will undergo the transplant surgery today at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto. Aqeel will be in the hospital about two or three days, but Jahaan will stay four or five and then be on medications to prevent organ rejection for the rest of his life.

While theirs is certainly a tale of close bonds and bravery, they say the main reason they want to share their story is because of the need for organ donations from people of color.

"We want to encourage Africans and people of color to register as donors,"
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said Aqeel, a community program coordinator at Claremont Middle School in Oakland. "I know people are hesitant to get involved with the medical community, but it's a beautiful thing to be able to do this for someone you care about. I'm not nervous at all. In fact, I'm excited about it. It's really been a peaceful process."

Thirty-two percent of all patients treated for kidney failure are African-American because of a higher rate of diabetes, a leading factor in kidney disease, said Brandie Hadfield, a clinical social worker for the Adult Kidney Transplant Program at Stanford. She is working with Aqeel and Jahaan.

Research has shown that patients have a better chance of a match if a donor is found within their own race, but only 12 percent of all living donors are African-American.

In 2008, 77,000 people of all races in the United States were on the national list awaiting a kidney transplant, either from a living donor or a cadaver, with only 16,500 receiving transplants.

Indeed, had Aqeel not offered his kidney — and been a match — Jahaan would have remained on the recipient list in the Stanford transplant program, which could have meant a six- to eight-year wait, he said.

Jahaan, a counselor at the Ujima Adult and Family Services center in San Jose, was diagnosed with kidney failure a little more than a year ago — the result of hypertension, not diabetes, he said — and has been going in for dialysis three times a week since.

"It's a draining process," he said. "And they say the longer you're on it, the less likely you can be a transplant candidate because of what it does to your body. So I feel so fortunate in a lot of ways — especially for Qa'id's generosity and him being a match."

It was indeed very fortunate, because the Stanford program prefers donors to come forward who have a strong relationship with the recipient.

"We take it on a case-by-case basis, but usually the donor is a family member or close friend," Hadfield said. "The physical and psychological screening for donors can take three to six months. We evaluate the relationship, make sure the person is not being paid or not being pressured by relatives or other motives.

"And we want everyone to be well-informed, to know the risks, and to know this is just another form of treatment for kidney disease, just like dialysis. Neither is a cure."

The relationship requirement was not a problem for these gregarious men. They became fast friends in 1997 when both were working at the Ujima center. Jahaan was Aqeel's mentor while Aqeel was working on his master's degree in public administration at Cal State East Bay.

Aqeel lived with Jahaan and his wife, Constance, for about two years during that time. Both base their lives on the principles of Kwanzaa and feel they have a spiritual connection, as well as an easy friendship, discussing anything from politics to sports.

"I admired him for being a man in terms of how he conducted his life," Aqeel said of Jahaan. "Just being around his positive attitude, his spirituality, was impressive to me. And I still call him regularly for advice with situations with kids in my program at Claremont.

"We're both in the business of working with youth and families, and I'm always seeking his wisdom."

Jahaan modestly acknowledged the praise.

"You know, you give because that's what's in your heart," he said. "And you never know how it's gonna come back to you. Like now. This is just another chapter of that right here."

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