Living life, thanks to kidney donation

Living life, thanks to kidney donation

Posted on June 13, 2011

Olivia Cook celebrated her seventh birthday in May 2011, not quite one year from the date when she received a kidney from Danica Kilander. Cook was born with a rare kidney disorder called Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disorder, a condition that attacks the kidneys, filling them with cysts.

Kilander met Olivia’s mother, Kimberly, at the gym, and decided to donate a kidney after learning that she was a match with the little girl. Kilander, a Bellingham-based fitness instructor and kayak guide, also launched “Liv Life,” the fundraising drive to help cover expenses for the Cook family. (“Liv” is short for Olivia.)

Thanks to her efforts and dedication, nearly $82,000 has been raised to date through several community festivals and events in the Bellingham area. Seattle-based musician Kris Orlowski even created a song for Liv Life that people can download as a way to donate to the cause.

"People are just so generous to us and it's amazing," said Kimberly.

More than 72,000 people are currently on a waiting list in hopes of receiving an organ, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). In response to the shortage of organs for transplantation, relatives, loved ones, friends and individuals with no prior relationship—like Kilander—are serving as living donors for the growing number of people on the national organ transplant waiting list.

Living donor advocates hope that the federal government will establish a living organ donor registry, mandatory reporting of living donors' health status to that registry by the country's organ transplant centers, and a greater ease in self-reporting by living donors themselves, according to the Plain Dealer.

Dr. Connie Davis, University of Washington professor of medicine, Division of Nephrology, heads up the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network/ UNOS living donor committee.

The National Kidney Foundation also has information for living and potential donors.

http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Global/News/Items/2011/Pages/Living-life-thanks-to-kidney-donation.aspx