OSU assistant donates kidney

[okarol]

OSU assistant donates kidney

Friday, June 01, 2007
The Oregonian

Laurie Cavanaugh, wife of Oregon State assistant football coach Mike Cavanaugh, underwent kidney transplant surgery this week, receiving a donated organ from Danny Langsdorf, the Beavers' offensive coordinator.

Cavanaugh, 48, had both of her diseased kidneys removed Tuesday at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland. She and Langsdorf, 34, both are reportedly doing well.

"When you work as closely as a coaching staff does, you develop some really deep and solid friendships -- I guess you could say this is the ultimate in friendship," Mike Cavanaugh said in a university news release.

The transplant was performed to treat Laurie's autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, an inherited disorder that affects approximately 1 in 1,000 people. Patients with the disease suffer progressive kidney failure, usually in mid to late life. In Laurie's case, her kidneys were enlarged.

"The average kidney is the size of a fist; her kidneys were the size of two heads," said Dr. John Barry, Laurie's transplant surgeon and longtime director of the OHSU Kidney Transplant Program. "The surgery took about six hours, and her new kidney began working within minutes."

Langsdorf was identified as being a donor match through tests with 18 individuals.

URL http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1180668335195630.xml&coll=7

[thegrammalady]

wow! i wonder if my sister and brother-in-law know them. Dan is a professor at osu.  go beavers. over half of my family are osu graduates.

[thegrammalady]

....also karol, do you read every newspaper in the country???

[okarol]

....also karol, do you read every newspaper in the country???

I use 2 different search engines, everyday. Then I post here and on www.livingdonorsonline.org. Keeps me out of trouble!
I love to see when others are actually reading these news stories besides me!

[goofynina]

Thank you Okarol cuz if it wasnt for these News Articles that you post, i wouldnt be reading ANY news at all, lol, but in all seriousness, thank you for taking the time to keep us informed.  This was a very inspiring story, it touches my heart when a friend (or even a stranger) is nice enough to do this for someone, it's nice to know that there are still decent humans out there (somewhere)