Mother and son: Match made in heaven

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Published: October 29, 2009 05:45 am 

Mother and son: Match made in heaven

By Stacie N. Galang
Staff Writer

PEABODY — When Jonathan Swartz's mother, Lauren, found out she needed a new kidney, he didn't hesitate to give one of his own.

But what makes this story remarkable is that Jonathan, who was adopted nearly three decades ago, turned out to be his mother's best match.

He came to his parents, Marc and Lauren Swartz, nearly three decades ago, arriving as a 6-month-old from his native El Salvador weighing a scant 9 pounds. You could say his father and mother saved his life, and in a way, he saved hers.

"It's just overwhelming," Lauren Swartz said.

Jonathan Swartz, 29, who described himself as spiritual, called the whole experience a "definite miracle." Other relatives who offered to donate were ruled out for health or other reasons.

"I do believe that this was meant to be," he said.

Despite his mother's concerns, Jonathan Swartz said he was ready to help.

"I said, 'No way, I'm doing this,'" he recalls telling her.

A diabetic, Lauren Swartz learned this spring that her kidneys were beginning to fail. Her doctor at Lahey Clinic in Burlington told her she would soon require dialysis, meaning three visits a week to a dialysis center for hours at a time.

"I was sort of in shock," said Lauren Swartz, who retired in June after 24 years as a special education aide at Higgins Middle School.

She said she was crying as she walked to her car but quickly snapped out of it.

"I told myself to stop crying. It's just another part of this disease," Lauren Swartz said. "I've got to work through this."

Her doctors advised her that she would eventually need a new kidney. She started to ask relatives if they'd be willing to be tested, and her sister, brother-in-law and nephew offered, but for one reason or another they couldn't donate.

Jonathan Swartz was tested and learned he was a match.

Dr. Hannah Gilligan, Lahey's medical director of kidney transplantation, said a blood relative, especially a sibling, is much more likely to be a transplant match. Siblings receive half their chromosomes from their parents, giving them a 50 percent chance of matching.

But it's not just blood relatives who are compatible donors, she stressed.

Gilligan said the donor and recipient must have a compatible blood type and a negative cross match, a test that ensures no antibodies form to fight the foreign blood and, therefore, reject the transplanted kidney.

"Living, unrelated" donors like Jonathan Swartz are probably the largest growing field of kidney transplant, she said.

"(Jonathan) turned out to be the best candidate," Gilligan said.

Jonathan Swartz is in excellent physical health and underwent a full evaluation prior to his own surgery.

"The most important part of being a good donor is that you want to do it," the doctor said.

If Lauren Swartz didn't find someone in her own circle of family and friends to donate a kidney, she faced a five- to seven-year wait plus dialysis three times a week, Gilligan said.

Lauren Swartz received a "pre-emptive" transplant, getting a new kidney before her original failed completely, the doctor explained. That's a good thing.

"People live longer with transplants," Gilligan said.

The doctor praised Jonathan Swartz for his decision.

"They did really well, both of them," she said. "So it will really improve her quality of life tremendously. I think it's a great thing for him to have done. He did it very enthusiastically."

Recovery

Both are home now and, although a bit achy, recovering well from surgery. Lauren Swartz's new kidney seems to be working fine.

The mother and son have had time to reflect on the circumstances that brought them together in the first place.

Marc and Lauren Swartz, who could not have children, waited six months for Jonathan to be sent from his orphanage in war-torn El Salvador. Lauren Swartz said her husband called the embassy daily asking for help and information.

"Then we wound up getting him the day before Mother's Day," she said. "It was perfect."

When the couple brought their bundle of joy home, he was undernourished, quickly developed pneumonia and suffered from an intense form of scabies.

"I don't think at the time he would have survived," Lauren Swartz said.

Soon, Jonathan Swartz flourished in his new home. The first black-and-white photo his parents received from the orphanage shows an expressionless, big-eyed baby boy.

Lauren Swartz proudly shows her son's later baby photos, and a beaming smile lights up his round face. He's playing with his toys.

Jonathan Swartz, who lives at home, must wait six to eight weeks to return to his volunteer job at Beverly Hospital.

"I enjoy living with my parents," he said. "We're very close."

Neither Swartz was completely shocked Jonathan was a match for the transplant.

"For some reason, this was meant to be," Lauren Swartz said.

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_301230924.html