Belding woman gives kidney to a stranger

4/24/2009 3:19:00 PM
Belding woman gives kidney to a stranger

Diana Henderson
Staff Writer

BELDING - A Belding business woman made a decision 18 months ago that recently changed someone's life.

Vicki Lanting, 52, of Orleans Township, saw a segment on NBC Nightly News about the paired kidney donation program at the University of Toledo in Ohio.

"They started what they called a chain," she said. "It's where a stranger stepped up to donate a kidney. Once matched the person will find a family member or friend to donate."

Since Lanting had been healthy her whole life she decided she wanted to give one of her kidneys to someone who needed it, so she contacted the University of Toledo and started the 18-month process of medical tests and paperwork. She said the whole process didn't cost her anything except gasoline and time because the University of Toledo covered all of the medical expenses.

"I was able to do all of the testing locally and the results were sent over to Toledo," she said. "All of the local doctors and hospitals were very helpful and didn't have a problem with billing the University of Toledo."

Lanting said she got a taste of what the recipient of her donated kidney would experience when she discovered that the sister-in-law of one of her business contacts in Saranac is a kidney recipient.

Karen Barker, 54, formerly of Greenville and Belding and now of Ravenna, received a kidney from her mother 33 years ago. She said the donation of a kidney is "a great gift of life."

"I know people whose kidneys have failed and go on dialysis," she said. "You don't have a life when you're on dialysis three days a week. It's amazing what one kidney can do to your health. It's a total turn around."

Lanting said that near the end of November 2008 the doctors at the University of Toledo found a patient at the University of Michigan who was a perfect match for her kidney. At that time she started working with a team of doctors at the University of Michigan and scheduled the surgery for Feb. 13.

She was in the hospital for two days after the surgery. While there she received a letter from the recipient of her kidney thanking her for the gift and sharing her life story.

Lanting explained that the recipient, a 27-year-old woman from the Ann Arbor area who wishes to remain anonymous, had been born with kidney issues and received a kidney transplant from her mother. She later had cancer and the treatments caused her to lose the adopted kidney.

"She is doing extremely well and getting ready to go back to work," Lanting said of the recipient. "She said this is the best that she's felt in years.

"Since then we have seen pictures of each other on the Internet. We look like we could be sisters."

Dr. Alan Leichtman, medical director of transplantation at the University of Michigan, said Lanting's gift of a kidney was "really powerful" because the doctors weren't limited by who would get the kidney. They could search until they found the perfect match.

"(A possible) donor of the person that she donated to is scheduled to donate to someone else, so hopefully this will continue for a long time," he said about the kidney donation chain. "It has technical potential of going forever."

For more information on the paired kidney donation program at the University of Michigan call 1-800-333-9013.

Lanting said she now has a "sister for life" and the whole process has taught her a very important lesson.

"Life is a very precious gift that I have taken for granted because of my good health," she said. "Each day is more precious than what it used to be."

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