Organ donation an act of love; Methodist honors those who saved lives

Organ donation an act of love; Methodist honors those who saved lives
By Tom Charlier
Posted April 14, 2012 at midnight

PHOTO BY ALAN SPEARMAN

"I figure what's mine is his and what's his is mine, anyway," said Emily Hassler, who donated a kidney to her husband, Jared.
As desperate as he was for a new kidney, Jared Hassler couldn't help but worry even more about the person donating the organ.

It was his wife, after all.

"I was scared to have her have surgery for me," said Hassler, 29.

Emily Hassler, however, shared none of her husband's concerns about the operation last June in which one of her kidneys was removed so it could be transplanted into him. "I figure what's mine is his and what's his is mine, anyway," she said.

Aside from providing new meaning to the traditional wedding vow of staying committed "in sickness and in health," the Hasslers took part in an inaugural event Friday honoring organ donors.

The first Living Donor Luncheon, sponsored by Methodist University Hospital and its partner, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, took place as the waiting list for organs stood at nearly 114,000 nationwide, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. It also commemorated National Donate Life Month.

Nearly half of the 31 living donors who gave organs at Methodist during 2011 showed up for the luncheon, each bringing the recipient, and in some cases, a guest. For more than an hour, they were showered with appreciation from the Methodist and UT officials.

"Today, I'm humbled to be in the presence of true heroes," Dr. Vinaya Rao, director of transplant nephrology for Methodist, told the group.

The Methodist University Transplant Institute, with a staff of 140, has emerged as one of the nation's leading centers in the field, ranking fourth in liver transplants, for instance. Last year was a record-setting one for the institute, with the 270 kidney, liver and kidney-pancreas transplants representing a 13 percent increase from 2010.

But only 20 percent of the kidneys transplanted at the institute come from living donors, compared to 40 percent nationwide, according to Methodist. Organs from living donors generally last longer than those from cadavers.

"There's such a shortage of organ donors now," said Dr. James Eason, director of the transplant program.

Most, but not all, of the donors honored Friday had given organs to loved ones.

For the Hasslers, the need arose after Jared suffered renal failure as a result of a disease known as IgA nephrology, in which an antibody lodges in the kidneys, hampering their ability to filter wastes, excess water and electrolytes from the blood. He's now doing well, and, inspired in part by his own experiences, finishing medical school at UT with plans to work in the transplant field.

But at least two donors at the luncheon gave organs to people to whom they weren't related.

Vernita Jarmon of South Memphis donated a kidney to a total stranger living thousands of miles away. She was involved in Tennessee's first "paired donation" so that her sister, Linda Richmond, for whom she was not a compatible donor, could receive a kidney from someone else.

Then there's the case of Rev. Valentine Handwerker, rector of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Midtown. Last November, he gave a kidney to an ailing parishioner.

"I thought, 'I have good health; I should do that,'" he said Friday.

Donating an organ is not without its risks. There is perhaps a 1-in-1,000 chance the donor won't survive the surgery, said Dr. Luis Campos, surgical director for the kidney transplant program. He was quick to add, though, that the Methodist institute has never lost a donor.

For her part, Emily Hassler was undeterred by the dangers.

Turning her gaze to her husband, she said, "For me, the benefits far outweighed any risks."

-- Tom Charlier: (901) 529-2572

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