Kidney needed for beloved teacher's wife

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News Stories
Print Edition: 02/22/2008

Kidney needed for beloved teacher's wife

BEAVERTON — One of the core values of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon community is to provide care through faith and action. It is not often that one is given the opportunity to practice faith in life-changing ways. Such an opportunity has come.

Kipp Johnson, beloved 22-year teaching veteran in the Valley Catholic math department, is reaching out for help.

His wife Teresa is in need of a kidney from a living donor. Her doctors at Legacy Good Samaritan have urged her and Kipp to tell everyone they know about the situation in hopes of locating potential donors for a kidney transplant.

A donor must be between the ages of 18 and 60, be in good health, and have type O blood. Having more than one willing donor is important since people need to be screened to find a close match for Teresa.

Teresa, 58, has polycystic kidney disease, a progressive, genetic disorder of the kidneys. The disease causes enlarged kidneys because of multiple cysts, decreasing the kidneys’ functioning over time.

No family member is a suitable donor to Teresa, so the Johnsons are making this need for a donor known to the broader community of their friends, school and church. Research shows that kidneys from living donors last about twice as long as kidneys from the deceased — 20 years versus 10 years. The current wait in Oregon for a kidney from a deceased donor averages about 18 months.

Teresa’s kidney function is between 16 and 20 percent. When it reaches approximately 13 percent, she will need to go on dialysis to stay alive. The decrease in functioning could happen at any time. Life on dialysis would mean three treatments per week, causing exhaustion and excess load on all the other organs in the body. A living donor would need about four weeks to recover from the surgery, and all medical expenses would be covered by the Johnson’s health insurance.

Teresa is at peace with whatever happens. “I have a strong faith in God and I just continue trusting in him,” she says.

The Johnsons have learned that there is always a lot of need for kidney donors. The librarian at St. Mary of the Valley School says her husband also has polycystic kidney disease and has begun dialysis.

Those interested in learning more about donating a kidney should contact Laurie Pharr, living donor coordinator, at (503) 413-6553 or (877) 622-8030.

Pharr can answer questions on an anonymous basis. To contact Kipp Johnson, send an email to kjohnson@ssmoministries.org.

http://www.sentinel.org/node/8801