Oxnard man follows his sister in donating a kidney to father

Oxnard man follows his sister in donating a kidney to father
A gift to dad benefits both

By José L. Sánchez Jr.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

When Terrel Joseph Harrison heard the doctor say his father needed a second kidney transplant, he looked at his wife, she nodded, and he spoke up: "I'll do it."

It was a moment for which he had long been prepared.

Eight years earlier, his older sister, Robin, had given a kidney to their 73-year-old father, Terrel Harrison.

The younger Harrison, 39, knew his father's kidneys were undergoing a progressive deterioration, brought on by high blood pressure. He knew someday he would be called upon.

Following in his big sister's footsteps was something Harrison had been doing for years. Fit and athletic, he said part of the reason he got that way was the example set by his athletic older sister.

When he was 13 and she was 18, she would beat him every time they raced. But he kept at it, eventually setting a new 100-meter track record at Oxnard's Santa Clara High School in 1986 and 1987.

There were some nervous moments before the transplant took place at UCLA Medical Center in late May, said Harrison, Oxnard's assistant director of recreation and director of the city's Police Activities League.

He was told — mistakenly— there was something "off" about his kidneys and there was only a 50 percent chance that he would be able to donate, he said. He waited until he got to a parking lot and burst into tears. It took three weeks for him to learn he could make the donation after all.

Then his father became ill, and months went by before the double operation could take place.

"This was a gift to myself," Harrison said of giving his father a kidney. "You want your parents around as long as you can. ... I feel lucky. To be in a position to be able to do something about that; it's luck or the grace of God."

For the elder Harrison, it was difficult to find words to describe the gift his children have given him.

"It's indescribable," he said.

"It's a blessing. I don't know what the words are ... it's not a simple thing to donate an organ. ... It's a courageous thing to do."

Originally from Louisiana, he came to California with the military and worked as an aircraft mechanic at Point Mugu for 20 years. He then had a second career as a juvenile correctional officer. He and his wife, Jean, have four children.

Without his children's donations, he likely would have had to spend years undergoing dialysis while waiting for a kidney to become available, he said.

According to the National Kidney and Urological Diseases Information Clearinghouse of the National Institutes of Health, there were 74,182 people awaiting kidney transplants in the United States in December, the most recent data available.

From 1999 to 2004, 15.5 million adults 20 or older had chronic kidney disease, with diabetes and hypertension the two leading causes.

Dialysis always left Harrison exhausted and without an appetite, he said.

But since the second transplant, he is feeling much better and looking forward to playing golf, something he hasn't done in a long time even though he lives next to a golf course.

Harrison said he had misgivings and even nightmares about his children donating their organs, until doctors at UCLA convinced the family that things would be OK.

He was not surprised that his children offered to help, he said.

"I have such a strong bond with my children."

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