by Jamie Harwood, Peoria County Coroner
In early 2011 I was visiting a friend of mine in the ICU at UnityPoint Methodist, and I was met by her physician telling her, “you need a kidney transplant.”
From childhood, my friend was a brittle diabetic, and had spent much her life battling the extreme of this disease. Over the years, the stress and demand wreaked havoc on her body, and specifically, her kidneys. They were shot.
For several months, dialysis was her only option of daily survival, and this required three trips a week to the dialysis center for hours of treatment. It’s a tough journey to say the least. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (2016), more than 661,000 Americans have kidney failure. Of these, 468,000 individuals are on dialysis, and roughly 193,000 live with a functioning kidney transplant. Each year, more people die from kidney disease than breast cancer and colon cancer combined.
As a registered nurse, I knew my dear friend was desperate to regain her health, but moreover, she was desperate to live. There in that moment in the ICU that day, I offered my kidney. She politely declined the offer, but that didn’t stop me from starting the testing process.
The first step was blood-type testing, and the blood types must match perfectly. Ours did. The next step is tissue-type testing. Each person has six basic tissue typing antigens (or markers) shared equally from their parents. The markers help dictate which donor will be the best match between the recipient and donor. A parent and child would have at least 50 percent match while siblings could have a zero to 100 percent match.
According to the Living Kidney Donors Network (2019) the best match for the recipient is to have six out of six antigens match, however, it is not necessary that you match your antigens for a successful transplant. Even matching one antigen may make for a more successful transplant than matching five or six antigens from a deceased donor kidney. My friend and I matched six out of six antigens. It was a miracle.
On March 8, 2012, with my family by my side in Iowa City, donation day was upon us. The consents were all signed, and with little to no reluctance, it was time to give the gift of life to another.
The normally four-to-six-hour procedure lasted eight hours. There were no complications, and we were both doing well post-operatively. Everything was a success, and my friend continues to thrive today.
According to the Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network (2018), there are more than 114,000 people across the United States who are waiting for a heart, liver, kidney, lung, pancreas or small bowel transplant, with more than 4000 of them in Illinois alone. Of those 4000 people in Illinois waiting for an organ transplant, 3300 of them are in need of a kidney.
Organ and tissue donation is not for everyone, and the decision to become a registered donor is a personal one. The Organ/Tissue Donor Registry is a confidential computerized database that documents a person's wishes regarding donation when they pass away. Information contained in the registry is only released to organ and tissue procurement personnel and coroners after all efforts to save a person's life have failed. First-Person Consent makes your decision to be an organ/tissue donor legally binding. Additional witnesses or family consent is no longer required; your wishes will be honored. You may join the First-Person Consent Organ/Tissue Donor Registry by visiting your nearest Secretary of State facility and registering in person. One donor can enhance or save up to 25 lives; but remember, the choice to donate is a personal one that should be shared with your family.