How one woman's effort inspired a 4-way kidney swap
For anyone in need of a kidney transplant, the wait can be excruciating. The COVID-19 pandemic has only complicated the process of the life-saving procedure. But one Massachusetts woman's kindness saved more than one life through her efforts to help.
Eric Jenson has always been pretty active. He enjoys mountain biking and playing hockey, and even had the energy to keep up with caring for a new baby. But in 2020, he started to lose steam.
"I started to see my kidney doctor more frequently. My numbers were going down a lot faster than they had anticipated," Jenson said.
Already up against kidney disease that runs in his family, Jenson's doctor at Tufts Medical Center put him on the list for a kidney transplant.
Dr. Ashtar Chami, a nephrologist at Tufts Medical Center, said, "Generally, it takes six months, sometimes over a year or over two years, to get somebody matched through that system. Then Eric was also approaching dialysis," said Dr. Ashtar Chami, a nephrologist at Tufts Medical Center.
Chami said the wait for a compatible kidney is long because one-third of donors are incompatible due to either blood type or certain antibody issues.
Jenson and his family turned to Facebook, posting his story and hoping for help.
Enter Courtney Martin. She was sitting in the doctor's office nursing a running injury when she saw that post.
"I read the story and I called my husband, and he said: 'What's going on with the hip?' And I said: 'Well, I can't run Chicago. But I'm going to donate my kidney to somebody,'" Martin said.
Jenson and Martin are complete strangers, but she said his Facebook post hit home.
"Eric is involved in the music scene in Boston. My husband is involved in the music scene. Eric plays hockey. My husband plays hockey. They have a young son. We have a young son," Martin said. "If I was in her shoes, I would want everyone to come forward to try to help him and I just knew that I could do it. I'm healthy. I'm super active."
Martin applied to be a donor and went through the screening process, including testing and meetings with doctors and social workers.
"We really are very careful with our donors. We want to make sure that we aren't putting anyone at risk," Chami said.
Martin was a match, but not just for Jenson. She also matched with another stranger named Dan, whose brother was willing to donate but incompatible.
"Courtney here, with her super kidney universal donor, was able to also be a candidate for Dan and his brother happened to be a candidate for me," Jenson said.
For this group, it was a no-brainer. In December 2021, they all went in for surgery. After the successful transplants, all four patients got to meet each other
"When we all met, there was a lot of hugging and I was able to exchange texts with Dan's mom who is very grateful and very sweet," Martin said. "In my head, this was not a big deal to me. If somebody needs help, you help. Eric needed a kidney. I could help. There was no hesitation."
Chami said she's never heard of a donor regretting the choice to help someone, even a stranger. For the person in need, the results can be incredible 바카라 게임 웹사이트 changing their entire life in just days.
She adds that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a serious drop in donations and transplant surgeries. She hopes people will because it can truly save a life.
