9 minute read
KIDNEY SWAP
Pay it forward:
College student saves two lives with one gift By Ami Felker Photos by Dave Einsel
Counting down the days until her surgery, Monique Wisdom soothed her spirit with a whispered prayer of thanks. Upon learning she was a suitable transplant match for her ailing mother Annette Kaiser, the 23-year-old college student was able to extend a hand of hope. Meanwhile, just 250 miles south in Houston, Jesus and Imelda Martinez spent their days in fear, unsure of their future. Jesus, a 36-year-old shipping and receiving clerk, was on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant, but it could be years before he received a kidney, and time was not on his side.
He suffered from debilitating kidney disease, and the couple was devastated to learn his wife was not a suitable donor for him.
All four were unaware that kidney surgeon Dr. Osama Gaber was pursuing a solution that would bring the two families together for a storybook ending. Through his efforts, both families received a happily ever after but not in the manner they anticipated.
Imelda and Jesus Martinez, Dr. Osama Gaber, Annette Kaiser and Monique Wisdom
Last fall, Wisdom donated her kidney as planned but not to Kaiser. Instead, her kidney was used to save a stranger’s life, Jesus Martinez. Likewise, Martinez’ wife Imelda saved Kaiser’s life by donating a kidney to Kaiser. The families swapped.
It all began with a phone call to Wisdom from Gaber, who had looked into a hospital-based kidney swap to help Martinez. Wisdom had universal blood type O, which enabled her to donate to any blood type. And miraculously, Imelda Martinez was an equally good match for Kaiser.
Gaber called Wisdom on a Friday, assured her everything would move forward with her mother’s transplant no matter what, but he told her there was an opportunity to leverage her gift to save another life as well.
“We talked for quite some time,” said Gaber, who is director of transplantation at The Methodist Hospital.
“I told her I didn’t want an answer yet. … for her to think about it and call me when she’d made a decision.” After discussing the idea with her mother and thinking about it over the weekend, Wisdom called Gaber to tell him she would participate in the swap. She had no reason to donate her kidney to a stranger because she was already a good match for her mother. But when Gaber approached her with the idea of saving two lives through her single donation, she knew in her heart it was “the right thing to do.”
“My mom helped save my life when I was young, so I was happy to save hers,” she said. “And then, I was given a chance to save another person too. I was worried at fi rst, but once I found out this man’s wife was a match for my mom, I knew everything was good. It’s really neat, and I’m proud of myself.”
“ My mom helped save my life when I was young, so I was happy to save hers. And then, I was given a chance to save another person.” Annette Kaiser and Monique Wisdom
Imelda and Jesus Martinez
Kaiser adopted Wisdom when she was 10, along with her younger brother. Kaiser was a family friend, and when the children’s mother approached her about taking in her two young children because she was dying from the AIDS virus, Kaiser knew she had to do it.
“My mom taught me the power of sacrifi ce and giving,” Wisdom said. “When Dr. Gaber called me about Jesus and Imelda, I knew it was my chance to pass it on.”
With both donors and recipients in place, the complicated part began — facilitating four surgeries in four separate operating rooms at one time — a fi rst for Methodist. More importantly, Gaber and his team were determined to keep Kaiser’s and Wisdom’s original transplant date. “It was imperative to us to keep all the original arrangements so that the plan never changed for Monique and Annette, except swapping the kidneys,” Gaber said.
At 7:30 a.m. on October 24, Wisdom, Kaiser and both Martinez were placed in four adjoining rooms. Surgeons began operating on the donors fi rst to give fi nal assurance that their kidneys were well-functioning and acceptable for transplant. Dr. Lawrence Cisek began surgery on Imelda, while Dr. Richard Link prepared Wisdom. Once both donor kidneys were cleared, Gaber prepared Jesus for transplant and Dr. Richard Knight prepped Kaiser.
“We never make irreversible moves because we want to make sure that not only both kidneys will function when transplanted, but also that the donors are indeed healthy enough to sustain the donation,” Gaber said.
Both transplants were successful, and the two kidneys gained color and began producing urine as soon as they were implanted in the recipients. All four patients went home just days later.
“I have so much more energy now,” Kaiser said. “I’m doing things around the house that I couldn’t do before.”
Swaps on the rise
Kidney swap is a growing trend. It prevents patients without matching donors from waiting years for deceased donated kidneys. At the same time, living donors help their loved ones receive the lifesaving transplants they need. In most cases, two or more incompatible pairs are crisscross matches, and they swap — usually through networks supported by transplant programs.
At Methodist, internal swaps are a key focus. The transplant team continuously looks for opportunities to save more than one life at a time. They meet weekly to discuss all patients being cross-matched for living donor kidney transplants. All donor evaluations emphasize the possibility of swapping.
Gaber says internal swaps are “powerful” because patients can help fellow patients from their own transplant programs, who they can visit with and develop strong relationships. But patients with more diffi cult cases must search for donors externally. Methodist partners with two organizations that facilitate kidney swaps on the regional and national levels.
“Our goal is every donor, every time. If a patient has a willing donor, we will do everything we can to get them a transplant,” he said.
There is a great disparity between the number of patients waiting for transplants and the number of deceased donor organs available. “Finally the light bulb went off and people began to consider swaps. Everyone wins,” said Knight, who is surgical director of Methodist’s kidney transplant program.
He says swaps allow patients to overcome two major obstacles. First, blood type incompatibility is no longer an issue. Another common challenge is transplant antibodies. Patients who have undergone blood transfusions, previous transplants or sometimes even multiple pregnancies can build up antibodies that reject transplanted organs.
“Every person has a genetic makeup that makes them more likely to accept or reject a transplant,” he said. “If lab results show potential for rejection in a recipient from one living donor, we can continue searching for a donor who does not present the same risk.”
Since the swap, all four patients are recovering well. Kaiser and Martinez enjoy renewed lives and energy to spend with their families.
Martinez’ wife says she is thankful to have her husband back.
“Monique is our angel,” Imelda said. “When I saw her for the fi rst time, I hugged her tight and said, ‘my angel, my angel.’”
And Wisdom is fi nishing her college degree with hopes to help raise awareness about living kidney donation.
“This experience made me realize there is so much to be done,” she said. “If I speak out, more people may consider donation to save their loved ones.”
“I can’t express it,” Jesus said. “It’s something big. I’ll always be thankful. Always — all my life.” !
RANKED SPECIALTY
Society for Leading Medicine
The Methodist Hospital Foundation appreciates members of the Society for Leading Medicine who are helping us transform The Methodist Hospital through contributions of $10,000 or more each year. The follow list recognizes the benevolent visionaries of the Society in 2008. Their generosity not only allows Methodist to provide the very best in patient care, but also advances its vision of becoming an academic medical center of the fi rst rank. If you wish to know more about how you can ensure the health of future generations by joining the Society for Leading Medicine, please contact Meredith Stasny at 832-667-5838
Anonymous (9) Rolaine and Morrie Abramson Aetna Dr. and Mrs. Bobby R. Alford The Alkek and Williams Foundation Mr. D. Kent Anderson M.D. Anderson Foundation The Honorable Hushang Ansary and
Mrs. Shahla Ansary Dr. Hiram P. Arnold* and
Mrs. Gloria R. Arnold Dr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Barrow Dr. Barbara L. Bass and
Mr. Richard S. Marshall, Esq. Mr. and Mrs. Carlton E. Baucum M. R. Bauer Foundation Alice and David C. Bintliff Foundation BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Carolyn and John Bookout The Bowers Family Fund of the Texas
Methodist Foundation Breg, Inc. The Brown Foundation, Inc. Mr. Charles R. Burnett III Cancer Fighters of Houston, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. William A. Carpenter Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Philip J. Carroll;
The P and C Carroll Foundation The Cervantes Family Mr. and Mrs. Albert Y. Chao Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao
Foundation Mrs. Ida L. Clement and Family Mr. and Mrs. M. Samuel Daffi n The Solomon D. and Victoria David
Foundation DermSurgery Associates, P.A.;
Dr. Leonard H. Goldberg The Doré Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Duncan Jr. Peggy and Gary Edwards The Elkins Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jerry E. Finger; Jerry and Nanette Finger Foundation Elaine and Marvy Finger; Marvy
Finger Family Foundation Finger Furniture Co. The Fondren Foundation Dr. Robert E. Fromm Jr. Drs. A. Osama and Lillian Gaber Golfers Against Cancer The Blanche M. Green Fund The Hamill Foundation Houston Endowment Houston Texans JLH Foundation, Inc. Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence W. Kellner Mr. and Mrs. I. H. Kempner III Mr. Ajay Khurana and
Dr. Sapandeep K. Singh Mr. Balwant S. Khurana Mrs. Carol S. Kobb Mr. and Mrs. John P. Kotts Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Y. Leatherwood Barbara and Melvyn Levine Carole Walter Looke Mr. and Mrs. Vidal G. Martinez The Methodist Hospital Auxiliary Mr. and Mrs. John S. Moody Moody Memorial First United
Methodist Church Permanent
Endowment Fund The Moran Foundation Mosbacher Foundation, Inc. Muscular Dystrophy Association, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory V. Nelson NMT Medical, Inc. The Oshman Foundation Mr. Robert T. Priddy Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Richardson The George A. Robinson IV
Foundation Roche Laboratories Inc. Drs. George and Lynn Schroth Scurlock Foundation Vivian L. Smith Foundation Dr. H. Dirk Sostman and
Ms. Maria Preka St. Thomas Health Services Dr. Dipan J. Shah Ms. Sharon Werlin Staton Taub Foundation T.L.L. Temple Foundation Dr. Valentina Ugolini Mr. and Mrs. David M. Underwood The Vintage Auto Heritage
Foundation Ray Walsh Foundation Rusty Walter Martha and Gib Walton The Damon Wells Foundation The Honorable Ewing Werlein Jr. and Mrs. Werlein Stedman West Foundation F.W. Bert and Mae Dean Wheeler
Family Trust *Deceased
