Giving the ultimate gift

Tears slide down 32-year-old Angela Greene's face as she tells the story of how she donated a kidney to her father, Clyde Greene, earlier this year.

In 2009, Clyde found out his kidneys were failing. By the next year, his illness had become more serious, and he was forced to go on dialysis. Angela and several other friends and family members put their names on a list as potential kidney donors.

“I was turned down by a hospital in Toronto because I was overweight,” she said.

“I was devastated. Also, the friends and family who had put their names in to try to be donors were turned down for one reason or another.”

In the spring of 2011, however, Clyde was put in contact with the London Health Sciences Centre, which specializes in organ transplants.

“I was contacted by the donation co-ordinator soon after,” Angela said. “She agreed to start testing with me, so long as I was trying to lose weight. Finally, things were looking up.”

After many medical tests, and after losing about 25 pounds, Angela received the fateful phone call. She was a match, and would be able to donate a kidney to her father.

“I must say that phone call to my dad about 15 minutes later, when I calmed down, was the best phone call I've ever made.”

As she went into surgery Jan. 25, Angela wasn't scared for herself. She said she was scared something would happen to her father during surgery, and she'd never see him alive again.

“Apparently he was also scared for me,” she said. “No father wants to see their child in pain, but what child wants to see their father suffer, as I had?”

The surgery was a success. Angela was sent home three days after surgery, although her father stayed in hospital for another five weeks.

She said she doesn't expect her donation to have any lasting impact on her own health, and her father is “doing really great.”

Angela was one of the guest speakers at the April 23 launch of the Irish Heritage Club of Sudbury's Walk for a Second Chance.

The club isn't trying to raise money through the walk, which takes place starting at 10:30 a.m. April 28 at the Bell Park amphitheatre. Instead, they're trying to raise awareness of organ donation.

Angela, who will be addressing those gathered at the event, said by sharing her story, she hopes to encourage people to sign up to become organ donors, authorizing their family members to donate their organs upon death.

She also wants them to see that living donation can be an “amazing gift.”

“Although it's life-changing, it doesn't ruin your health,” she said. “It only enhances the health and the life of others.”

In 1999, Betty and Mel O'Reilly's son, 37-year-old Michael, died while waiting for a double lung transplant.

Michael suffered from cystic fibrosis. Despite his condition, he was able to lead a fairly normal life, getting married and winning several awards for his creative writing, Betty said.

“We thought when he went on the list, he would automatically get that organ, and it wouldn't be any problem,” she said.

“But believe me, it was a problem. He never got that match. He waited 13 months, and, of course, his health deteriorated. He got worse and worse. He finally succumbed to the lung disease.”

After Michael's death, Betty and Mel, members of the Irish Heritage Club of Sudbury, asked fellow club members if there was something they could do to promote organ donation. The club held its first Walk for a Second Chance in 2000.

Betty said she's not sure what the percentage of Greater Sudbury citizens who had signed up to be organ donors was before they started their campaign, but it's currently at 44 per cent. The provincial average is far lower, at 22 per cent.

Despite the club's success, there are still 50 people in the city who are on the organ donation waiting list. Provincially, there are 1,525 people waiting for organ transplants. Every three days, somebody dies in the province while on the organ transplant waiting list.

Michel Babin was one of those lucky enough to receive an organ in time.

In October 2002, he was diagnosed with a condition which involved his immune system attacking his lungs and kidneys.

He was cured of the condition through a combination of plasmapherisis and dialysis, although it left his kidneys damaged. Unfortunately, not long afterwards, he suffered a stroke, ended up with brain damage, and had to learn to take care of himself again.

Because the kidney damage meant he also had to contend with dialysis, Babin was put on the organ transplant list. He received a new kidney on New Year's Eve 2004.

“What a wonderful feeling it is to start the New Year with the gift of life, no longer having to go to dialysis, being able to drink as much fluid as I wanted, and eat as healthfully as I wanted,” he said.

Although Babin's brain injury has prevented him from going back to work, he said he's enjoying life again these days, having just gotten engaged in February to dialysis patient Monique Ratelle, who he met while they were both receiving treatments. The couple plans to marry in June 2013.

He also volunteers with the Irish Heritage Club of Sudbury, promoting organ donation awareness.

“Don't take your organs to heaven,” Babin said. “Heaven knows we need them here. You could help out so many other people.”

To sign up to become an organ donor, visit www.beadonor.ca.

Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen