The Gift of Life, Being a Living Donor

Some people love to give blood, others are avoid it. Michael has “volunteered” to give blood exactly one time, during basic training. The drill sergeant laid on a huge guilt trip saying they could opt out, but “if you were on the battle field and needed blood, blah, blah, blah….” Michael opted to donate blood instead of doing extra cleaning duties. The idea of flesh tearing and foreign objects inside of skin just weirds him out.

That was in 1997, fast-forward to 2024. A former youth group student was in need of a kidney donation. Her mom reached out to Michael, asking that he share the need via social media hoping to reach a younger demographic than she could reach on her social media. Michael quickly agreed to post it.

Michael has been reading a lot about sacrifice and it’s benefits. We are to model Jesus’s sacrifice. Jesus offered his entire body for the benefit of others. That idea was enough for Michael to make a call to the kidney donation center and at least test to see if he would be a match. He assumed the odds were slim. What he learned was, if his blood type was compatible, the chances of matching were 80%. His blood type is O+, he is a universal donor. He matched everyone.

Next followed a series of tests to make sure he had no health risks. CAT scans, EKGs, cancer screenings, etc. He was given a clean bill of health, chose a date for surgery, and the recipient was notified of the match. The recipient was just scheduling to have a port installed for dialysis. By surgery, she was down to 14% kidney function and her health was declining rapidly.

Her family was celebratory and invited Michael and I to stay at their house for the days preceding surgery and during recovery. They hosted a celebratory dinner and thankful and generous throughout.

We all traveled together to the hospital. Michael’s surgery went as expected. The recipient’s surgery was more complex as they had to balance her blood gas levels and suppress her immune system. It was successful and her new kidney was working even before her incisions were closed. The first set of bloodwork showed her numbers already improving.

Michael was discharged after just one night in the hospital, and although they expected his numbers to temporarily worsen, they barely changed! His kidney’s were in optimum condition. By the time he made it home, the recipient was at 90% kidney function! God be Praised!