Mid-America Transplant Services

Brian & Sheila Leander

When my husband was 42-year-old, he went into kidney failure. The doctors told him he would go on dialysis and within two years he would need a kidney transplant. This was an inherited disease and it progressed much faster than the doctors had predicted. So, within six months, he was on dialysis and he carried a beeper at all times in case a kidney became available.

When he was first put on the waiting list for a transplant, we were told he would have to wait about 12 months because there were so many people in the area who needed a kidney transplant. His brothers and sisters did not qualify for donation. The weeks on dialysis stretched into months and the social workers told him he would have to wait 24 months for a kidney transplant.

I asked if I could be tested for donating my kidney. It is very unlikely that a husband and wife would match in all the areas for organ donation and the nurses told me there was little chance. They told me not to even try because I would be so disappointed when I found out I was not a match. I decided to go ahead and take the blood, etc. tests. Maybe, it's that American trait of attempting what seems impossible. What could I lose? Even if I was not a match, at least, I would have tried. My husband was not doing well on dialysis, our eleven-year-old son was deeply sad seeing his dad fade before his very eyes, and frankly, 42 is too young to die!

I almost fell off my chair at work when the nurses called to say that I passed all the barriers and could donate a kidney. Then, my husband refused to accept my donation, not wanting me to go through the pain of surgery. A few months later, he was doing poorly and together we decided that now was the time to schedule the surgery. We called the transplant team and within four weeks we were in and out of the hospital, the transplant completed. The doctors, nurses, etc. were the best.

Now, it is two years later. Our son has an active, involved father. I have my one and only husband. The loss of one kidney has not affected me in any significant way. We have been given new life. I am so glad that we decided to go ahead and try!

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