Aptos man donates kidney, and gives cousin second shot at life

[Clark]

http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_19267820

Aptos man donates kidney, and gives cousin second shot at life
By Meghan D. Rosen

 Most 27-year-olds don't have to worry about sticking to a strict diet or taking dozens of daily pills. But Jodi Lyford doesn't mind. Frequent doctor visits, monthly injections, lifelong medications - she's happy to do whatever it takes to stay healthy. But more than anything, Lyford is grateful.
Three weeks ago, she got a new kidney.
Lyford, a tattoo artist from Santa Cruz, received a living kidney from her cousin Barry Baker, 26, at the UC San Francisco Medical Center on Oct. 11.
Transplant surgeons threaded a miniature camera and tiny tools through four "keyhole" incisions in Baker's side, then disconnected his kidney from its blood vessels and eased it out through a 3.5 inch incision in his lower belly.
Lyford's surgical team hustled Baker's kidney down the hall to her operating room, and over the next few hours, hooked her body up to its healthy new organ. After the transplant, Lyford and Baker began their rehabilitation by walking to each other's rooms.
"The whole experience of recovering together was really cool," Baker of Aptos said.
He decided to donate his kidney to Lyford after doctors found last-minute complications with Lyford's sister, her original donor. Baker and his sister offered to be tested for Lyford, though they agreed that if they both were a match, Baker would be the one to donate.
"I felt like it would be better if I did it," he said. "My sister has kids and a family and lives in Hawaii, so it would be way harder for her."

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