Each December I am reminded of Ron and his brother in that post WWII America, and Dr. Murray, and their families, their colleagues, the press, the clergy, all Americans, and the attention of people the world over, all focussed on the possibility, the hope and the fear, the ethical quandary, the high stakes of living kidney donation. I had the tremendous honor of speaking as a representative of today's kidney donors at the 50th anniversary celebration of Ron's donation. Ron spoke of his incomprehension of people, such as me, donating to someone not a twin, not a brother, not family, but an acquaintance or complete stranger. I spoke of our gratitude to him, for going first. While we have less data than we might wish on our log term prospects, he had far less, as well as the weight of not being the very first, since unsuccessful attempts had been made, but the first for a new technique, with no way to know if it was going to truly help his brother or not. End Stage Renal Disease was a death sentence in this time before dialysis and transplantation. Dr. Murray also spoke at that event, acknowledging the deep professional skepticism of his proposal to take his experience as a plastic surgeon doing reconstructive work on injured combatants during WWII and applying it to transplantation. It worked, and we all are heir to the changed world that they made. Take care, all, and best wishes for welcome changes in your world.
Fifty-ninth anniversary:
Ronald Herrick donated a kidney to his brother on December 23rd, 1954, the first successful solid organ transplant. Ron died at age 79 on December 27th, 2010. Ron was the first living organ donor, to his twin brother, Richard. Joseph Murray, the plastic surgeon who convinced them and their surgical teams that he had figured a way around the immune response, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Twenty-eighth anniversary:
Robert A. Hancox donated a kidney to his sister on December 11th, 1985
Twenty-second anniversary:
Juanita DeVeaux donated a kidney to her daughter on December 4th, 1991
Nineteenth anniversary:
Natalie Cardoza donated a kidney to her sister on December 21st, 1994
Eighteenth anniversary:
Emmitt Lee Lewis donated a kidney to his little brother, Glen, on December 8th, 1995. Emmitt's daughter, Deborah Lewis-Grimes, says they were the first African-American living donor-recipient siblings in the US.
Sheila Leander donated a kidney to her husband, Brian, on December 27th, 1995
Fourteenth anniversary:
Heather Roberts donated a kidney to her father in December, 1999. He died in 2012, with kidney function still good.
Cheryl McCullough donated part of her liver to her husband on December 14th, 1999
Twelfth anniversary:
Phillip Ondler donated a kidney to his sister on December 14th, 2001
Bob Jauch donated part on his liver to his daughter on December 20th, 2001
Janice O'Connell donated a kidney to friend on December 26th, 2001
Eleventh anniversary:
Bill Shummel donated a kidney anonymously on December 17th, 2002
Tenth anniversary:
Micheline donated a kidney to a friend on December 5th, 2003
Kevin donated part of his liver to his father on December 8th, 2003
Barbara Sher donated a kidney to her brother on December 9th, 2003
Larry Miller donated a kidney to his daughter on December 16th, 2003
Melanie Wallace donated a kidney to a stranger on December 16th, 2003
Kathryn Jones donated part of her liver to a friend on December 18th, 2003. Her friend died two months later.
Bev donated a kidney to a stranger on December 23, 2003
Elizabeth A. Miller donated a kidney to a friend on December 30th, 2003
Lisa Ornelas donated a kidney to her sister on December 30th, 2003
Ninth anniversary:
Sarah Wright donated a kidney to her brother on December 1st, 2004
Becky Livingston donated a kidney to her cousin on December 12th, 2004
Eighth anniversary:
Mary Kirk donated a kidney to her brother-in-law on December 6th, 2005
Charlotte Buckley donated a kidney to a friend's mother on December 7th, 2005
Jay Paustian donated a kidney to a friend on December 13th, 2005
Amanda Gedraitis donated a kidney anonymously on December 15th, 2005
Coleen Damon donated a kidney to her mother on December 27th, 2005
Doug Boston donated a kidney to an unrelated recipient on December 28th, 2005
Seventh anniversary:
Rick Hodgkins donated a kidney to his mother on December 7th, 2006
Brian Earnshaw donated a kidney to his uncle on December 12th, 2006
Wayne Ellenberger donated a kidney to a stranger on December 12th, 2006
Billie Ward donated part of her liver to an unrelated recipient on December 22nd, 2006
Mary Lou Hery donated a kidney to her daughter on December 22, 2006
Lisa donated a kidney to her daughter on December 27th, 2006
Sixth anniversary:
Louise in Canada donated a kidney to an anonymous unrelated recipient on December 3rd, 2007
Sylvia Toler donated a kidney to her husband, Steve, on December 4th, 2007
Connie Watts donated to her cousin on December 7th, 2007
Christine Robinson made a non-directed donation on December 11th, 2007
Brett Menzy donated a kidney to an unrelated recipient on December 18th, 2007
Eric Savage donated a kidney to his father on December 18th, 2007
Fifth anniversary:
Craig Tohill donated a kidney to his Aunt Sue on December 7th, 2008
Tom Moore donated a kidney to his brother on December 9th, 2008
Joshua donated a kidney to a stranger on December 10th, 2008
Fourth anniversary:
Rob Upham donated a kidney to Sandra Erice on December 7th, 2009
Pamela Hull donated a kidney in the 2009 Georgetown exchange (one of 13 donors) so her cousin could receive a kidney on December 8th, 2009
Bill Martinez donated a kidney to his cousin, Nicholas, on December 9th, 2009
Kimberly Jensen donated a kidney to an unrelated person, Bill Flitton, on December 9th, 2009
Matt Knowles donated a kidney to his wife on December 9th, 2009
Gina Mingrone became a non-directed donor in the New England Paired Kidney Exchange (NEPKE) on December 15th, 2009, initiating a chain of donors and recipients from Maine to New Jersey and back!
Kara Lucca donated a kidney as 1 of 13 donors in a nationwide chain on December 17th, 2009, while her husband was 1 of 13 recipients
Lori Wagner donated a kidney to her father on December 29th, 2009
Third anniversary:
Ellie started a non-directed kidney donor chain on December 16th, 2010
Second anniversary:
Jody Woodward made a non-directed kidney donation on December 8th, 2011
Curtis donated a kidney in a chain on December 12th, 2011
Stephanie Marie donated a kidney to Selina, an unrelated person, on December 13th, 2011
Jane donated a kidney to her brother Tom on December 14th, 2011.
Lisa Goldberg donated a kidney to her father, Larry Berg, on December 15th, 2011
Kris Oien donated a kidney to Clifford, an unrelated person, on December 16th, 2011
Topic: December 2013 Anniversaries (Read 4089 times)