Backing out was never an option for B.C. donor

[Clark]

http://www.leaderpost.com/health/Backing+never+option+donor/7354105/story.html

Backing out was never an option for B.C. donor

By Charlie Fidelman

In a kidney exchange among six people in three provinces, Melissa Campbell was the weakest link.

"I was the last in the chain to do the donation," said Campbell, 48, of Qualicum Beach, B.C., who was scheduled to give one of her kidneys to a Montreal man days after her husband Steve got a kidney from an Ottawa donor. Organizers asked her repeatedly whether she would honour her commitment no matter what happened on the operating table to her husband, she recalled.

"'And what happens if Steve doesn't do well, will you still be able to get on a plane and go?' They put a lot of faith in me not backing out."

But Campbell knew how hard he struggled with a malfunctioning kidney for decades. "I wouldn't wish dialysis on anybody. It keeps them alive, but doesn't give them a great life," she said of fatigue caused by artificial blood filtering plus side effects, including nausea and vomiting from a variety of drugs - in his case, 21 medications.

As it turned out, the live kidney stitched into Steve Campbell's abdomen at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver on Aug. 2 functioned immediately and there were no complications. "But I wouldn't have backed out," Campbell said. "It wasn't an option to leave another family in that situation."

Campbell felt awful about leaving her husband alone after major surgery, but she flew to Montreal, accompanied by a sister from Saskatchewan and her mother. The living donor program, however, covers donors' travel costs but not kin who tag along to care for them.

"I couldn't have flown back on my own. I couldn't lift a suitcase let alone my own purse," she said.

Campbell said her donation was pure love. She had to do it. But the truly amazing are the Good Samaritans who don't have someone in mind yet start a chain with an altruistic donation. "That's extremely generous," she said.

Life expectancy on dialysis varies. Some people do very well for many years like Steve, 51, an avid cyclist whose kidneys inexplicably failed the year he turned 22.

A transplant from a deceased donor lasted nine years, until a flu infection destroyed his kidney again almost 20 years ago. He's been on dialysis ever since - mostly at home with a machine that cleansed his blood. "I would set it up every night. It's like having another job," he said.

Two other cadaver transplants also failed - one after only four days. He wasn't a candidate for another procedure, but his doctor in insisted he sign up for a live exchange.

"When I woke up from surgery, I felt so wonderful - ecstatic. But I was pretty unnerved for my wife," Campbell said. Live donation is not without risks, including death: one in 3,000.

When his wife returned home, Campbell was there to meet her. He was strong enough to walk the length of the airport.

It was a tearful reunion. While Campbell got his kidney from an Ottawa donor, he felt as if the gift of life came directly from his wife.

"I gave her a great big hug and thanked her, and told her I loved her like never before," he said. "I wanted to hug and hold her forever."