HEALTHY
PERSPECTIVE
Jennifer was given this keepsake to
remember just how special her act of
selfl essness was.
A month later, Jennifer was back at work and still grateful for the
gift she was able to give someone she doesn’t even know. She said
the surgery lasted about three hours and was done laparoscopically.
Three small incisions and one longer one were made when they
removed her kidney. She said the scars are very minimal.
“The surgeon came to my room that evening to check in on me
and he told me that my kidney was very good looking, and that the
recipient was already producing their own urine, which is great.”
Jennifer said that is all she knew about the recipient at this time.
As far as her recovery, she said she started back to work after about
three weeks.
“The recovery is different for each person,” Jennifer said. “The average
time is four to six weeks. There was only pain for about the fi rst 24
hours, after that just some soreness that was pretty easy to manage.
Fatigue has been the hardest part for me. Naps are a great thing.
Each day is better.”
Overall, she said, she doesn’t regret her decision at all. In fact, she calls
it a great experience. She said after the three-month mark, if the recipient
wants to meet her or contact her, the transplant coordinator
will make contact.
“I would do it all over again if I could,” she said, “and I would highly
recommend others to consider donation as well. It is rewarding in a
way that is hard to put into words.”
For more information, go to organdonor.gov.
Some facts you many not know ...
March/April 2020 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE 91
• Almost 114,000 people in the United States
are currently on the waiting list for a lifesaving
organ transplant.
• Another name is added to the national transplant
waiting list every 10 minutes.
• On average, 20 people die every day from
the lack of available organs for transplant.
• One deceased donor can save up to eight
lives through organ donation and can save
and enhance more than 100 lives through the
lifesaving and healing gift of tissue donation.
• Organ recipients are selected based primarily
on medical need, location and compatibility.
• Over 700,000 transplants have occurred in
the U.S. since 1988.
• Organs that can be donated after death are
the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas and
small intestines. Tissues include corneas, skin,
veins, heart valves, tendons, ligaments and
bones.
• The cornea is the most commonly transplanted
tissue. More than 40,000 corneal
transplants take place each year in the United
States.
• A healthy person can become a ‘living donor’
by donating a kidney, or a part of the liver,
lung, intestine, blood or bone marrow.
• About 6,000 living donations occur each
year. One in four donors are not biologically
related to the recipient.
• The buying and selling of human organs is
not allowed for transplants in America, but it is
allowed for research purposes.
• In most countries, it is illegal to buy and sell
human organs for transplants, but international
black markets for organs are growing in
response to the increased demand around the
world.
• Liver and kidney disease kills over 120,000
each year, more people than Alzheimer’s,
breast cancer, or prostate cancer.
• 1 in 9 or 26 million Americans have kidney
disease – and most don’t even know it.
• Organ disease is a massive public health
issue, and organ transplantation can be a
lifesaving treatment option. There are as many
people dying per year of organ disease as are
currently on the transplant waiting list.
/organdonor.gov
