Recipients, donors help mark 25-year milestone
Tally at Sacred Heart: 905 kidney transpants
October 9, 2006
Erica Curless - Staff writer, The Spokesman Review
Jim Seals, left, and Rob Jasperson, the first two altruistic kidney donors at Sacred Heart Medical Center, talk Sunday abou the experience of giving a kidney to someone they did not know.
It’s been 25 years since Diana Owens became the first patient to get a kidney transplant at Spokane’s Sacred Heart Medical Center.
In 1981, it was a monumental new program in the Northwest. She made the front page of newspapers and appeared frequently on television.
On Sunday, the Chattaroy woman didn’t stand out. She was surrounded by numerous others who have gotten kidneys – and ultimately longer lives – from the local transplant program that, to date, has provided 905 kidneys.
“I feel really, really honored to be a part of the program and to get it off to such a good start,” said Owens, who received a kidney from her brother. “It’s just overwhelming to see all the people here today.”
She was joined by Juanita Parker, a Sacred Heart nurse, who quilted while she waited for her transplant.
“Every stitch I took I figured I was getting one stitch closer (to a new kidney),” Parker said.
John “Chip” Opsal, whose only regret is not being able to eat grapefruit, which reacts with the anti-rejection medication he takes, was also there.
And so was MacKenzie Holm, who feels guilty that somebody had to die for him to live.
That was part of the sobering message that went along with the celebration marking Sacred Heart’s 25-year kidney transplant anniversary. The party included stories of survival and hope, and balloons and cake, but also the reality that many people in the Northwest haven’t yet gotten their life-saving kidneys.
About 200 people are on Sacred Heart’s waiting list, which normally takes about two years. There are 1,000 people in Washington in need of a kidney and 68,000 people nationwide.
“We have a huge shortfall,” surgeon Todd Merchen told the 150 people gathered at the hospital’s Providence Center.
That’s why it’s important for people to think about organ donation and, if interested, to make sure it”s indicated on their driver’s license.
There’s also a fairly new program, which Merchen called the most selfless act possible – altruistic donation, which is giving an organ to a stranger.
Jim Seals, of Polson, Mont., was Sacred Heart’s first altruistic kidney donor. He attended the party along with Karen Giesy, of Whitefish, Montana, the woman who received Seals’ kidney in 2005.
“We need to educate the public,” said Seals, who speaks to Montana high school students about the importance of becoming organ donors and having it indicated on their driver’s license. “The reality is there’s never going to be enough altruistic donors.”
Sacred Heart has had four with a few currently going through the extensive testing process.
The human body has two kidneys yet needs only one.
At 62, Seals was healthy and retired – a daily golfer who attributed his physical stamina to a career in the U.S. Army. He had never had surgery.
Yet he volunteered to give up a kidney to a person he didn’t know, all to settle some unfinished business of his own.
It started more than 30 years ago when Seals’ brother-in-law died of kidney failure. Then in 2004, Seals watched a television interview with a New York man who donated a kidney to someone he did not know.
“I couldn’t get it out of my mind,” Seals said, retelling his own story that also drew media attention. “Why not me? Why shouldn’t I give a kidney?”
He tried to talk himself out of it but ultimately succumbed and called Sacred Heart.
He teared up Sunday as he introduced Giesy.
“It was one of the most emotional moments of my life to see her radiant, healthy face,” he said.
Copyright 2006. Reprinted with the permission of The Spokesman Review. Permission is granted in the interest of public discussion and does not imply endorsement of any product, service or organization otherwise mentioned herein.
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