Student sacrifices vacation to donate
kidney
by Megan Fink
Public Relations
While many college students are spending their summers relaxing at the beach, Catherine Allen is recuperating as the donor in a kidney transplant that saved her uncle’s life.
“You can’t expect good things in this world, if you’re not going to do them yourself,” said Allen.
Catherine Allen
spends a moment with her uncle, Gerald Smith, before surgery.When the 20-year-old rising senior at the University of South Carolina first heard about her uncle’s need for a kidney a year ago, she first inquired about his blood type. Most members of their family are type ‘A,’ but Allen had an ‘O’ blood type like her uncle. She admitted that her mother was initially taken aback by her offer to donate a kidney, but soon she embraced her decision. “She’s my mom; so she looked into the long-term effects of the surgery,” Allen said. Since the risk of surgery was relatively minor, she proceeded with the support of her family.
As a result, Gerald Smith is forever grateful for his niece’s ‘gift of life,’ and the renewed energy resulting from the new kidney. Smith chose the words “generous, caring and thoughtful” when describing Allen. “It was a normal, automatic decision for her. There was no wrestling with it. Her attitude was that it needed to be done, so I’m going to do it,” he said.
Smith has diabetes, and for the past 15 years, he has experienced symptoms of kidney failure that often accompanies long-term, advanced diabetes. When Smith was told two years ago that he should start making plans for kidney dialysis or have a transplant, he got on a waiting list with a North Carolina medical university. The wait was five to seven years for an ‘O’ blood type kidney at the N.C. facility, so Smith began searching for other options. His hunt for an alternate facility led him to MUSC.
The forward approach to treatment at MUSC, excellence in transplant-related communication and overall responsiveness satisfied both donor and recipient. Smith’s wife, Pat, is a former MUSC trustee and shared her husband’s appreciation of the entire staff. The Smith and Allen families were especially grateful to Prabhakar Baliga, M.D., who performed the surgeries, and kidney transplant coordinator Jennifer Wood. “It was an impressive effort,” said Smith.
The undertaking also involved MUSC nurses, pharmacists, nephrologists and surgeons. Baliga praised the collaboration, saying, “The focus of our program is on quality. This past year, despite a significant increase in volume, we have continued to maintain extremely low complication rates. This has resulted in low hospital stays (mean 3.2 days) and low readmission rates.”
Pat Smith hopes this story will reach other potential donors. “It’s so important that people understand that kidney transplants aren’t unusual, and are done quite often. It’s a relatively safe procedure, which could save one of the 65,000 people who die each year waiting for a kidney,” she said.
Both niece and uncle are well on their way to full recovery from their June 20 surgery, and have since been released. Smith is looking forward to long walks with his cocker spaniels, while Allen can’t wait to ride her horses again. Describing the experience as a positive one, Allen added, “If you hope your friends and family will be there for you, you too have to give and love.”
Friday, June 29, 2007
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