My older brother Gene was diagnosed with a kidney disorder during a routine physical while he was in college sometime back in the early 70's. While the problems were nothing to be overly concerned with at the time, his doctor said it would likely get progressively worse as he got older. So, with this in mind Gene took extra measures to keep himself in good shape. By watching his diet and exercising regularly and was able to stay in relatively good health through out adulthood. Unfortunately, no matter how well Gene took care of himself, his kidneys were still progessively failing. About three years ago his kidney functionality had in fact gotten much worse, and that the disease was progressing more rapidly. At this point his kidneys were functioning at about 20% of normal. His doctors told that he should probably be prepared for a transplant or dialysis sometime in the not too distant future.

I am in the middle of a family of five, Gene is the oldest. While everyone in the family knew that Gene had problems with his kidneys, it was nothing that we had ever really given much thought to. He was healthy, lived a normal life and showed little signs that anything was actually wrong. So, I think it came as a bit of a surprise to all of us when we found out how serious his condition had actually become. While there was not an immediate need for a transplant, Gene's doctors suggested that it would be better to plan ahead and see if anyone was compatible as a donor in the event a transplant was actually needed. Of the four potential donors in our immediate family, my sister and older brother were not eligible due to unrelated medical conditions and my younger brother had a mismatched blood type. So when Gene asked me back in 2003 if I would get tested to see if I might be a suitable donor, I did not hesitate. As it turned out, preliminary tests showed that we were a perfect match, so good in fact that Gene's doctor thought we might be twins (he obviously was looking at us from the inside out not the other way around). Any sense of urgency died down as Gene's condition leveled off and we were able to put the whole thing on hold for at least the time being. This of course was a relief to Gene, and medically speaking I'm sure this was a good thing. The downside to this was it gave me a long time to really ponder the situation at hand. Why would a perfectly healthily person take time out of his life, check into a hospital and voluntarily undergo major surgery? The more I asked myself that question the harder it was to find a good answer.

Our family is spread out from form California, to New Jersey, to North Carolina and down to Florida. Yet somehow every few years we manage and get together for a reunion. Along with the five siblings we bring along spouses and children. And of course our mother, the matriarch of the clan always attends. These reunions are especially rewarding for her as it is the only time she gets to see her entire family, children and grandchildren alike, together at the same time. We typically will rent a couple of big houses at the beach and spend the entire week together. After spending a day or so just catching up with each other it seems the rest of the time is spent eating, drinking and rehashing old family stories, (much to the dismay of the in-law spouses and the kids). It was during our most recent get together that I realized how special each and everyone member of my family is. While over the years we have added a few new members to the group, like a new spouse or grandchild, one thing has remained constant; not one single family member that has ever been to one of the reunions has failed to come back to the next. The one thing brings us back together year after year, is that we are a family. If one of us were not there, it would not be the same family. I do not want to think what it would be like for Gene's family to attend without him nor for my mother to attend without one of her children. I knew that donating a kidney to Gene could help him live a longer and healthier life than what he was otherwise facing. But, being at that reunion made me realize it wasn't only Gene that would benefit from the donation, we all would. It was this thought that convinced me that this would all be worth it.

Later that summer Gene's kidney functionality dropped to below 10% of normal and he was told that barring a transplant he would have to go on dialysis. So, I went over to UC San Francisco for the final round of tests to make sure my kidneys were functioning as normal and also to make sure everything else concerning my overall health was in line. They did every imaginable (and even some I had not imagined) test on me. I passed with flying colors. We were able to schedule the surgery for the end of the year when work was slow for everyone and our children were off school.

The day after Christmas lat year we packed and headed for North Carolina and the Duke University Medical Center where the surgery would be performed. The next day Gene and I checked in to the hospital and by 10am we were in the operating room. I was up first and Gene was in the room across the hallway. My surgery, which was done laparoscopy, took about four hours. Gene's took a little longer. Both procedures went beautifully. The transplanted kidney started working right away. Within 24 hours Gene had full kidney functionality; for the first time in over thirty years. This was truly a text book example on how a transplant should go. The fact that Gene was in great health, other than the obvious, and he kept himself in very good physical shape, made him an ideal candidate for the transplant. Believe it of not, I was out of the hospital the next day. Gene came home four days later to celebrate New Years Eve with us. I stayed down in NC for follow up tests and some additional recovery time. Ten days later I was on a plane, minus one kidney, headed for California. After just one more week of rest at home I felt strong enough to go back to work.

Gene and I have both recovered completely and are back to our pre-surgery activity levels. The transplanted kidney has shown no sign of rejection. Later this month we will celebrate the one year anniversary of our surgery. I am happy to report at this time that both of my kidneys are functionality at 100%, albeit 2500 miles apart from one another.

Luckily most people are not put in the position of needing a transplant, or needing to donate. I must say though that the overall experience was most rewarding. I'm really looking forward to next June when the entire family gets together for our next reunion. An added bonus will be the addition of the first member of the fourth generation of our family to attend. As mentioned earlier, we keep adding more, but no one ever fails to return.