Guest Speaker on Having Kidney Replacement

Kidney Transplant Questions- Tina Corbett

-where did your kidneys come from?

            First kidney- unknown deceased person, out of body for 21 hours.

Second kidney- from friend, but Tina lost it because she was given too much a drug for too long, and wasn’t monitored, which then destroyed the kidney

Third kidney- from sister, doing well so far

-does it hurt after the operation?

            No, not really. But it’s always harder for the person who gives the organ.

-is there anything you cannot do that normally you would not be able to?

Well, you’re not supposed to drink alcohol or play tackle football, but Tina doesn’t have a problem with that, so, no. Tina also participates in the Transplant Games, which are athletic games, like the Olympics. She down-hill skis and bikes for them, and has gotten several medals. She says this is to show other people that they can have a normal life after having transplants.  However, because she was taking steroids to help with her lupus disease,(steroids drain your bones of thier blood,which causes them to crack and fall apart, dry as a ...well, as a bone,) Tina had to have her hips removed, and therefore cannot run anymore. But other than that, nothing can hold her back! 

-do you have to eat healthy or exercise a lot to keep your kidneys healthy?

            Tina eats healthy and exercises already, so that wasn’t an issue, but she does have

            To watch the amount of salt she eats and drinks at least a gallon a day.

-does it change your outlook on life, and how?

            Yes, Tina said that now she has much more empathy than she did before. She also

            Is more aware of life, and is thankful for every minute of it, because you just

           don’t know…

-if you could go back, would you not have all of your transplants, or would you keep everything?

Tina said she’d keep the first learning experience with having her first kidney replaced, but she says she would to have liked to have been done there with the surgeries and everything.

Tina first had her kidneys fail after she had lupus, which was in 1986, and her kidneys failed in 1991. She had steroids to help her, but they sucked her bone dry of blood, so she had to have her hip replaced.

            Thank you for coming in and sharing your story with us, Tina!

Organ Donation Letter

This is a fake letter I wrote for my high school biology class. We're studying organs, and in the letter, we have to talk about our point of view on who should get the organ transplant. But first, we were put into groups- either kidney or liver. Within each group, there are assigned fictional parts, such as a doctor who does not agree with how people who have more wealth and status are a higher priority, no matter thier age, than perhaps, a young and poorer person; an 80-year old grandmother who has served as a nurse in Vietnam and needs a liver transplant; a 50-year old recovered alcoholic who is divorced, has two grown children, and needs a liver; and a 40-year-old 4th grade teacher who's a single mother of two young children who also needs a liver transplant. The group's job is to discuss who would get the liver. The fun part is that everyone needs to stay in their character, so everyone advocates for him or herself, saying why they think they ought to get the liver. As for the doctor, who doesn't need the liver, she says who, in her opinion, should get the liver. That's me- the doctor. A letter was written by each person in the group to advocate for what they think. Here's my letter to the people in charge of giving out the organs:
Dear Madam or Sir,
             I am a local doctor by the name of Dr. Celey McBuster, MD. Personally, it makes me extremely frustrated to see the advantage wealthy and 'high ranking' citizens seem to have over those who do not have as much wealth, yet contribute just as much to society. Growing up poor, I have come across many injustices that have happened to me and people I know, just because we did not have much wealth. I do not think people should be allowed to buy thier way into or out of anything. Unfortunately, that injustice happens all the time, from jail to organ donations. I watched helplessly a week ago as a 16 year old boy died in my care because he did not receive the liver transplant he so badly needed. Later that week, I read in the paper of a 60-year-old politician who got a liver transplant. I believe the boy should have gotten the transplant, and it makes my heart break to know he did not. The instance I have just described is not the first time I have seen wealthy, 'high ranking' citizens have priority over others. I find the current system of organ donation un-ethical. I believe doctors, such as myself, should have more control over who gets the organ donation and who doesn't. I think age should have a higher priority over wealth, health a higher priority over status. Please take my concerns into account, as it will greatly affect the lives of many.
                                                                       Sincerely,

                                                            Dr. Celey McBuster, MD

P.S. May I add that, being a doctor, I do realize how, in certain situations, it would be better for an older person to get the liver, such as if the liver would not work for anyone else, or if the older person needed it right away, but the younger person could wait for a while. I beg you to know that while it may seem like a good idea to have a wealthy person pay their way up in line for a transplant, it is not always the right thing to do. Doctors, I feel, would have a positive influence on this decision, as we are much learned in this area.