Month: December 2019

Wondering Who Gave a Kidney to Stevie Wonder?

You may have heard that Stevie Wonder had a kidney transplant recently from a living donor, and, fortunately, all is well. There’s been much speculation about the identity of his donor. If you too have been speculating, let’s test a few assumptions–and clarify a few things about living donation while we’re at it. What do we already know about the donor?

1-His donor needn’t be a family member—not even a distant relative. Anti-rejection meds are so advanced now that a good match is far less important, and more and more living donors are not blood relatives.

2-Stevie Wonder’s donor isn’t necessarily a man. I know many women who have donated to their husband, father, son (I donated to mine), friend–whatever. Though a very large man might have a kidney that’s too big for a small woman, and a small woman’s kidney might be too small for a very big man, for the most part, male-female donor pairs are not a problem.

3-The donor also needn’t be African American. It’s not at all uncommon for a white person to donate their kidney to a black person and vice versa.

4-His donor needn’t be young. I was 58 when I donated my kidney, and living donors over 50 are increasingly common—we now represent more than a third of living donors. Some transplant centers have a cutoff of about 70 for donors, but most decide on a case-by-case basis, depending on the kidney’s health and the donor’s overall health. I know of people who’ve donated in their mid-70s.

If you’ve read this far, you now know that we can’t assume much about Stevie Wonder’s donor. So, what can we assume? Just this: the individual is a very healthy, very caring adult.

I wish them both as positive an outcome as my son and I have had—and we’re 13 years post transplant. I really do hope they talk about it publicly to help clear up some more assumptions about living donation. Maybe doing so will encourage others to consider being living donors to meet the tremendous need and shorten the wait for a lifesaving organ. That’s ultimately what my co-author and I hope to do with our book in progress, “The Greatest Gift: The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation.”

A Multimedia Tribute to Donation

I’ve enjoyed sharing my story of donating a kidney to my son, Paul, with just about anyone who’ll listen, in most every medium available: in person, of course (IRL, as they say); in print; online; on radio; on TV—and, most recently, the coolest yet: an interactive multimedia wall.

What, you ask, is a multimedia wall? It’s a giant touch screen about the size of a double window, a touching tribute to donors and recipients at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill. That’s where Paul’s transplant (ditto my donation just down the hall) took place more than 13 years ago.

“The Stories of Transplant Care” wall is in the busy lobby of UNC’s Children’s Hospital. On a recent Saturday, UNC Health Care unveiled it to a small crowd of recipients and their families, donors, and professionals from UNC and Carolina Donor Services, which cosponsored it. The program, which was predominantly about deceased donation, was a powerful reminder of how, in death, one person can help several others to live productive lives.

In the audience was an older gentleman who’d had a heart transplant there 32 years ago (yes, you read that right–he may hold the record). In 1987, when he had his transplant, the life expectancy for a heart transplant recipient was about 5 years. Unbelievable!

If you tap “Donor Stories” or “Recipient Stories,” the screen takes you to articles or video interviews with such individuals or their families, sharing their personal experiences. You can also learn about the history of transplants and related topics, including “Information about Organ Donation.”

Among the Donor Stories is the heading Carol O., above a big photo of my husband (Neil), Paul, and me at a Triangle Kidney Walk; it alternates with a similar photo from the previous year’s Walk and a family photo that includes our daughter, Nora, taken in Paris last year. Next to the changing photos is a long story about the donation and transplant.

Seeing our family’s triumphant story and smiling faces on a wall with those memorable stories of donors and recipients was a very moving and humbling experience. I felt honored to be among them.