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On November 2-3, UMMC transplant surgeons completed a four-way kidney exchange involving eight patients from four states. Read their heartfelt stories as they describe how the kidney exchange changed their lives.
Ed Behn's Willingness to Donate a Kidney to Someone in Need Made This Exchange Possible
Ed Behn is the one who made the paired kidney exchange possible and started the chain, as he volunteered to donate a kidney to the person of greatest need (this is referred to as a non-directed donor).
Donor Emmet Davitt Makes it Possible for 10-Year-Old-Boy to Receive a Kidney
Emmet Davitt and his wife Julie knew that family friend Sean Menard, 10, needed a kidney to avoid going on dialysis. Although neither Emmet or Julie were a match for Sean, the UMMC transplant team asked Emmet if he would be part of a multi-donor exchange that would result in Sean's getting a kidney.
Bob Loudermilk, a former pilot from Virginia Beach, Va., who transported cadaver kidneys to facilitate kidney transplants in others, received the gift of life as part of UMMC's four-way kidney exchange.
Sean Menard Has New Lease on Life Thanks to A Family Friend's Willingness to Donate
Sean Menard's kidneys have been failing since birth, due to a congenital abnormality. It was at the point where Sean would have needed dialysis had he not received a new kidney soon.
Kidney Exchange Donor Helps Her Husband and Others
Stacey Lichtman and her husband Carl came to the University of Maryland Medical Center from their home in Florida. Carl faced the prospect of dialysis because of end-stage renal disease. Since Stacey was not a match for Carl, they both entered the Paired Kidney Exchange (PKE) Program.