Kristen Lowrance and her father, Gene Kirby. Photo by Susan Urmy
Gene Kirby of Brentwood needed a new kidney, but he was having a hard time finding a match. His daughter, Kristen Lowrance, stepped forward to help, but her blood type was B and his was A.
Kirby, 75, faced the prospect of several years on the waiting list for an organ, running the risk of growing too old to qualify for a donation.
But Kirby was able to receive a new kidney just weeks after being placed on the transplant list, thanks to the Vanderbilt Kidney Paired Donation Program. Lowrance agreed to donate her kidney to a stranger with a matching blood type, and as a result, a stranger donated a kidney to her father. Coordinators for Vanderbilt’s living kidney donor program matched the willing donors and compatible strangers.
“I so wanted to save my dad because he had saved me so many times,” Lowrance said. “I was crushed when I wasn’t a match. This allowed me to save him in an indirect way and still save another person, too. So, it was better than I had hoped for.”
“Honestly, I was a little stunned, because I didn’t expect it,” Kirby said of the October 2018 phone call informing him that a kidney was available. “I was under the impression that it would probably be a year, two years, easily. The last thing I expected in October was a call from Vanderbilt saying we have this perfect match and we need to move quickly.”
Kirby received his new kidney just after Thanksgiving 2018, and just before Easter 2019, Lowrance donated hers. Both operations were performed by Rachel Forbes, MD, MBA, assistant professor of Surgery and living kidney donor surgical director.
“Kidney paired donation allows people who are not a match for their loved one to donate to someone else and then their loved one receives a kidney from another person from a pair that were not a match,” Forbes said. “This swapping allows so many lives to be affected by the positive changes that come after transplant.”
Lowrance is eager to spread the word that qualified organ donors can help their loved one get a new kidney — even if they are not able to donate directly.
“I so wanted to save my dad because he had saved me so many times,” Lowrance said. “I was crushed when I wasn’t a match. This allowed me to save him in an indirect way and still save another person, too. So, it was better than I had hoped for.”
Kirby had spent the year prior to his transplant on peritoneal dialysis at home— a painstaking process that involved hooking himself up to a machine for about nine hours, seven days a week, starting at 7:30 in the evening.
Six months before starting dialysis, his kidneys began to fail, dropping from 50% function to 12%. Kirby, who has type 2 diabetes as well as high blood pressure, said the latter significantly contributed to his kidney failure.
Kirby toughed it out through dialysis, but it was limiting. He stopped playing golf — his primary hobby. He stopped going out to dinner, having to be home with dialysis. And traveling to his beloved beach proved to be too challenging.
Then came the call in October. “A phone call just changes your life,” Lowrance said. “I could tell dad was feeling pretty hopeless and depressed, pretty miserable. And mom, too. I could just see hope fading. And all of a sudden you get that call and it’s like hope is on, right? Your loved one is going to live. I can’t even describe it.”
“Kidney paired donation allows people who are not a match for their loved one to donate to someone else and then their loved one receives a kidney from another person from a pair that were not a match. This swapping allows so many lives to be affected by the positive changes that come after transplant.”
Today, Kirby can golf and vacation at will; no more dialysis. He can enjoy spending time with his wife of 54 years, Judith.
“She was by his side at every doctor’s appointment. Every week. Every lab appointment, too,” Lowrance said. “She was so strong, so supportive. He couldn’t have gotten through it without her.”
Kirby said he feels great.
“Now when I play golf, I have a whole different attitude,” he said. “Bad shots don’t bother me. I’m just glad to be out there and making a shot.”
Kidney donations can come from either deceased or living donors, since people are born with two kidneys but can live a normal life with only one. Many recipients receive a kidney from a friend or family member, a relatively quick process. But patients who don’t have a compatible and willing friend or family member are placed on waiting list, and the wait can be very long, potentially years.
Potential donors receive extensive screenings to ensure that they are healthy enough to be a donor and have an organ that will be compatible for donation. These tests include blood tests, urine tests, blood pressure readings, an electrocardiogram (EKG), chest X-ray, diabetes screening and CT scan of the abdomen. The screenings determine the compatibility of the organ, including blood type, antigen markers and antibodies.
Recipients who have an approved incompatible donor are placed in the Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) Program, which not only includes pairs at VUMC, but also national matching programs, including the Alliance for Paired Donation (APD) and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).
Lowrance said she doesn’t feel the same as she did before donating. “I feel better,” she said.
“Ms. Lowrance’s enthusiasm for the process has been incredible,” Forbes said. “I cherish a coat button from her that says ‘share your spare,’ which she gave away after donation to encourage others.”
Lowrance said she wants to continue to encourage organ donation.
“I would highly recommend it,” she said. “It is the most beautiful gift anyone can give, and it is the most beautiful gift anyone can receive.”