Osoyoos resident Brian Rawlings will be donating one of his kidneys to help an Osoyoos woman, Julie Wolter, who needs to replace one that was transplanted 36 years ago.
Richard McGuire Photo
In March, if all goes well, Brian Rawlings will donate one of his kidneys to fellow Osoyoos resident Julie Wolter, whose own kidney is rapidly failing.
It’s a new twist in an ongoing campaign to eliminate the waiting list for kidneys among residents of Osoyoos.
Wolter is the last person in Osoyoos waiting for a kidney to Rawlings’ knowledge.
Others, who meet regularly as a group at the Kemp Harvey Craig accounting office, have all found kidneys over the past year.
The “Share Your Spare” group has done much to raise the issue of kidney transplants in Osoyoos.
A year ago the Osoyoos Coyotes hockey team began wearing patches on their jerseys saying: “Be the Kidney” to support the campaign.
Rawlings’ story began in 2013 when he learned that fellow Rotarian Judy Sloan needed a kidney because her own was failing.
With almost no hesitation, Rawlings offered her one of his.
Sloan was taken aback at first, but soon the two began a battery of tests to see if Rawlings could be a suitable donor for Sloan. Over about six months they did psychological and medical screening.
Finally, they received some bad news. Although their blood types were compatible, the antibodies in Sloan’s blood would cause her body to reject Rawlings’ kidney.
The best they could do was to enter into a paired exchange program. If another suitable donor for Sloan could be found somewhere in Canada, she would receive that kidney and Rawlings would donate his to another person in the exchange chain.
Three times a year the Canadian Blood Service, which co-ordinates the kidney transplant program, runs a computer match of donors in the paired exchange program. None of these matches, however, managed to find a donor compatible with Sloan due to the challenge posed by her antibodies.
Meanwhile, other members of the “Share Your Spare” group found kidneys from deceased or “cadaver” donors.
Laura Craig, the wife of Terry Craig, was able to replace a kidney her husband donated to her eight years earlier, but which was failing.
Lynn Cunningham, who at one point was so desperate that she advertised for a kidney donor, also managed to get a cadaver donation.
Finally in November, a suitable cadaver donor in Winnipeg was found for Sloan. The kidney was flown to Vancouver, where Sloan received the transplant.
Rawlings said Sloan is still in Vancouver so she’ll be near a suitable hospital because there were complications from the transplant. However, he said these don’t appear to be a rejection problem so everyone is hopeful for her.
“It looks like it’s going to take and she’s off to the races,” he said.
With Sloan no longer needing a kidney, Rawlings asked her if he could do something else with his. When Sloan agreed, Rawlings discussed the matter with his wife Diana. He then decided to offer it to Wolter.
For Wolter, this won’t be her first kidney transplant.
Thirty-six years ago, when she was in her 20s, her father donated a kidney to her, enabling her to end her dialysis treatments.
That her father’s kidney would last this long is exceptional, but now it’s failing.
Wolter said that over the past year her health has been going downhill and without a new kidney she will likely have to return to dialysis.
“My function is continuing to drop,” she said.
Last year her niece came forward to offer a kidney, but the transplant couldn’t take place because doctors had concerns about specific risks to the donor.
Wolter said she was “elated” when Rawlings phoned her from Edmonton to offer his to her.
Tests confirmed that the two are suitable for a direct one-to-one donation and there will be no need to do a paired exchange.
The transplant is scheduled for March 11.
Wolter is full of gratitude for Rawlings.
“He is so generous, so kind and loving,” she said. “It’s overwhelming when people can do that.”
Rawlings wife Diana admits she had concerns when he first told her he planned to donate his kidney to Sloan.
“I had some concerns,” she said. “I am his wife.”
Initially she was concerned that his kidney might some day be needed for one of their children or another family member.
“That was just at the very beginning,” she said. “Then I realized that this is something that actually God has designed and I don’t want to interfere. So I’m just supporting it. I will be going to the hospital with him and nursing him.”
She added that as a born-again Christian, her religious faith has helped her to come to terms with her husband’s decision.
“I know that if it’s something that God did not want to happen, the door would be closed on it,” she said.
Coincidentally, Diana Rawlings said she and Wolter both work at the Osoyoos Branch of Okanagan Public Library, where Wolter comes in on call.
Not only that, but like the Rawlingses, Wolter also attends Osoyoos Baptist Church, as do Sloan and Cunningham.
Many people tell Rawlings they couldn’t do what he’s doing by donating a kidney – even though people only need one of their two kidneys to live a normal life.
Rawlings said he appreciated that sentiment “until I sat in front of somebody that needed a kidney and saw how their life was changing with the deterioration of the kidney… I just said ‘no,’ let’s do it.”
For now, all that remains is for Wolter and Rawlings to remain healthy until the day of the transplant.
“If you get the flu or a cold, just stay away from us,” Wolter advises.
She hopes that others in the community will seriously consider following Rawlings’ example and become a kidney donor.
“If anybody is even thinking about it casually, there’s no commitment until the actual point arrives,” she said. “There are so many people waiting. For them it’s a huge deal, but it’s not a huge surgery anymore. It’s a pretty quick recovery time for the donor, especially now. It’s a gift they’ll never regret, I’m sure.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
