"Kidney Donation-Part 1"

On April 12th, 2008, I began a journey that would lead me to the point I am at now. I am going through the process of donating a kidney to what was a complete stranger. Throughout this process, we have become good friends.

Many ask me, "What made you decide to donate your kidney to a stranger?"

That is not a simple question, but the only simple answer I can give is, "Because I can!"

While attending Bossier Parish Community College a few semesters ago, I learned of a classmate that was on dialysis and needed a kidney. As soon as he told me about it, I said, "I would need to talk to my husband first, but I would be more than happy to donate a kidney to you if I were a match". He was touched. We soon found out that our blood types were not compatible. It broke my heart that I could not help him.

After that, I wanted to find out if I could be placed on the National Registry, if there even was one. I found that that it did exist, but it costs $75 to get tested. At the time, I couldn't have afforded that. So, I did some more research on living kidney donation. I came across a website called LivingDonorsOnline.org. I was curious. So I went to the site and clicked on the message boards. Basically, it was a lot of people, like me, that were entertaining the thought of donating to someone. They would post their blood type and email address. So, I thought, "Why not?" I posted that I was A+ and willing to donate my "extra" kidney to anyone that needed it. I got many, many emails. Some of them were not very personal. I responded to all of them asking what the first step would be. Most of them never wrote me back.

But, on April 19, 2008, I got a reply from a woman named Sharmin Khondoker. She was desperately looking for a kidney for her husband and the father of her two little boys, ages 4 and 10. Having boys that age myself, it caught my attention. How horrible would it be for those children to know that their daddy will not live much longer without a transplant. Not only did Masud (the man needing the transplant) need a transplant, but he had a very long wait to get a cadaver kidney. He needed help and fast! He needed a miracle in the form of a live donor.

I found Sharmin's email to be very heartwrenching. It's the one that spoke to me. I immediately started praying that God would lead me in the right direction. I constantly asked, "Is this right for me?" It didn't take long for me to figure out that it was.

Please feel free to leave comments or ask any questions by clicking HERE. Or, you can email me at melswanson@gannett.com.

Read more soon.