Kidney donor travels across U.S. to save life

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers GIVING OF HERSELF- Rita DiCarlo of Lake Sherwood traveled to Michigan in order to donate a kidney to family friend Phil Pierron of Southfield, Mich. The surgery, she said, is a simple procedure that took less time than it would take to change an alternator on a car. About 70,000 people are waiting for kidney donations, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, including 16,000 in California. Rita DiCarlo would do it all over again.

The Lake Sherwood resident donated her left kidney to family friend Phil Pierron during transplant surgery last Wednesday at St. John's Hospital in Detroit. Now both their lives have changed forever.

"It's a miracle. I wish I knew a more powerful word than 'miracle' or 'amazing,'" DiCarlo said after the surgery.

Pierron, a 49-year-old engineer who lives in Southfield, Mich., suffered from polycystic kidney disease, a condition in which cysts form in the kidney. The effects of the illness grew more painful as his condition gradually worsened, and right before the surgery his kidneys were functioning at 8 percent.

Pierron's condition improved soon after DiCarlo's kidney was placed in his body, and, although he'll have to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life, he won't have to go on dialysis.

"I'm still feeling the effects of surgery," said Pierron, who's recuperating at home. "I feel pretty good. It went very well."

DiCarlo spent only one night in the hospital, and Pierron was able to leave on Saturday, a day earlier than expected. Even better, Pierron can now eat anything he wants.

"He can eat steak after the surgery," DiCarlo said.

Anticipation

It's been several years since DiCarlo made up her mind to donate a kidney to someone in need. She learned of Pierron's worsening condition earlier this year, and in July, the nurse who grew up in Detroit learned she was a match.

DiCarlo, who works at a Thousand Oaks hospital, underwent a series of tests to make sure her kidney would be compatible with her friend. DiCarlo took a tissue-type test to discover she shared four of six genetic factors in tissue with Pierron. She also had an EKG, a chest X-ray and a CAT scan of her kidneys. Two weeks before the surgery, she took a second blood test.

For DiCarlo, donating the kidney was a "no-brainer."

"To me, it doesn't seem like a big deal," she said before the surgery. The biggest hassle in the whole experience, she said, was finding someone to take care of her dogs, Bella, a yellow Lab, and Nelson, a beagle. "I only need one kidney. It would take a mechanic longer to change my alternator than the surgery to take out my kidney."

Finding living donors is a huge challenge, especially in California.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, about 97,500 people in the United States are on waiting lists to receive an organ, and about one-third of those individuals will die before they get a transplant. Of the 97,500 needing organs, about 70,000 are waiting for kidneys, including around 16,000 in California alone. Transplant sources are split almost 50-50 between live donors and cadavers. The waiting list for a transplant involving type O blood, the most common type, generally runs five to eight years.

"It's so important for someone to donate," said Ron Taubman, the president of TRIO, the Ventura County and West Valley branch of the Transplant Recipients International Organization.

Taubman is also the vice president of the national branch of TRIO. "Living donation is a very important fixture to reduce the waiting list," he said.

Before surgery, Pierron expressed his gratitude to DiCarlo.

"I think it's pretty amazing that somebody would do that kind of a sacrifice without really expecting anything in return," he said. "You hate to put someone else through hardship for your gain. That's the one thing that's a little difficult. That's a little uncomfortable.

"I'd encourage people to donate their organs. It's really an amazing, selfless thing that these people are doing. It saves lives."

Changed lives

DiCarlo underwent a twohour laparoscopic surgery that involved four small incisions. Surgeons used to have to cut donors from endtoend, but technology has improved, and the procedure is now considerably simpler.

Any surgery has its risks, but DiCarlo came out feeling fine except for the sore throat caused by the intubation tube.

"I'm having a harder time than he is," DiCarlo said, tongueincheek, two days after the surgery. "Phil's doing great. He looks great; his color is back. He looks like a normal person, like he did 20 years ago."

DiCarlo wouldn't hesitate to go through the whole process again to save the life of her friend. And she also hopes more people will step up and donate.

"Oh my gosh, it was really worth it," she said. "He looked so happy. He said, 'I can't thank you enough.' It's really overwhelmingly amazing. . . . I think people are truly unaware that it's a simple procedure. It's very sad. It's probably one of the easiest things for the United States to rectify."