An upstate Pennsylvania man recently received a new kidney from a stranger who didn't match the friend she intended to donate for.
More than 6,500 Americans gave an incredible gift last year. They gave someone else a kidney.As a diabetic, Len Gordon always kept watch on his kidneys."The kidney continued to be getting worse and worse and worse," he said.
Doctors at Temple Health put Len on the list for a new kidney."We have good news for you. So what is that? We have a living donor for you," he said. "I didn't even believe what she was saying, I was so shocked." Transplant surgeon Antonio DiCarlo says kidney transplants are lifesavers; however, one from a living donor is ideal.Anyone of any age can donate, as long as they are healthy.Dr. DiCarlo says it's a safe, easy-to-tolerate process. "I perform it fully minimally invasive," adding that it's done through three one-half-inch incisions, plus a four-inch incision at the bikini line."We do this in the morning and by evening, you're walking, talking, eating," he said.Dr. DiCarlo says most living donors and recipients have some connection, whether it's family, friend, religious, workplace, or neighborhood. At Temple, some donations come from patients with Nutcracker Syndrome, in which a kidney is threatened by a compressed vein."So she said she's gonna volunteer and just give it to somebody else who needs a kidney," he said. Just six weeks after his transplant, Len has regained much of his strength, and he's dreaming of travel to Africa and Europe.
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