One Kidney, Two Kidneys, Three Kidneys. Swap.

A long time ago I signed up to be an organ donor at the DMV.  Recently my friend Ash blogged about a family and their story on organ donation here and there is a link on that site to double check if you are indeed listed.

We have a neighbor, a little first grade boy who will be getting a new kidney during surgery tomorrow.

A couple of Augusts ago, he started kindergarten and his mom and I would talk at the bus stop in the morning.  I was the older, experienced-in-elementary-school-scene mom of a third son at the bus stop.  She is a mother of two boys and he is her oldest.  About six weeks into the school year she received some news that has forever changed their path of their days as a new mom of a kindergartener.  They found out during a visit at the pediatrician for a flu shot (and some needed blood work), that he has a kidney disease and they have been on a journey for a solution ever since.  It got so bad that his doctors decided he was better off with no kidneys and three months ago they were removed.

So of course his parents wanted to donate one of their kidneys to him.  But they found out six months ago that neither of them was a match.  Then her sister flew from her home across country to be tested and she was not a match.  That was crushing news for them.

Then about a month ago the doctors told his family about an altruistic donor who has been waiting for about a year to donate his kidney.  His dad signed up to donate a kidney to someone else one day.

It turns out that the altruistic donor has begun a "donor chain".  Let's call this donor "A".  "A" is actually giving his kidney to someone else..  So "A" is donating his kidney to "B".  Someone in "B"s family is donating a kidney to our little neighbor.  Tomorrow.

And the day after tomorrow, his dad is donating his kidney to someone else, sooner than they thought, but he will be part of the donor chain. 

They will be at the hospital tomorrow when their son gets a new kidney, and the next day the dad/husband will be operated on.  And she also has a three year old son who of course needs his mom.  And she is a veterinarian! 

Her spirits are high--it has been such a journey and it is meaningful to them that this is taking place between Passover and Easter.

As she says in this news segment (and the news will be filming more of their story this week at the hospital) this altuistic donor is giving the Ultimate Gift.  Click here to hear her tell their story and keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers on Wednesday and Thursday when three living people have chosen to give new life to three other people.

They are paying it forward during Passion Week.