DE PERE – Jen Engel didn’t choose to donate a kidney because a family member was in immediate need, or in response to a plea posted by a stranger on social media.
For Engel, the process started last spring when she read an article about non-directed living kidney donations.
As the term implies, a non-directed donation means the organ recipient is neither named nor specified by the donor.
In other words, non-directed donors like Engel give an organ to a stranger; they know neither the identity nor (usually) any characteristics of the recipient before their donation.
Less than 5 percent of living kidney donations are non-directed, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“The article piqued my interest, so I filled out a form asking for more information,” Engel said. “The more I learned, the more I knew I wanted to donate.”
At any given time, there are more than 100,000 people waiting for kidney transplants in the U.S., according to the National Kidney Foundation.
On average, more than 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month, and 13 people die each day while waiting for a kidney transplant.
According to Transplant at University Hospital, the University of Wisconsin’s organ transplant center, transplanted kidneys from living donors – related or not – out-perform kidneys from deceased people by virtually every measure.
Non-directed donors often start kidney exchange chains which result in more transplants.
Like Engel, many non-directed donors choose the option because it’s a way to help more than one person suffering from kidney failure.
One chain typically facilitates anywhere from 2 to 30 transplants.
In Engel’s case, her kidney went to the best match on the waitlist at another transplant center that participates in the National Kidney Registry, and she is aware of at least four other donations that occurred as a result of her non-directed donation.
She chose to go through lengthy, rigorous physical and psychological testing, and what she calls the “somewhat uncomfortable” surgical kidney removal last July at UW.
“It was something I could do to make a difference,” Engel said. “I did a lot of research and learned more about the program. I spent a lot of time talking with my husband and my sons. Not everyone can donate due to their own health conditions, their current life circumstances or other issues. But it turned out, after a lot of testing, I could. So why not pay it forward?”
She was home two nights after her surgery, returned to work after four weeks and was back to “feeling completely like my old self” after about eight weeks.
Like other organ donation programs, the recipient’s insurance paid all costs associated with the medical testing and related procedures.
Funds are available from other organizations to cover ancillary costs such as transportation, lodging and more.
“It just wasn’t really a big deal, physically,” she said. “Going forward, I shouldn’t be playing tackle football. But other than that, having some occasional testing done and just staying healthy are the only lasting physical impacts.”
The emotional impacts, however, will last a lifetime.
“I don’t want or need to know who received my kidney, or the other kidneys donated down the chain,” Engel said. “I just feel peace knowing there are people who will live to see another birthday, celebrate another holiday with their families or simply have time to live their lives without having dialysis procedures every week. It feels good to know I could help make that happen.”
Engel is a De Pere Middle School health secretary.
Her donation is not the first made by a De Pere schools staff member.
In 2012, teacher Lynn Liddle-Drewiske donated a kidney to her fellow teacher Kris Weaver, orchestra director at Foxview Intermediate School.