Source: The Islander News, Australia | Catherine Murphy
“They grew up living across the road from each other and I first met Christopher when I was 19 and started going out with Grant” she said.
Mr Videon found out 15 months ago that he needed a kidney transplant and began dialysis. “He has other health issues and developed kidney disease through a virus,” Ms Wilkinson said.
“Kidney dialysis takes a big chunk of time out of your life, so when I knew I was a compatible donor following tissue matching, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
“I am already registered to be an organ donor at the time of my death. When Christopher was in need, in the present, I decided to become a live donor.”
This year, the South Australian and Northern Territory Renal Transplant Team at the Royal Adelaide Hospital have handled 75 kidney transplants, one third of which came from live donors. The team’s first kidney transplant was given in 1964, which was the first in Australia and the State’s organ donation rate, per head of population, remains the nation’s best.
Toni East, a transplant co-ordinator with the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s team said they aimed “to not change the live donor’s quality of life or their length of life.” Ms Wilkinson made frequent trips to the mainland to undergo extensive medical tests over a 12 month period to ensure she was healthy and unlikely to develop any kidney problems in the future.
Two weeks ago, Ms Wilkinson had successful key-hole surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and her kidney was transplanted the same day. She was discharged from hospital only three days later.
“I had complete confidence in the surgeons, went into the process with an optimistic mind set and I haven’t had any problems. However, it’s a deeply personal decision and one that can’t be taken lightly,” she said.
The Australian Government’s organ donor website contains all the most up to date information: http://www.medicareaustralia.gov. au/public/services/aodr/index.jsp
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