OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) -
When KCTV5's Dana Wright first introduced viewers to a 77-year-old Overland Park man, his kidneys were failing and he was in desperate need of a transplant. Recently, the life-saving call finally came but that hasn't eased the concern of the retiree for other older Americans still on the waiting list.
Melvin Bareiss, 77, said he and his wife have a lot of living to do now that he's been given the ultimate gift of a kidney but he's concerned other older Americans might not have the same chance at getting a donor organ in their twilight years. His fear comes from a proposed rule change which would match donor kidneys and recipients, in part, by age.
"I feel fantastic," Bareiss said.
Bareiss is back home in Overland Park after the recent surgery which gave him a new lease on life. Doctors transplanted a donor kidney below his right hip bone, putting an end to weekly dialysis treatments Bareiss endured three days a week, four hours a day, for an entire year.
"That was the thing that really weighed on me. You just don't feel like doing anything after being on dialysis for a week," he said.
Bareiss' gift came after a local woman, who wanted to be a donor, died suddenly. He said it's tough knowing someone else had to lose so much so he could be here. He said he knows he's fortunate to leave his days of dialysis behind.
Read more, learn how the proposed changes may change allocation: http://www.kctv5.com/story/15561097/organ-donation
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