Platte Valley Hospital President Jaime Campbell didn’t know it, but her family’s history with polycystic kidney disease would lead her to a career in the medical field.
Campbell was one of three Platte Valley staff that shared their experiences as living donors April 18 to spread awareness of organ donation and save lives during National Donate Life Month.
April is designated annually to spread awareness about organ donation and encourage Americans to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors.
According to the Donor Alliance Organ & Tissue Donation organization, tens of thousands of people suffering from disease, injury, trauma or blindness are saved by organ, eye and tissue transplants annually.
In Colorado and Wyoming, around 1,500 people are on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant. More than 100,000 are waiting nationwide. According to the Donor Alliance, healing eye and tissue donations could save thousands more patients.
Surprises in the family history
Three generations of Campbell’s relatives suffered from polycystic kidney disease, a genetic condition that damages a person’s kidneys over time, leading to an extensive need for dialysis. Several of her relatives died while waiting for a transplant while other family members received kidney donations from deceased organ donors and living-related donors.
Her Uncle Don was diagnosed with the disease 27 years ago but the search for a donor was complicated because of his rare O-negative blood type.
“My relatives tested to see if they could donate, but none were a match. Don was on the transplant list for three years with declining health,” Campbell said.
With testing, Campbell learned that she, too, was O-negative.
Campbell said the experience made her want to give back even more. She left a career in land development to work in nonprofits and eventually in health care administration. She became the president of Intermountain Health’s Platte Valley Hospital in Brighton in 2022.
“The transplant took place 27 years ago. A donor kidney can fail over time, and the recipient must return to the waiting list for another organ. I praised my Uncle Don for taking good care of the kidney,” Campbell said.
Three-way swap
Sarah McCartney, a 17-year veteran nurse at Platte Valley Hospital, shared her experiences with organ donations as well.
McCartney learned that her husband Andrew was having some kidney issues and doctors discovered he had an autoimmune disorder that was damaging them.
He went on dialysis for almost two years while they looked for a donor.
Doctors tested her blood and learned she wasn’t a match, and she couldn’t help – not directly, at least.
“When getting tested to see if I would qualify, I was approved to be a donor, but I did not match my husband,” McCartney said. “So, we entered into the paired exchange program.”
It meant she would donate her kidney to someone in the program and someone in the program would donate a kidney to her husband.
Soon after, an unrelated man came into the transplant center to donate a kidney and he matched with Andrew – a miracle for the McCartneys. Her kidney went to another recipient.
They had had their surgeries earlier this year. Sarah said her husband’s transplant recovery was basic and resulted in tiny incisions. His recovery was speedy, she said.
“My surgery was laparoscopic. So, it was also a pretty easy recovery. And it’s been almost three months for me now and I feel normal,” she said
Sarah said the man who donated was a stranger who had come into the transplant center without anybody in mind.
“He was able to change our lives, and I changed the lives of whoever got my kidney,” she said. “I was involved in both parties, my husband’s struggle, and how it changed his life.”
With the reward of helping someone else live a longer life in mind, Sarah encouraged others to consider donating a kidney to a loved one. She described the recovery process and the impact of the transplant on their lives, highlighting the importance of organ donation for those in need.
“I say do it and donate an organ. It’s amazing and rewarding to help somebody else have a better and longer life, it’s worth it,” Sarah said.
Overcoming hesitation
Hailey Green, a nurse who started at Platte Valley six weeks ago, detailed the initial hesitation and guilt regarding donating her kidney to her mother, Dana Gosselin, who had stage four kidney failure.
It was her Mom who was hesitant, Green said.
When her Mom’s disease was discovered, doctors tested another family member who wasn’t a match and couldn’t donate. Assuming that would be the trend, her Mom removed Green’s name from her list of potential donors. That didn’t sit well with Green.
“I was insistent on getting back on, and then I found out I was a match,” Green said. “So, on January 18 of this year, I donated my kidney.”
Green said her Mom felt hesitant and guilty about hurting her daughter, who was in her 30s.
“I was planning to have children, and she didn’t want to put me in any high-risk situations,” Green said.
She said she didn’t know much about the kidney donation process until she’d been through it. She learned there weren’t many lifestyle changes she had to make.
“I was surprised that you can live a normal life. The only thing is you have to monitor your water intake,” Green said. “The recovery time was surprisingly short. It only took six weeks until I was back to work. It’s pretty non-invasive. They did two laparoscopic sites with four-inch incisions.”
Green said the transplant center coordinated the transplant procedure.
“I didn’t know much about my health until I went to the transplant center. They do a full workup, lots of bloodwork, CT. I know more about my health now than I ever have, and it was a pretty seamless process,” she said.
Green said she recommends people consider a donation and she encourages others to consider donations as a rewarding experience of helping a loved one.
“If you’re considering it, go for it,” she said. “You can back out anytime if you change your mind. It’s fine. It was much less invasive, and the recovery wasn’t bad; if you’re considering it, go for it. It’s gratifying.”
For more information about organ donation, visit Donor Alliance.org.