The Little Kidney that Could

[Datleco]

A single kidney that was transplanted twice in two weeks is working fine after what appears to be the first-ever case of doctors salvaging a hand-me-down organ after it started to fail.

Erwin Gomez, a 67-year-old Chicago-area surgeon and father of five, is the third and, hopefully, final owner of the kidney, which was transplanted last June 16 -- and again on June 30 -- at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

It originally came from Cera Fearing, a 21-year-old day care worker from Elk Grove, Ill., who donated the organ in hopes of helping her big brother.

“The whole point of giving it was to give him a new life,” she said.
Instead, Ray Fearing, 27, of Arlington Heights, learned within days of receiving Cera’s kidney that the organ was failing, attacked by a reoccurence of his longtime disorder, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS, a common kidney disease in which scar tissue develops on the part of the kidney that filters waste from the blood.

Wait... hang on... Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis... Say that three times fast, c'mon, I dare ya!

That's pretty neat, it's good to know that her kidney is working just fine after all of this. Organ donation/transplanting is some serious business, it's recommended (not required) to be an organ donor so in case if you were to pass away, you can still save lives even after death.

Some source for thou art: Vitals - Hand-me-down kidney transplanted twice in two weeks

[Koopington]

Wait... hang on... Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis... Say that three times fast, c'mon, I dare ya!

You already got me on Focal haha. xD

But that is rather unfortunate that the older brother wasn't able to use her sister's kidney. But on the bright side it saved another life. A very lucky and fortunate fellow I should say.

[Minorin]

Haha, it's ironic how the recipient of the second transplant was a surgeon himself.

I'm kind of interested in how the second transplant reversed the occurrence of kidney failure, though.

[StephF]

Miracles do come true, especially if doctors do all they can to save someone's life.

^_^

[Datleco]

Haha, it's ironic how the recipient of the second transplant was a surgeon himself.

I'm kind of interested in how the second transplant reversed the occurrence of kidney failure, though.

His body was rejecting the kidney, that's why it was failing in him and not the 2nd recipient. He had that weird condition that I challenged folks to a tongue twister, I would LOVE to see people try it out on youtube. :)

[Minorin]

His body was rejecting the kidney, that's why it was failing in him and not the 2nd recipient. He had that weird condition that I challenged folks to a tongue twister, I would LOVE to see people try it out on youtube. :)

No, I don't think the first recipient's body was rejecting the kidney, since he had the condition even before he had the kidney transplant. If rejection was the issue, that would imply that his body was rejecting his own kidneys to begin with. Autoimmune diseases aren't unheard of, but I think they're pretty rare in the kidneys.

[Datleco]

No, I don't think the first recipient's body was rejecting the kidney, since he had the condition even before he had the kidney transplant. If rejection was the issue, that would imply that his body was rejecting his own kidneys to begin with. Autoimmune diseases aren't unheard of, but I think they're pretty rare in the kidneys.

If it's a foreign object the body will sometimes refuse it. He wasn't suffering from rejecting kidneys for the sake of... well, they're kidneys. The body could've detected it as a foreign object that doesn't belong there so it would attack it. This isn't the case here but is 100% his body is the cause for the failure.

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not from the kidney itself but was the trigger.

[Cameron]

it's recommended (not required) to be an organ donor so in case if you were to pass away, you can still save lives even after death.

To be honest, I don't know why anyone wouldn't be an organ donor. You don't need them when you die and they could really save people's lives.