The Gift of Life Blog: Becoming an Altruistic Kidney Donor

UCLA still didn’t get my fax...

Now I’m really frustrated. I have faxed my information two times and I’m told they still haven’t received the intake form and my recent tests. The fax number is correct so why aren’t they receiving it? I’ll try again tomorrow and call as soon as it is faxed . I can’t help but think of all the people who are on the waiting list…waiting…waiting…and still waiting while my donation seems to held up for some reason or another.

I feel such a sense of urgency, yet it is taking so long just to get into an altruistic kidney donation program.

I wonder if other donors have had the same problems.

If you are interested in learning about my book and the courageous women I have interviewed, The Heroine’s Journey, I invite you to visit my website at www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html. And if you know of any prgam donors or recipients, please forward the link to this blog as I would love to speak with them about their experience for my next book (name to be determined).

Letter to CA state Assembly Members & Senators...

Some people asked for a copy of the letter I sent to CA government officials regarding “The Gift of Life Act.” Following is the text I used. Feel free to use it or write your own.

Many states have passed “The Gift of Life Act” that allows a maximum income tax subtraction of $10,000 for travel, lodging expenses, and lost wages related to live organ donation for human transplantation of all or part of specified organs.

Today, more than 76,000 people are waiting for kidney organ donations – and the number is increasing approximately 10% annually. If you add all the people waiting for organ donations, the number is even more staggering.

Last year, 4,505 people died on traditional lists waiting for a kidney, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

As one of your constituents who is in the process of donating my kidney altruistically, my hope is for you to support The Gift of Life Act and encourage other state officials to do the same.

Look up your district’s Assembly Members and Senators by clicking on the following  link:

http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/legislators/your_legislator.html

Please join my letter writing campaign and help people who need organ donations regain their health!

Finished the letters to CA government officials...

This week I researched information regarding living kidney donations and the other states that have passed The Gift of Life Act. Today I composed a letter to Orange County Assembly Members and Senators asking for their support to pass the Act in California. Other states have increased the number of people who donate by helping them with a $10,000 tax deduction for travel expenses, lost wages, etc. that resulted from their organ donations. Some people have written to me that this is like paying for the organs. Perhaps it is in some way; however, if more people are saved, I don’t have a problem with the ethics.

If it were your son or daughter, husband or wife, who needed an organ to save her or his life,  would it matter to you if the donor received this tax deduction?

Each day I ask those who read this blog to please send the link to people they know who have either donated or received an organ. I would like to interview them for a book I want to write about how their lives changed because of the operation. To read about my first book (hopefully to be published in 2010 if the publishing industry recovers from this economic depression soon), The Heroine’s Journey, please visit my website at www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html.

No news from UCLA yet…

Still waiting to hear from UCLA regarding the application I faxed to become an altruistic kidney donor through their program. With so many people waiting for a kidney, I’m surprised it takes so long to get back to someone who wants to donate. I’ll follow up with them on Monday. In the meantime, tomorrow I’ll spend working on transcribing the remaining interviews for The Heroine’s Journey in preparation for the operation (click www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html to enter my website and read about the incredible women who shared their stories of courage and hope with me) and finishing the letters to state government officials regarding the tax deduction for organ donors as other states have adopted.

It seems like the last few years have been spent waiting…for something to happen. For the women to schedule their interviews, looking for an agent and publisher, and for guidance as to what my next step should be. I have tried to make things happen, to no avail.

Once the voice told me, “God has His own calendar!” I learned that “the voice” has quite a sense of humor and speaks to me when it is ready, not when I wish it to speak. It is a voice of few words.

I continue hoping people who read the blog will send the link the other organ donors and recipents. My next book will be on how lives change when people are willing to give a great sacrifice in order for a loved one…or even stranger…to live. If you wish to leave a comment, please do so in the space below and I will respond.

Faxed my recent medical tests to UCLA today...

UCLA asked for my recent Pap, EKG, blood work, and GTT (glucose tolerance test) in order to evaluate my medical history. Luckily, I have copies from my doctor. I hope to hear from them early next week. My injuries from falling down the stairs two weeks ago (torn ligaments in my right foot and a sprained left knee) have been healing … slowly. I hope to begin my exercise program next week in order to get my body in top shape. I already have changed my diet to include more vegetables and protein. I don’t want any reason not to be accepted as a donor.

One kidney donor contacted me who gave her kidney to someone she hardly knew and said it was a wonderful experience. She said she would definitely do it again! These are the stories about which I want to write. What greater gift can we give to one another?

Read about the incredible women I’ve interviewed for my book, The Heroine’s Journey at http://www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html. If you know of a publisher or agent who might be interested in reading the proposal, please let me know. I devote time each day so I can finish in a couple of months.

Completing my book, “The Heroine’s Journey”

I have been thinking more about the things I have to do before I donate my kidney. Just in case…I’m getting my affairs in order. My daughter, Kirsten, will sign papers for my Living Trust when she visits with me during Labor Day weekend. (She lives in Boulder, CO.) Of course, no one likes to think about things like this, but it needs to be done anyway. I know in my heart the operation will go well.

I also decided to complete my book, The Heroine’s Journey, too (Go to http://www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html to learn more about it). I have one more interview to do and two more to transcribe…(also need a few questions answered by Wangari Maathai and I hope to get the final interview from Somaly Mam when she is in CA for the Women’s Conference in October. The Executive Director of her non-profit agreed to this almost two years ago and I haven’t been able to schedule the interview yet. Divine Intervention stepped in when I registered for one of the break out sessions for this year’s conference. Unbeknownst to me at the time I registered, she is one of the speakers!) Then I have to update all the interviews since some of them were from three years ago. My publicist, Lindi Stoler, will get it on disk for safe keeping.

Tomorrow I’ll call UCLA again…Still waiting to hear from Cedar-Sinai about their altruistic kidney donation program they are setting up because I’m the first one they have had.

Lastly, I should finish the emails and letters at the end of this week in my lobbying effort for a donor tax deduction for CA.

And, if you know someone who is a donor or recipient, please forward the link. I plan on writing a book about their experience and mine.

Finally, contact with UCLA Kidney Donation Program!

I followed up with UCLA today to see if they did indeed receive the request to become a kidney donor I sent Sunday evening. No…they hadn’t received it. I faxed it again tonight. Here’s hoping I can get into their program. It looks like Cedar-Sinai will take a while to get their altruistic program completed. As I wrote yesterday, I have made a list of things to complete before the operation so this will be my focus as I move forward, hopefully with UCLA. I hope other donor and recipients who read this blog contact me. I want to write about why people donate and what it means to the recipients and their families for my next book (title to be determined) with a focus on

You can read about my first book at http://www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html. I’m still looking for an agent even though I know the publishing industry has been affected by the recession (depression) as well. I continue sending query letters and the proposal when an agent or publishing company shows an interest. Many said it’s a wonderful idea; however, because I don’t have a “platform,” publishing companies are reluctant to take a chance on a new author at this time. No matter.

I believe in my heart that when the time is “right,” my book will be published.

Continuing with my lobbying for the organ donor tax deduction...

Today I completed the spreadsheet with the contact information for state government officials. Next I’ll send letters and emails by the end of this week. I hope others will take up this task as well in order to increase the number of donors in our state. I realize there are ethical issues with my stand. I do believe people should altruistically donate if they don’t have a friend or relative in need. However, with the state of the economy, is it wrong to help people get a tax deduction? Today every penny counts. I’ve heard from a few people on both sides.

I am interested to hear how you feel. Any comments? And please go to www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html to learn more about my four-year journey and the incredible women I met and interviewed.

Today I was reminded about how fragile life is…

I received a call today from my niece, Tarrie, in Chicago. She told me her sister, Michelle, passed away on Friday. There is no need to go into details except to say that she was only in her early 40s…too young to leave this life. She suffered so much. I know she is now finally at peace. My heart aches for her, her sisters, Tarrie and Tracey, and brother, Rob.

I believe we are spirits who asked for a chance to live as humans…to feel a gentle breeze, the warmth of the sun, the touch of a baby’s hand, and the excitement of a first kiss. Spirits long to hear the birds sing, taste the coolness of water, and smell the fragrance of a field of clover. We want to walk in sand, swim in the ocean, climb a mountain, catch snowflakes in their mouths, and make snow angels. We want feel every emotion – fear, anger, hate, frustration, joy, bliss, courage, hope, and love. When it is time for us to leave…after what we were meant to experience is accomplished…we go back home. Make every moment count.

And to read about my heroine’s journey for the past four years, please visit my website at www.womenrisingnow.com/index.html. And please forward this link to any organ donors or recipients as I want to connect with them about a book I want to write.

ULCA’s Altruistic Kidney Exchange...

While doing research into other hospitals that have an altrusitic program already created (while waiting to hear from Cedar-Sinai), I found that UCLA has the largest kidney donation program in the country. It is called a kidney exchange program and it works like this:

A donor chain creates opportunities for endless recipient-donor pairings. It starts with an altruistic donor – someone who wants to donate a kidney out of the goodness of his or her heart. That kidney is transplanted into a recipient who had a donor willing to give a kidney, but was not a match. To keep the chain going, the incompatible donor gives a kidney to a patient unknown to him or her who has been identified as a match, essentially “paying it forward.” A specialized computer program matches donors and recipients across the country.

This sounds exactly like what I want to do. I faxed my application to UCLA tonight and will let Cedar-Sinai know on Monday that I have submitted an application to UCLA.