April 18, 2003

Unusual Donation Brings New Life to Kidney Patient - Organ that would have gone to waste is donated

MADISON/MARSHFIELD, WI – The generosity of a central Wisconsin woman, the foresight of one surgeon and the skill of another have combined to provide a northern Illinois woman a healthier life – and an early Easter gift.

Elizabeth Barraza, 40, of Elgin, Illinois received a kidney transplant Thursday (April 17) at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin. In a highly unusual circumstance, the healthy donor kidney came from a living Marshfield Clinic patient whose left kidney was removed Thursday morning and flown immediately to Madison. The donor patient, who needed to have the kidney removed due to her own medical problems, agreed to donate it for a transplant in Madison.

Marshfield Clinic urologist J. Vincent Thomalla, MD, saw the potential to help another patient, and with the donor’s agreement, called UW Health transplant surgeon Stuart Knechtle, MD. Facing a long and growing waiting list of kidney patients, Knechtle gratefully accepted the donation. Blood and other tests confirmed that the donor kidney would be a suitable match for Barraza, whose renal disease stems from systemic lupus.

After removal of the kidney in Marshfield, the organ was flown immediately to Madison to be transplanted into Barraza. Knechtle led the surgical team that performed the transplant.

Both Barraza and donor are doing well.

Although the UW Hospital transplant program accepts “altruistic donations” from living donors under certain conditions, Knechtle does not recall ever receiving a donated kidney that would otherwise have gone to waste.
“We are very grateful to Dr. Thomalla and his patient for this generous decision,” he says. “Another patient is looking at a new way of life due to this donation. There isn’t a better way to celebrate the arrival of spring.”

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