#48in48: Saskatoon woman donates kidney to stranger

SASKATOON – Imagine giving up one of your two kidneys to a total stranger. That’s what Sandra McIntosh-Broberg did in 2013.

“I feel great – its life changing,” she told Global News. “I have been able to help someone get their life back.”

McIntosh-Broberg said she knows people who suffer from kidney failure, and are tied to hours of dialysis several times a week for the rest of their lives. So when she heard about a program for people to donate a kidney, she decided to do it.

“I thought if I could make that kind of difference in someone’s life … I wanted to donate a kidney,” she said.

McIntosh-Broberg said she went through several months of testing, and then one day the call came. She travelled to Ontario, where the transplant was performed. She never got to meet or know anything about the person who received her kidney – although she was told it went well.

“It feels really good,” she said.

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In fact, one of the doctors who does transplant surgery in Saskatchewan says it’s difficult to describe the joy and relief felt by recipients.

Dr. Rahul Mainra, a nephrologist with the Saskatchewan Transplant Program, says people with an organ failure are overjoyed when they get the news they’re going to get a transplant.

“It’s unbelievable, the words, the feelings that patients express on the phone, and when I see them in person, it’s difficult to put in words or in writing, it’s an amazing sensation, ” he told Global News.

For many, said Mainra, even getting onto the list is a major step forward.

“Only about 10 per cent of our dialysis population actually makes it to our transplant wait list, and when they get to that list there is such a huge burden that’s been lifted off of them, to be able to have some hope they can look forward to,” he said.

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Both Mainra and McIntosh-Broberg said its crucial for people to discuss their wishes about organ donation with their families. Even if they’ve signed an organ donor card, the family has the final say.

“I can sign my card but if anything was to happen to me, it’s the family the health care team will talk to, and if they don’t feel comfortable with organ donation, or if they didn’t know my wishes, then we wouldn’t proceed, so I need to talk to my family to make sure they are aware this is what I want to do,” said Mainra.

He added for someone considering organ donation, it’s a simple decision.

“Think about the wonderful gift that you are about to give, think about the implications for patients who suffer from organ failure,” he said.