Calgary woman calls organ donation her ‘Christmas miracle’

A Calgary woman who recently received an organ donation is calling it a “Christmas miracle.”

Kathy McLarty has been diabetic since the age of 12.

The 38-year-old had to go on dialysis last year when her kidneys started to fail.

“I became extremely anemic. I was extremely tired and fatigued all the time. I couldn’t go a day without napping,” McLarty said. “Dialysis takes a lot out of you.”

McLarty was told the waitlist for a new kidney was between seven and nine years.

Since her blood type is the rare O negative, she could only receive from an O donor.

“I basically had seven to nine years to live,” McLarty said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I basically had seven to nine years to live," McLarty said.

Last month, the Calgary woman received what she calls a life-changing phone call from her surgeon that they had found a donor.

The next day she went into surgery, receiving a new kidney and a new pancreas from the same donor.

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McLarty’s partner Sean Brouillet said it has given them a new outlook on life.

“We were given a second chance… Now we can plan our lives together… It seems a lot brighter now,” Brouillet said.

“We promised each other that once I had a donor and had a new kidney that we’re going to get married, so that’s in the future,” McLarty added. “A wedding and hopefully start a family.”

Almost 700 people in Alberta are on the deceased organ donor waitlist, according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

“People are dying while they’re waiting,” said Joyce van Duerzen, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan branch executive director of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

“We know people have positive intentions to be organ donors. The challenge is moving people from positive intention to action.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We know people have positive intentions to be organ donors. The challenge is moving people from positive intention to action."

One organ donor can save up to eight lives — many more if tissue is donated.

According to van Duerzen, the most important thing people can do is tell loved ones what their wishes are regarding organ donation. The perfect opportunity for that conversation is the holidays when the family is gathered, she suggested.

Last year, 23 Albertans died waiting for a transplant, according to the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Matt Jones, MLA for Calgary-South East, hopes to see that number change if his proposed presumed consent private members bill goes through.

Bill 205 would move Alberta to an opt-out organ donation system, similar to Nova Scotia.

“Presumed consent will change the conversation,” Jones said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Presumed consent will change the conversation," Jones said.

“We need to educate the public, we need to educate medical professionals and we need to put resources around the province in terms of organ donation teams and organ-preserving equipment.”

Jones added there are some misconceptions about opt-out organ donation but family will always have the ultimate say.

Bill 205 is currently before the Alberta legislature. If passed, it would require a two-year implementation period before it becomes law.