THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
7A
from the body, run through a filtering machine and then back into the body.
Texas
April 15
Midwest
Depending on their kidney function, patients have to undergo the process two to three times per week. Each process — from sitting in the waiting room to recovery — takes up to several hours.
takes the risk of fil-
accommods excess
diverted
"A lot of people can live a very long time on dialysis, but that's not how they want to live," Duncan said.
KEEP! the case The the our day.
That's why the majority of patients choose to get kidney transplants — so they can live more of a normal life, Duncan said. Miller was on dialysis for one year before his name was added to the transplant waiting list.
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Twice he thought the wait had ended when doctors found possible donors, only to be told the kidneys did not match perfectly. The false alarms was disappointing at first, Miller said, but he knew the hospital was working hard to find him a new kidney.
would get a transplant."
Finally, after waiting nine months, he got a new kidney. The organ came from a 22-year-old man who died from a brain tumor.
"It was a sign of hope that I
"You wouldn't believe how thankful I was," he said. "I don't know where I would be without it. Your body can only take so much dialysis."
Andrew Miller, Louisburg resident, holds the handful of pills he has had to take every day since his transplant. The pills and the deformations on his arm from the dialysis are only a few of the changes he has faced since the surgery.
He is now 24 years old, but the 23 pills he takes every day so his body won't reject the transplanted kidney help remind him of the life-saving gift he received five years ago.
Miller plans to return the favor one day. He's been a registered organ donor since he got his license at 16 years old.
Gift inspires others
"He was very environmentally conscious," she said. "I think he would be pleased his functioning organs would be useful and
Contributed photo
would save other lives.
would save other lives.
Connor's twin brother, Doug,
who turned 20 on Feb. 25, has
been a registered donor since he
was 16 years old.
"I think it's a great thing. Just a little check of a box can change a life completely," Doug said. "It's not like you're going to use your body after you die. You might as well give it to someone else."
Some of Connor's friends in Omaha and at the University are now considering to put their names on the donor registry.
Connor Meigs, second from right, continues to celebrate with his immediate family the day after his oldest brother's wedding. From left: Connor's twin brother Doug, father John, mother Linda, brother Brandon, sister-in-law Kysa and sister Kit.
Steve Rue, who has known Connor since their sophomore year in high school, placed his name on the Nebraska registry when he renewed his driver's license two months after Connor's death.
The number of lives Connor saved with his organs inspired Rue to change his feelings about organ donations. "It's pretty crazy to think seven people could be saved," he said.
Neal Bierman isn't registered because he said he was unaware of the process when he got his license at 16. But since Connor's death, Bierman, who has known Connor his entire life, has made it his goal
to register his name when he renews his license in August. He said Connor always asked his friends if they were donors.
"Connor was really big on it," Bierman said.
he planned to register one day. "I think about Connor every day since he left," he said.
Connor's
Waiting...
Waiting...
Two short weeks after Connec
1 its not like you're going to use your body after you die. You might as well give it to someone else"
donations also gave Timon Veach, Pittsburgh, Pa., senior more reasons to become a donor.
"I thought it was pretty noble," said Veach, who knew Connor from the KU hockey team. He said laziness had kept him from adding his name, but
Doug Meigs
Connor's twin brother
the people who had a part of Connor," his mother said.
died, Linda
Meigs sent her
first letter to
the Nebraska
Organ
Recovery
System
to send on to the
four people
who'd
received his
large intestine,
liver and both
kidneys.
"I was hoping to meet
The Nebraska system and the Midwest Transplant Network don't allow the families of the donor and recipients to meet until one year has passed. Then, the Midwest Transplant Network
will release each party's confidential information as long as all parties give consent, Schons said.
Many recipients, as well as donor families, may be apprehensive about communicating, said Chris Dunham, community liaison for the Nebraska Organ Recovery System.
Recovery system.
Many recipients have told her it was hard for them to sit down and write a letter, thanking someone for saving their lives. Some of them have also told her they feared not meeting certain expectations of the donor's family, she said.
Donor families don't want to forget about their family member, but they may also want to move on with their lives.
Five months later, Linda Meigs continues to wait for a response.
But she understands.
"We're on different sides of the table," Meigs said. "We're grieving and they're healing."
Edited by Austin Caster
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