Two weeks, three kidney transplants

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Three Huron area residents recently saw their lease on life extended, when were able to receive kidney transplants, after what was sometimes years of dialysis at Huron Regional Medical Center.

Kirk Olson, Ea Ku Htoo and a third patient we’ll call “Sam” all received that magical call within a short period of time in late March and early April and all received their  kidney transplants within a 15-day window in April.

“It was very exciting for all of us here in the dialysis unit,” said Jennifer Jungemann, RN, the dialysis director for HRMC. “It had been about five years since we had had a patient get a call for a transplant and then to have three so quickly…it was great for them!”

According to study published in late 2020 by Penn Medicine News, approximately 90,000 people are in need of a kidney transplant each year, but only 20,000 of them receive one. Nearly 5,000 people each year pass away in need of a kidney transplant.

Dr. Tina Melanson, a University of South Dakota Medical school graduate, is a nephrologist who oversees the dialysis unit in Huron, as well as those in Watertown, her hometown, Sisseton and Ortonville, Minn. She was as surprised as anyone when three of her patients all were tabbed for transplant in a two-week period.

“I don’t believe in my career I have had three patients total that were scheduled in that time frame,” she said, “and to have three in one clinic is just amazing. It is a tremendous boost to morale for the other patients and to the staff members as well.”

Kirk Olson is a Huron-area farmer. He had been on dialysis for three years and two months and had been on the transplant list for two years prior to starting dialysis.

“Yeah, I knew that I would be needing a kidney,” Olson said via telephone from Sioux Falls, where he will be until doctors clear him after his transplant. “Getting that call was very exciting.”

Olson shared that he was actually in the dialysis unit for his regular Friday regiment when he got the call. “I guess it was around 9 a.m. when they called,” he said. “I finished dialysis and by 6 that night I was in surgery to receive a transplant.”

“Right now we have 18 people on dialysis,” Jungemann said, “after those three patients left the program.” For someone who needs dialysis, the process is time-consuming but very necessary.

“Dialysis is three times a week,” Jungemann said, “and it is probably close to four and a half to five hours per session, after you figure in prep time and then post-dialysis time.”

She said that dialysis is the last stop for patients who need a kidney transplant. It is literally life or death when they begin dialysis.

“That was my choice,” Olson agreed. “Do dialysis or I’m not around.”

Jungemann said that some patients have been as long as 12 years on dialysis. “The biggest thing is when we get someone on the transplant list is to get them there to that finish line. To make it to the transplant.”

Olson had his transplant at Sanford in Sioux Falls, while a day later, Ea Ku Htoo received his transplant across town at Avera.

“He had been on dialysis for about three years,” said Ea Ku Htoo’s sister, La You via telephone. “When he went on dialysis, I put his name on the transplant list.”

La said that twice last year, calls came through for possible transplants, but both times the kidney in question was deemed to be a poor match or was not viable.

“He got the call this time and was told to be there the next night and we made sure he got there,” La said of her 23-year-old brother. Similar to Olson, Ea Ku Htoo remains in Sioux Falls with follow-up appointments.

“Sam,” who chose not to participate in this story, had his surgery at the Mayo Medical Center on April 1.

“Kidneys go bad for several reasons,” Jungemann said. “We see very few hereditary issues, but instead it is mostly through other health issues. I know for me, for instance, knowing that high blood pressure can contribute to kidney disease, is motivation for me to be sure to take my medication each day!”

She added that it is important to have the dialysis department available to those in need. “We have people who travel up to 50 miles for dialysis and that is, again, three times per week. If we didn’t have the service available here, those people are traveling even further to get the treatment they need to stay alive.”

Dr. Melanson noted that even if doctors are doing their job, there is really no warning of kidney problems until the function of the organ drops below 20 percent.

“Most transplants now come from deceased donors,” she said. “Hopefully that may change going forward as rules become less rigid.” She said that pair donors are more common.

“For instance, one of the patients who received a transplant was scheduled to receive a kidney from a family member but the blood type wasn’t a match. So they became a ‘pair donor’ couple, where perhaps the family member would be a match for someone else who didn’t match a person in his or her family who needed a kidney.” Melanson said that at times a string of 10-15 pair donors are created to fill the need.

“Doing this is the only way to keep up with the need,” she said. “There are way too many people dying while they wait for a kidney transplant.”

And while it is with great joy that Jungemann and her department see transplant patients depart the dialysis program, it comes with a bit of sadness as well.
“Oh yeah, we were so excited when those three got their calls,” Jungemann said. “Being able to get that transplant has made a huge change in their lives. At the same time, when you see someone three times a week for an extended period of time…well, we’re happy for them but we miss seeing them too.”

Olson said that having a kidney will allow him to regain some freedom in his life. “Being on dialysis kind of keeps you around town, but it’s what you have to do, you know? Having the new kidney gives me back some flexibility.”

“These are happy endings to these people’s stories,” said Dr. Melanson, “but the flip side is painful. Dialysis is a hard life.”