Our decision to search for a donor for Eric outside our circle of family and friends was one of uncertainity. We initially were uncertain whether it was asking too much of a total stranger, also known as an altruistic donor. Donating an organ to a family member or friend is heroic! Donating to a total stranger is a decision that requires great empathy and compassion. Repeatedly we have been told by those who have been tested so far, that their motivation is that they would want someone to do the same for their loved one. Several donors have said "Why wouldn't I donate, knowing that I can save someones life and free them from dialysis". The decision to donate is obviously a very personal choice and is not for everyone. Being an altruistic donor is, in my opinion, being a super hero! The statistics vary, but generally there are over 90,000 people in need of an organ transplant, most of which are kidneys, on any given day. Thousands of people die because of the unavailability of a matching organ. This reality doesn't seem so vivid until your loved one is one of the statistics. As Eric's parents, we feel compelled to try our very best to help him!
The initial criteria for donating to Eric requires the donor to have either A or O blood type. Additionally, Eric's donor must be between 21 and 60 years of age and in generally good health. Weight limits between normal and slightly overweight are acceptable. If there is a strong family history of cancer or diabetes, or if the potential donor has had significant abdominal surgery in the past, the donor would most likely be ruled out.
We are located in Lansdale, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. Eric is listed at a hospital in Philadelphia and also a hospital in Baltimore MD.
If you have interest in being tested in Philadelphia, the procedure is for the potential donor to call the hospital stating they are interested in being tested for Eric Miller. A questionnaire form will be mailed to the potential donor. After the hospital receives the completed questionnaire and reviews it to make sure the donor would be a good candidate, they will contact the donor and schedule an appointment for an informational session and blood draw for crossmatching.
If you have interest in being tested in Maryland, the procedure is for the donor to call the hospital and state that they are intereted in being tested for Eric Miller. A packet of information will be mailed to you by the hospital, containing a questionnaire which must be completed and returned to the hospital. Also included will be a medical release form which you must complete and take to your primary care physician so that your medical records can be sent to the hospital. If the hospital does not find anything in your medical history to preclude you from donating, the hospital will mail you a package containing vials for a blood draw. These vials can be taken to a laboratory in your area to have your blood drawn and it will be shipped to the Maryland hospital via overnight mail. This transplant center also has a Paired Exchange Program, which is a pool of recipients who have a donor that does not match them. If you are tested at this facility and do not match Eric specifically, you will be entered into the Paired Exchange Program which means that if they find a match for Eric in the pool, he would receive the kidney from the matching donor and in return Eric's donor's kidney would be swapped and given to the other recipient. This is a new innovative way to help find as many matching kidneys as possible to reduce the wait for a deceased donor kidney.
There is no expense to the donor for anything associated with testing or organ donation. There are strict privacy laws which ensure that any information provided to the hospital will be kept in the strictest confidence and will not be divulged to us or anyone without your permission.
If you would be interested in being tested to see if you would be a match for Eric, please feel free to contact us through the "Contact Us" page, making sure to let us know which facility you are interested in utilizing and we will provide all information needed, as well as answer any questions you might have concerning our quest.
General information on living organ donation can be found at livingorgandonor.org (link on the left). Please keep in mind that most often kidney donation can be performed laproscopically, thereby greatly reducing both risk and recuperation.
While it is illegal for anyone to purchase or sell a kidney in this country, it is not illegal for the donor to be reimbursed for lost wages. In an effort to reduce financial strain caused by this act of heroism, we offer to do our best to reimburse the matching donor for up to four weeks of their net salary while recuperation takes place. All medical expenses are covered by Eric's insurance.
Prayers, of any nature, are needed and greatly appreciated!
We are also in need of help posting our flyer to increase awareness of our search. Our flyer is located in the "Flyer and Banners" section of this website -- or we can mail you printed copies, if you prefer. If you could post even one or two copies of our flyer in a business in your community, you could greatly impact our search. Our flyer has been of great help to us in locating over a dozen total strangers to date that have been tested. Unfortunately, they have all been incompatible.
We were compiling a list of tested donors which were at last count 28 - 13 deceased donors, and 16 living donors. However, apparently donors have been contacting the hospitals without making contact with us. The count of altruistic donors is considerably higher but we do not have an exact number since the privacy laws prohibit the hospitals from providing us with even this most basic information.
On December 31st, 2007 we received a call from the Philadelphia hospital indicating there was a potential deceased donor who was 19 years old and was brain dead as the result of a gun shot wound. About 16 hours later we found this person's antibodies were not overpowered by Eric's antibodies and the deceased donor was a 4 out of a potential 6 antigen match. The unfortunate news was that it was not likely that Eric would receive this kidney as he was too far down the list. After waiting another 14 hours we were told that the first kidney that matched Eric was given to the person in front of him on the list. This was disheartening news!! But, now we had tangible proof that it is possible but, of course, extremely difficult to withstand Eric's strong antibodies. We will, with your help, find a donor who is compatible with Eric!
We also have several web banners that we have created. We hope you would be willing to post these banners anywhere online, from MySpace or any other profile website or even on any website that you might have yourself. These banners link directly to this website.
Any help at all is greatly appreciated! We would like to sincerely thank all of you that have already been helping us by posting our flyer, the banners and especially those that have already been tested for compatibility!! They say "every dark cloud has a silver lining". The silver lining from this cloud has been the heart warming feeling we have received when family, friends and, even more so, when total strangers have reached out to us offering help and hope!!
