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In This Issue:
In a selfless act of modern-day heroism, living donor John Hodges offered his kidney to save the life of a woman he hardly knew. It all began in the fall of 2001, when Mark Zelermyer approached his coworker and friend Carolyn Hodges to proofread a letter he had written to his synagogue in search of a living kidney donor for his wife, who suffered from polycystic kidney disease and was in need of a transplant. “When Carolyn came home that night, we discussed the possibility of being tested as matches ourselves, as we both shared her blood type,” said John, who explained that he and his wife are longtime blood and platelet donors and also listed with the bone-marrow registry. “We ultimately decided to move forward with testing and discovered that we were both matches after the initial blood samples were drawn.”The couple then contemplated next steps and concluded that Carolyn would be the first to undergo further testing. When his wife was eliminated from consideration based on these tests, John proceeded with testing himself, and after an extensive medical workup, he was found to be the donor of choice. After receiving the news that he was indeed a suitable donor, John, a research scientist at Boston University, pooled his investigative skills to find out anything and everything he could about kidney transplantation. When it came time for his first meeting with John Powelson, MD, associate chief and clinical director of BWH Transplant Surgery, John had compiled an extensive list of detailed questions. “He asked good, thoughtful questions and really made an effort to understand the implications of becoming a living donor,” said Powelson, describing the many question-and-answer sessions and extensive emails he received from John throughout the nearly two-year process. In helping to guide John through the Living Donor Program at BWH, Powelson explains that he felt a strong responsibility to assume the role of devil’s advocate, ensuring that John considered things from all angles. “I told John that he would have to convince me that this is something he truly wanted to do,” said Powelson. “John was very persistent and cultivated a very real view of what living donation entailed. In the end, he not only convinced me personally, but he also persuaded the entire Renal Transplant team.”“The tipping factor for me in determining I wanted to be a donor was, in large part, due to Dr. Powelson’s responsiveness,” said John, adding that once he finally made the decision, he felt tremendously relieved and therefore knew it was the right choice. By May of 2003, the organ recipient’s health had declined, necessitating the kidney transplant as quickly as possible, which presented a challenge, as the next available date to schedule the surgery was still two months away. But just one week later, a last-minute cancellation changed all of that.“I got the call that afternoon to go to the hospital immediately to begin pre-op, as the surgery had been scheduled for the following morning, so I dropped what I was doing and headed in,” said John. The surgery was a great success, and John’s recovery went very smoothly. He describes his experience as a living donor as very positive and has since taken his experience several steps forward, engaging in public speaking opportunities through the New England Organ Bank to advocate for living donors and lobbying Congress for living donor-related issues. “Living donors, like John, are the most selfless, amazing patients that I have the privilege of working with,” said Powelson. “Living donation is an enormous act for another person, let alone a virtual stranger. John is truly a modern-day hero.”