MORE THAN FAMILY

In 2006, Mark Standhall started feeling very weak. He experienced frequent insomnia and started feeling itchiness throughout his body. These are both symptoms of kidney disease. The 55-year-old Mike, from Indianapolis, U.S.A, had a genetic condition that can lead to kidney failure. That year, Mike had to begin dialysis. It is a medial process to remove toxins from the body. That is actually the kidneys’ job in the body but Mike’s body was not able to do it. That is why he had to take that treatment five days every week.

The most ideal option for Standhall was to have kidney transplant operation. People usually have two kidneys but the human body needs only one to survive. In a kidney transplant operation, a person donates one of her / his kidneys and that kidney is then implanted into the patient. Generally that person is a family member. It is less likely for the body to reject a kidney from family members. The possibility to have a match is higher within the family. But other members of his family also had kidney problems so none of them could be a donor for Mike.

Mark lost his hope, as they couldn’t find a suitable kidney. Then, he received a call from his friend Michael. He was volunteering to donate one of his kidneys to his best friend.

Mark and Michael first met while they were at secondary school. They studied at the same high school afterwards and played at the high school football team. They were always together. They started working at the same company and then became managers in the same company. A few years later Mark and his family moved to another state. They always kept in touch and met a few times every year.

When Michael first said that he wanted to donate his kidney, he was rejected. He was overweight and not suitable to be a donor. Michael knew that only he could help his friend, so he started a very strict diet. He also started exercising regularly. He knew that if he wasn’t healthy enough he couldn’t help his friend to get his healthy life back. Eventually, Michael lost more than 35 kilos in about six months. He was approved by doctors to become Mike’s kidney donor.

In April 2008, the two friends had a successful six-hour transplant. They are both healthy now and Michael still continues his new and healthy lifestyle. Mike said that he was grateful. He knows that even family members might not donate their kidneys if they could. Michael on the other hand says that he never had second thoughts about donating his kidney. “He is just like a brother who would do anything for you” Mike said.