Celebrating the Present that Keeps On Giving

05 January 2010For nearly a decade, Brian Fearn was hooked up to a dialysis machine for eight hours at a time three times a week. A gift of a kidney changed that.

Brian Fearn tries not to think too much about the person whose kidney is the reason his life is so much better.

"But I do think about the person and where they came from . . ." the 47-year-old admits.

A call to his Upper Hutt home at 12.30am on a day in early December in 2008 changed his life when he heard the words he'd been waiting nine years for: "We've got a kidney for you."

Just months later he was back on his feet, at his job at Bunnings in February and spending time with his family again.

"It's taken a wee while to recover. But there's no dialysis at all so it's really good. I've got more time on my hands."

Mr Fearn was just 17, an apprentice plasterer, when an infection destroyed his kidneys.

After three years on dialysis, he got his first transplant in 1986. Thirteen years ago, that kidney failed.

That meant Mr Fearn was tethered to his home - hooked up to a dialysis machine for eight hours at a time, three sessions a week, to remove toxins from his blood.

He also had to monitor his diet, with mineral-rich foods - such as many fruit and vegetables - off the menu. But now they're back, just in time for a summer feast.

"Bananas, avocados, tomatoes . . . oh yeah [eating them]. It's all standard now," he said. "It's just a big balancing act."

Also a balancing act is how he deals with discussing organ donation. "All my family and friends are donors now," he says. "It's hard, very much so. You're really relying on someone else losing someone."

He said the impact on his life had been huge. "[Organ donation] gets people back into the workforce. Nothing will top this."

THE GIFT OF HOPE

Who can donate? Very few medical conditions prevent a person from being able to donate. If you have severe asthma, for example, you may not be able to donate lungs but may be able to donate heart, liver, kidneys or eyes.

How do you become a donor? In New Zealand people can register their wish to be a donor when they apply for their driver's licence and subsequent renewals. This information is recorded on the licence with the word "donor" and in the Land Transport New Zealand database. You also need to tell your family your wishes, and let them know which organs and tissues you are willing to donate.

What can be donated? Organs that can be donated for transplant include the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs and pancreas. Tissue that can be donated includes eyes for corneal donation, heart valves and skin.

By Greer McDonald - The Dominion Post