A grateful wife donates a kidney to a stranger
Paying it forward C
By ANNE DILLON
ristina “Tina” Lamb, 45, never forgot how grate- ful she was when her husband, Allen, received a live donor kidney in May 2006 from a cousin. “We hadn’t been married long when my husband got sick, and he needed dialysis on a reglar basis,”
“It’s hard to say exactly why I made this decision. Except that I saw how it changed my husband’s life and I knew that I was capable of doing that for someone
else.” —TINA LAMB
says Lamb. “It took a lot out of him. When he got a new kidney, it was such an amazing gift. It changed his life and mine.” Lamb’s appreciation has not diminished. To
show this, she decided to donate a kidney of her own to someone who needed one. As an employee of Loyola University Health
System for more than a decade, Lamb knew that Loyola had a strong and successful kidney transplant program. She contacted John Milner, MD, assistant professor of urology at Stritch and director of Loyola’s Living Donor Program. “It’s hard to say exactly why I made this
decision. Except that I saw how it changed my husband’s life and I knew that I was capable of doing that for someone else,” says Lamb. What Lamb didn’t know is that her gift would
inspire a whole new program at Loyola. The new Pay-It-Forward Kidney Donation Program is an in- novative system that allows would-be recipients with willing-but-incompatible donors to take part in national donor chains, dramatically reduc- ing patient wait times. Lamb is one of four good Samaritan donors to step forward to donate a kidney in the same month. A good Samaritan donor is someone who agrees to give a kidney to a complete stranger, asking for nothing in return. Loyola is now an active participant in the
National Kidney Registry, an independent entity that uses a computer model that is similar to that used by the New York Stock Exchange. It keeps track of donors and waiting recipients all over the country, facilitating donor-recipient matches with speed and precision. The vision of the National Kidney Registry is that every person on the registry who is waiting for a kidney will see their
wait time reduced to six months or less—as opposed to six years, which is the normal wait. Lamb’s surgery took place on March 18. She
was back at work after about two weeks. The recipient of her kidney was 21-year-old Rob Rylko, whom Lamb was able to meet. At their first meeting, Rylko said, “I am so grateful. I just turned 21. I have been going to dialysis three times a week. I don’t know what to say.” Reflecting on her decision to give the gift of
a kidney to a stranger, Tina has no regrets. “For a week of feeling a little sore, I was able to give a young man a lifetime of health. I’d say that’s a pretty good trade.”
Top: Tina Lamb meets Rob Rylko, the former stranger to whom she donated a kidney through LUHS.
Bottom: John Milner, MD, and his first four Good Samaritan kidney donors: Tina Lamb, Cyndy Ruez, Jodi Tamen, and Tim Joos
• To learn more about Loyola’s Pay-It-Forward Kidney Donation Program, call 708.216.3454 or visit
loyolamedicine.org.
SUMMER 2010
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