A few weeks ago, a local woman had surgery for the first time in her life. While that experience might seem ordinary, Jerie Olson’s operation helped at least two individuals and quite possibly touched the lives of many more. When her husband, Mark Olson, was told he needed a second kidney transplant, Jerie “didn’t really flinch too much” about giving up her kidney to a stranger so Mark could get a match from someone else.
The Olsons, who have lived in DeForest for 17 years, are one of many success stories out of UW Health’s paired kidney exchange program, in which a family member or friend donates a kidney in order for their loved one who needs a kidney to get a matching organ from a different individual. UW works through the National Kidney Registry to find these matches. According to UW Kidney Transplant Coordinator Karen Miller, there’s around 80 transplant centers with approximately 300 active donors at one time in the registry, which “opens the doors” for patients waiting for kidneys.
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