Lawmaker Doing Well After Kidney Transplant

Associated Press
January 1, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) State Rep. Susan Lawrence, R-East Millcreek, got the gift of life for Christmas 2005 -- a kidney from her sister, Margey King.
Lawrence and King underwent the transplant surgery Dec. 13 and both women are reportedly doing fine.

"As long as we don't have to bend over, pick something up or laugh, we're feeling fine," King said. "A little tired, but nothing worse."

Lawrence suffers from polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary condition that caused her kidneys to fail. Last summer she had her kidneys removed and then suffered complications that also damaged her liver, forcing a second surgery. That delayed transplant plans for several months.

The hereditary nature of PKD could have prevented King from acting as a donor, but tests showed no sign of the disease. King's kidneys also matched her sister's almost as closely as those from twins, which minimized the potential for long-range problems after a transplant.

"This has been a miracle. I was out of the hospital the first day possible, and I feel great," Lawrence said. "Both of Margey's kidneys are working, they're just not working together."

Both women are expected to make a full-recovery.

In fact, King plans to return to her job teaching third- and fourth-grade students at Bonneville Elementary School when classes resume after the holiday break.

Such a speedy recovery is common for a live kidney donors, said Ben Dieterle, a spokesman for Intermountain Donor Services. Thanks to new medical procedures, just three small incisions are needed to remove the organ from a donor. The procedure allows for a shorter recovery time and seems to be increasing the pool of willing donors.

"More are donating to their loved ones because instead of being out of work for two or three months, they are only gone for a couple of weeks," he said.

Lawrence's own recovery will be slower, but she's still planning a full-time return to the Legislature when the 2006 General Session begins Jan. 16. Doctors expect Lawrence to now have a healthy kidney for as long as 25 years.

Her only problem this holiday was finding a gift to match the one she received from her sister.
But King said she's already gotten the perfect gift.

"Susan is looking great, which is what we've been praying for," King said. "That's all we wanted."