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Living kidney donor sought for Red Deer County woman

Mar 25, 2019 | 5:27 PM

A man from Red Deer County has launched a campaign hoping to find a living kidney donor for his wife.

Tom Kean has been spreading the word that his wife Merill needs living kidney donor to prevent her from facing kidney failure and going on dialysis within the next six months

Merrill Kean, who is 61, only has seven percent of her kidney function left as a result of Focal Segmental Glomerulo Sclerosis (FSGS). The condition is rare and attacks the kidney’s filtering units and causes serious scarring, eventually leading to kidney failure.

Without an organ transplant, Merrill’s kidneys will shut down and she will be forced to go on dialysis within six months to a year. She can’t be put on a deceased kidney donor list until she is undergoing dialysis.

Merrill’s quality of life has been severely affected since her diagnosis. Travel is not an option at this point and her energy level is much lower than normal. She’s restricted with the amount of psychical activity she can do, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she lived a healthy life style before she got sick, she could be in even worse shape.

“It’s a good thing she is healthy. She lives a good life style, eats right, exercises, does everything right and that’s why she’s not on dialysis now,” Tom explained.

“It would mean a great deal to find a donor due to the fact that having this issue has been a big lifestyle change for her. With a new one she can go back to where she was before. She would be able to travel further, her energy level would pick back up again. It would mean the whole world to us.”

Merrill’s daughter and son were both tested but were not considered a good enough match, so Tom took it upon himself to ask the community for help.

“I went through the testing process about a year ago, but my blood pressure was too high for me to be considered a match. I’m going to try again at the end of this month and see if I can,” Tom shares.

“I have half-ton trucks, vans, SUVs driving around with signage on the back looking for a living donor, I’ve got those all over the place, the Facebook page which has gained tractions from all over, overseas, across Canada. We are getting all kinds of coverage, but again it’s tough sometimes to get the right individuals at the right place. But time is running out. “

The couple has had some members of the community reaching out, inquiring about getting tested to see if they can help. The Keans have directed them to the Kidney Foundation, but they haven’t heard anything back yet.

“We are looking for a live donor with blood type A+ or A-, or O+ or O- that would donate a kidney. It’s a tough question to ask people. I just think everyone needs to step up to the plate and make a donation, but there are more and more organ donations happening all the time. Especially in wake of the mishap of the (Humboldt) Broncos bus crash that has really woken up a lot of people.

“We are still waiting and hopefully we can find a kidney.”

Members of the community interested in learning more about the Keans are encouraged to contact them (403-347-8988) or the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Being that the donation process can take time they are encouraging everyone to act quickly.