Home » Good Samaritan Donates Kidney to Save Talented SA Artist’s Life

Good Samaritan Donates Kidney to Save Talented SA Artist’s Life

A wonderful Good Samaritan in South Africa has donated his kidney to talented artist and wildlife crusader Di Wilkinson… and he did it just in time for Di and her children to celebrate Mother’s Day with joy and newfound hope. It’s now almost three week since the op on 10 May 2018, and Di and […]

By SAPeople
29-05-18 17:54
in Fab South African Stuff

A wonderful Good Samaritan in South Africa has donated his kidney to talented artist and wildlife crusader Di Wilkinson… and he did it just in time for Di and her children to celebrate Mother’s Day with joy and newfound hope.

Di Wilkinson with one of her daughters a week after the operation. Photo supplied.

It’s now almost three week since the op on 10 May 2018, and Di and her new kidney are doing well! The Good Samaritan – who delivered the ultimate Mother’s Day gift – wishes to remain anonymous. We’ll call him M.

Di’s daughter Legh spoke to SAPeople about the incredible life-saving gesture. She says M is a family friend and a “selfless man who risked his life to save our mom’s”.

The family is sharing their story in the hope it will educate and inspire a lot of people.

Here’s Di’s story, as told by Legh, exclusively to SAPeople:

My mom was diagnosed in 2013 with polycystic kidney disease and over the years suffered from many infections caused by the cysts growing on her kidneys, and for that reason in June 2015 she had one kidney removed.

And then, in September 2016 she had her second kidney removed – both weighing approximately 4kg (one was 4.3 and the other 4.8 kg… which, in layman terms, is like having three babies in your back).

So my mom was completely dependent on dialysis, and over the last five years has just deteriorated quite significantly.

Over the years we tested about 10 people, but had no match. We had one match but it eventually fell through.

My mom was bumped up to the Top 50 on the organ transplant list but with the shortage of organ donors in South Africa – only approximately 0.1% of the South African population is registered for organ donation after death – so that reality, combined with the fact that she was 56, 57… meant her chances weren’t looking good…

So we continued to put the word out there that she needed a kidney donor, and preferably a live kidney donor because the chances of her getting one off the list were very slim.

And eventually a close family friend – M – came forward and said he wanted to donate!

The start of this chat with him was two years ago. So he went for a blood test first, and he was the right blood; and then he went for a number of other tests… and he basically passed all the tests, in terms of him being fit and healthy.

Authorisation thereafter by government, and by medical aid, took months and months… and months.

Two years later we eventually got to the point where they were a match but my mom’s antibody count was still way too high, that they wouldn’t transplant from him… so we approached a doctor who has started a fairly recent process in South Africa called ‘desensitisation’. [Desensitization is also known as specific immunotherapy or allergy vaccine therapy.]

It’s done fairly frequently in the States, and I believe the UK, and this doctor was prepared to try it in SA.

He had never tried it on someone whose antibody level was so high. Nor had he tried it on somebody who had had both her kidneys removed… so it was all a bit daunting but, as he said, “you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place and you’re just going downhill”…

It was the best shot that my mom had… so we agreed to it, and over the two years… to get all the authorisations and the tests done, my mom had to redo a whole lot of tests like colonoscopy, dentists, bloods, mammogram, psychologists…

And after two years we got to a point and the doctor said “ok right, are you in for the desensitisation? Because once you start it the transplant follows immediately.”

We were like: let’s do it! And then it all went very quickly from there.

Desensitisation involves removing her antibodies… but while you remove her antibodies you take out a lot of her plasma. So she had seven sessions on alternate days. On the on day, she’d have four hours of dialysis, two hours of plasma exchange (or desensitisation), and an additional four hours of an infusion to replenish her plasma.

They were very long day – 12 and 16 hours.

“we always believed the light at the end of the tunnel was there… but sometimes the tunnel got really dark”

It was an extremely vigorous and intense process; some very low times and some very few high times… but she handled it like a champ!

She’s just the most incredible and inspirational person, and she just pulled herself through mentally… and willed herself on physically.

She had her last session on Tuesday 8 May.

On Wednesday they tested M and her to see if their match was now suitable… and it was! And on Thursday the 10th of May they had the transplant!

It was about a 6-hour procedure. He went in a bit earlier and came out a bit earlier. He was in ICU for two days, in hospital for a day and was then discharged on the fourth or fifth day.

My mom’s still in hospital. She’s doing very well. The pain was quite bad but she’s up and walking.

During her journey we started the Platter Project [where Di paints wildlife on platters, and the proceeds go to save South Africa’s endangered animals].

I think my mom always had such a passion for wildlife and such a kind heart towards animals, and obviously that’s where the Platter Project started; and after five long years we always believed the light at the end of the tunnel was there… but sometimes the tunnel got really dark, but it’s brighter now, and I think she has so much to show the world in terms of her talent, in terms of her doing motivational speaking or coaching people who may go through the same process.

The Platter Project

She’s the first South African to undergo this desensitisation and transplant, having no kidneys, and she’s the 10th person in the whole country to undergo this whole procedure.

I think the doctors and the surgical teams are really impressed with her case. She’s the most inspirational person!

“everyone’s fighting a battle that you may not know about”

She’s taught us three siblings to never never never give up. To be kind along the way. To even in your darkest times, maintain your composure and understand that everyone’s fighting a battle that you may not know about.

When people are rude or unkind to you, shower them back with kindness because often it’s their own internal distress that causes them to be that way, and it’s got nothing to do with you.

She’s inspired so many people – her family and friends, but she’s also inspired hundreds of people globally through the Platter Project. Watch this space…

Please follow the Platter Project to stay up to date with Di’s news and her latest artwork.