Father to donate kidney to save daughter’s life
uMhlanga dad makes life changing decision to help his daughter.
SEVEN years ago, uMhlanga resident, Lee Kirkpatrick, received news that would drastically change her life forever. Suffering from high blood pressure and a number of other ailments, doctors told Lee she had kidney disease.
She was placed on dialysis for 12 hours a week and was eventually put onto the transplant list for a new kidney.
Statistics regarding organ donors in KZN however made for bleak reading. In 2002, 112 transplants were performed in KZN, however in 2014, only 18 were performed. This is due to a drastic decline in organ donors. It would have been easy to dwell on the negative, and there were times it was tempting for Lee to give up. However, the Kirkpatrick family are unfailingly positive people. They knew what to do.
When a transplant became the best option to save her life, her father, Paul, stepped forward to donate his kidney to his daughter. The transplant operation takes place in April.
“How do you not do this as a parent? When she said to me, ‘Dad, life is not worth living’, that broke my heart. I decided I had to do this, I gave her life the first time and in a strange way, I’m giving her a second life. It was a no-brainer for me, she’s my daughter and I would do anything for her,” he said.
For Lee, the second chance at life is something she can’t put into words.
“I’m speechless. I did have people from outside my family come forward but so many of them were not a match. That was until my dad stepped up. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows. For anybody awaiting a transplant, they understand the daily struggle. I’ve been through so many medical tests and I’ve suffered pain with dialysis. You can’t live a normal life, you are bound to a machine. I had to miss work because I kept getting sick.
“There are points you want to give up. I was so desperate at one point that we looked at the option to go to another country to carry out the operation. I can’t describe what this means to me. It’s my second chance at life and it’s also thought me so much about keeping my body healthy. I’ll never take my body for granted ever again,” she said.
Both Paul and Lee hope their story will inspire others to join the transplant list.
“I think more exposure in the media can change perceptions, especially negative ones. One person can save seven lives and we need a paradigm shift here in KZN and for people to register on the donor list,” Lee said.
