 Brotherly Love – Kidney recipient Blanca Ceceres (left) is shown with Tatiana Alvarez, R.N., Renal Transplant Coordinator. Blanca’s brother traveled from Missouri to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center to give his sister a kidney.
Distance posed no obstacle for Jose Macas once he made up his mind
to donate one of his kidneys to his younger sister,
Blanca Caceres, despite the fact that Jose lives
in Kansas City, M.O, and Blanca resides in West
New York, N.J.
Jose and Blanca are among the growing number of living
kidney donors and recipients who travel a significant
distance for the transplant procedure. According
to Tatiana Alvarez, R.N., Renal Transplant Coordinator
at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, it is common for living donors
who do not reside in the area to have all pre-testing and post-op
visits conducted near their home, and only travel a distance for
the actual transplant procedure.
“A general assumption is that the donor and recipient must live near each other and that the donor must undergo all testing, procedures and follow-up care in the same medical center as the recipient,” explains Ms. Alvarez. On the contrary, the donor only needs to be physically near the recipient for the actual transplant procedure. All counseling, pre-admission and post-operative care can be done independently. In fact, we do pre-op work-ups here at Newark Beth Israel for patients who are traveling to another state to donate a kidney.”
Jose had his initial screening for compatibility and pre-admission testing in Kansas City. He worked closely with a renal transplant coordinator there to prepare himself for the surgery that would take place 1,000 miles away. Accompanied by his parents, Mercedes and Cristobal Macas, Jose arrived in New Jersey just days before his and Blanca’s surgeries at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
The Macas Family knew kidney transplantation was Blanca’s only hope. In 1998, Blanca developed lupus, which ultimately attacked the one kidney she was born with. Over the next two years, her disease progressed to the point where she required renal dialysis. About this same time, she moved to New Jersey with her new husband, Giovanni Caceres.
Many of Blanca’s family members were screened for living donation, but Jose proved the best donor. Consequently, on February 13, 2003, during a four hour, 20-minute surgery, Jose donated a kidney to Blanca laparoscopically. Blana never thought she would feel so well again. “My quality of life has improved drastically — all thanks to my brother.”
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