Organ Donation - WKTV Journal

This story has a happy ending, but a tough beginning.

Rick Herlacher of Rockford, Michigan suffered with a kidney disease that was discovered in 2001. He struggled through dialysis three times a week for four hours at a time and went through five surgeries within 12 weeks last year. It was a constant battle to live.

The continued search for a transplant donor finally came to an end. Family members didn’t work out–a total stranger did.

Enter Marci Prince from Hastings, Michigan. She saved Rick’s life by donating a kidney.

“I always wanted to be a donor and I just decided to go for it. I feel blessed to be able to do this,” she explained during a recent interview with WKTV Community Media.

Her selfless, courageous act of wanting to donate her kidney was nothing short of remarkable.

But what are the chances of a total stranger being a perfect match?

“This was a match beyond a match–one in a million,” Rick explained emotionally.

Kidney Donor 1 — Marci gets ready for surgery with extreme courage and determination.

And so the process began. 26 tubes of blood, continual testing at St. Mary’s Transplant Center, and the surgery itself. Marci, who had been a smoker for 30 years, quit cold turkey when she decided to be a donor. The process involves major surgery and both were in the hospital for 4-5 days.

Rick definitely received the gift of life.

“I was ready to go. I knew right after surgery, when I popped right out bed, everything was going to be great. There was no pain. I walked 20 laps. The nurses were shocked,” Rick enthused.

Rick and Marci are now great friends. They find it difficult to put into words the strong connection they have.

Both of them are continually monitored by the medical staff at St. Mary’s. Rick’s immune system works at 1/3rd his capacity and he can be more than three times likely to have cancer.

But, so far, so good, or should I say– SO GREAT!

“I live every day like it’s my last,” Rick said.

Knowing now all that is involved with being a donor, would she do it again?

“Hell yeah, I would do it again,” she said emphatically.

It is shocking to realize that an average of 18 people die every day due to the shortage of available organ donors.

In total, there are more than 120,000 Americans awaiting their organ transplants, while millions of people die each year without signing up as organ and tissue donors.

400 people are on the wait list right now in Michigan for a kidney transplant. There are people waiting to live, and dying while they wait –it is a statistic that calls us to action when we consider that only 38% of Kent County citizens are signed up as organ donors when their life has ended.

To register as an organ donor:

Register with your state’s Organ Donor Registry.
Select ‘Yes’ to organ donation when you apply for your driver’s license.
Sign a donor card, if available. For more information: http://giftoflifemichigan.org/become-donor

Rick is never without his Organ Donor bracelet.

Marci feels so strongly about her commitment to organ donation, she had a tattoo designed.

Chef Oliver Hale is a well-known West Michigan resident and an award-winning chef, but what people may not know about him is he is a two-time kidney transplant recipient.

He received his first kidney in 1985 and it lasted 23 years until his body rejected it.

“There are so many people in need of organ donations. Each day they keep getting sicker. I worry every day, that my new kidney will fail,” he said.

His second kidney came 2.5 years ago and he continues to champion the rights of organ donors.

“Educate yourselves, save lives, help others,” he advised. “Some people are on the wait list for over ten years.”

Chef O has represented us admirably at the Transplant Games of America on TEAM MICHIGAN. He has competed in tennis singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The competition has led him to nine countries and he is headed to Houston this year in July. He has garnered 27 medals, and 18 of them have been Gold!

Chef O at the Transplant Games of America.

The games include track and field, bowling, racquetball, basketball, golf swimming, volleyball and fencing—to name a few. It is a four day event which is open to individuals who have had a transplant nine months prior to the date of the games. It is a time of bonding, healing and achieving for transplant recipients.

Chef O stressed that the process of becoming a donor has become even more simplified. “There is no signing anymore on licenses. It is simple. There is a red heart placed on the front of an individual’s license. That’s it!,” he explained.

When someone donates a kidney, the hospital stay is taken care of financially and fundraisers are usually held to accommodate for a person’s time off work to go through the procedure.

“I just hope people choose to help,” he concluded. ” It is so important to save lives.”

For more information visit Gift of Life, National Kidney Foundation, or the Secretary of State Office.