27 Billboards Outside Calgary, Alberta

[weltschmerz]

Nine months ago, a Calgary man who needed a new kidney put his plea on roadside billboards. This week, he’s going to receive the gift of life from a stranger.



Ryan McLennan, a high school teacher in his 40s, was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in 2002. His mother donated one of her kidneys, and he recovered.



But earlier this year, it became clear that he needed a second transplant, and there was no other matching donor in his family.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen,” McLennan told CTV Calgary. “I just thought, this is going to be my life; I’m going to be on dialysis forever.”
McLennan’s wife Shakina suggested the billboards. At first, he thought the idea was crazy but then he decided to give it a try. The advertisements went up in February.

His campaign eventually resulted in 170 inquiries to The Kidney Foundation. About 50 people applied to donate their organs and 30 underwent testing.



Tony Timmons of Airdrie, Alta., ended up being a match. He will donate his kidney to McLennan on Wednesday.

Timmons says he saw the billboard one day while driving to work and called the same night.

www.ctvnews.ca/health/calgary-man-finds-kidney-donor-thanks-to-billboard-campaign-1.4192071

[Tennesseer]

Catchy thread title.   Where have I heard that before.  

Thanks to the donor and good luck to the donee.

[Virgil Showlion]

Timmons says he saw the billboard one day while driving to work and called the same night.

Hm. Kidney drive.

[Virgil Showlion]

Albertans are good people. Although it makes me wonder: if some billboards set up around a city* of ~1M people can attract 50 applications to donate, we could reasonably expect North America as a whole to be home to tens of thousands of willing kidney donors who, for whatever reason, haven't registered anywhere as willing kidney donors.

This in turn begs the question of what a charity, NGO, or the government itself could do to motivate these willing-but-unregistered folks to sign up.

* I assume they were set up around Calgary; the article doesn't say

[Tennesseer]

Nov 26, 2018 22:29:10 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Albertans are good people. Although it makes me wonder: if some billboards set up around a city* of ~1M people can attract 50 applications to donate, we could reasonably expect North America as a whole to be home to tens of thousands of willing kidney donors who, for whatever reason, haven't registered anywhere as willing kidney donors.

This in turn begs the question of what a charity, NGO, or the government itself could do to motivate these willing-but-unregistered folks to sign up.

* I assume they were set up around Calgary; the article doesn't say

Not sure about Canadian driver's licenses but on U.S. driver licences, we can indicate we are willing to be donors should we not be able to survive a medical crisis. I have okayed it on my license to be a donor. There is a small on the front of my license which means I am willing to be a donor.  I believe the heart is on all the other states' licenses too where the driver has agreed to be a donor.  Use whatever part of me the medical profession needs. I will no longer need it.

Also, not everyone (using the case of the Calgary man) can be a kidney donor. I have type 2 diabetes and that is an automatic reason to be rejected as a kidney donor. Other reasons for being rejected as a kidney donor are obesity and hypertension. Someone can register to be a kidney donor but not everyone can be a kidney donor once screened.

[weltschmerz]

Nov 27, 2018 0:02:06 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Nov 26, 2018 22:29:10 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Albertans are good people. Although it makes me wonder: if some billboards set up around a city* of ~1M people can attract 50 applications to donate, we could reasonably expect North America as a whole to be home to tens of thousands of willing kidney donors who, for whatever reason, haven't registered anywhere as willing kidney donors.

This in turn begs the question of what a charity, NGO, or the government itself could do to motivate these willing-but-unregistered folks to sign up.

* I assume they were set up around Calgary; the article doesn't say

Not sure about Canadian driver's licenses but on U.S. driver licences, we can indicate we are willing to be donors should we not be able to survive a medical crisis. I have okayed it on my license to be a donor. There is a small on the front of my license which means I am willing to be a donor.  I believe the heart is on all the other states' licenses too where the driver has agreed to be a donor.  Use whatever part of me the medical profession needs. I will no longer need it.

Also, not everyone (using the case of the Calgary man) can be a kidney donor. I have type 2 diabetes and that is an automatic reason to be rejected as a kidney donor. Other reasons for being rejected as a kidney donor are obesity and hypertension. Someone can register to be a kidney donor but not everyone can be a kidney donor once screened.

Same here. I like what they've done in France. You ARE an organ donor, unless you choose to opt out.


A change in the French law means every citizen in France is automatically registered as an organ donor, unless they opt out.



The new rules, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2017, operate under the principle of “presumed consent.” That means French citizens must now enter their names on a new National Rejection Register if they don’t want to become organ donors. They can also sign and date a written refusal and leave it with a relative or make an oral testimony to someone who can inform a medical team of their wishes.

www.ctvnews.ca/health/france-adopts-opt-out-organ-donor-policy-1.3227135

[weltschmerz]

Nov 26, 2018 22:29:10 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Albertans are good people. Although it makes me wonder: if some billboards set up around a city* of ~1M people can attract 50 applications to donate, we could reasonably expect North America as a whole to be home to tens of thousands of willing kidney donors who, for whatever reason, haven't registered anywhere as willing kidney donors.

This in turn begs the question of what a charity, NGO, or the government itself could do to motivate these willing-but-unregistered folks to sign up.

* I assume they were set up around Calgary; the article doesn't say

Are you a registered organ donor, Virgil? Did you sign your driver's license?

[Deleted]

I've got no problem with being an organ donor after I die and my driver's license indicates that.  I've also been donating platelets, plasma and whole blood (they usually take 2 out of the 3 at each visit) monthly and am looking forward to being able to start up again next year; right now I'm still deferred after my visit to India in March.  Blood products are "renewable", though.  I'd be a little more reluctant to donate a kidney while still alive although I'd do it for a relative.  That's a remarkable gift to donate to a stranger.

[Virgil Showlion]

Nov 27, 2018 0:02:06 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Nov 26, 2018 22:29:10 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Albertans are good people. Although it makes me wonder: if some billboards set up around a city* of ~1M people can attract 50 applications to donate, we could reasonably expect North America as a whole to be home to tens of thousands of willing kidney donors who, for whatever reason, haven't registered anywhere as willing kidney donors.

This in turn begs the question of what a charity, NGO, or the government itself could do to motivate these willing-but-unregistered folks to sign up.

* I assume they were set up around Calgary; the article doesn't say

Not sure about Canadian driver's licenses but on U.S. driver licences, we can indicate we are willing to be donors should we not be able to survive a medical crisis. I have okayed it on my license to be a donor. There is a small on the front of my license which means I am willing to be a donor.  I believe the heart is on all the other states' licenses too where the driver has agreed to be a donor.  Use whatever part of me the medical profession needs. I will no longer need it.

Also, not everyone (using the case of the Calgary man) can be a kidney donor. I have type 2 diabetes and that is an automatic reason to be rejected as a kidney donor. Other reasons for being rejected as a kidney donor are obesity and hypertension. Someone can register to be a kidney donor but not everyone can be a kidney donor once screened.

I'm actually wondering about donations before death, such as the applicants in this case. I know that partial liver donations, bone marrow donations, and a few others are also possible.

With postmortem donations, the system is at the mercy of how many people die, the quality of their organs upon death, and the ability to preserve those organs--variables impossible to control. I imagine the average man who consents to donate has only a miniscule chance of dying at such a time and in such a way that his organs are usable, hence the system only works if legions sign up (not a reason to avoid applying, but still).

However, with live donations, organs are preserved indefinitely. As you say, not everybody who wants to donate will automatically qualify, but the transplant-to-applicant ratio would still be orders of magnitude greater. Like mining a rich vein of ore instead of panning for gold dust. My thoughts on this were previously: "Good in theory, but nobody is willing to give up a kidney to help a complete stranger."  But Weltz' article makes me question that assumption. Perhaps one big push by North American governments to convince would-be live donors to sign up is all it would take to make waiting lists for kidneys, livers, bone marrow, etc. a thing of the past.

[Tennesseer]

Nov 27, 2018 12:03:39 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Nov 27, 2018 0:02:06 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Not sure about Canadian driver's licenses but on U.S. driver licences, we can indicate we are willing to be donors should we not be able to survive a medical crisis. I have okayed it on my license to be a donor. There is a small on the front of my license which means I am willing to be a donor.  I believe the heart is on all the other states' licenses too where the driver has agreed to be a donor.  Use whatever part of me the medical profession needs. I will no longer need it.

Also, not everyone (using the case of the Calgary man) can be a kidney donor. I have type 2 diabetes and that is an automatic reason to be rejected as a kidney donor. Other reasons for being rejected as a kidney donor are obesity and hypertension. Someone can register to be a kidney donor but not everyone can be a kidney donor once screened.

I'm actually wondering about donations before death, such as the applicants in this case. I know that partial liver donations, bone marrow donations, and a few others are also possible.

With postmortem donations, the system is at the mercy of how many people die, the quality of their organs upon death, and the ability to preserve those organs--variables impossible to control. I imagine the average man who consents to donate has only a miniscule chance of dying at such a time and in such a way that his organs are usable, hence the system only works if legions sign up (not a reason to avoid applying, but still).

However, with live donations, organs are preserved indefinitely. As you say, not everybody who wants to donate will automatically qualify, but the transplant-to-applicant ratio would still be orders of magnitude greater. Like mining a rich vein of ore instead of panning for gold dust. My thoughts on this were previously: "Good in theory, but nobody is willing to give up a kidney to help a complete stranger."  But Weltz' article makes me question that assumption. Perhaps one big push by North American governments to convince would-be live donors to sign up is all it would take to make waiting lists for kidneys, livers, bone marrow, etc. a thing of the past.

I thought you might ask the question about live donors so I found this article last night. A snippet on kidney donor rejection.  A 2014 article.

Living Kidney Donor Dilemma: Willing But Unable to Donate

Research findings document that medical conditions are a major reason for donor exclusion. In a study of 484 prospective living kidney donors at Stanford's transplant center, Dr. Tan and colleagues found that 229 individuals were excluded from donation. Of these, 150 were excluded for medical reasons, mainly obesity, hypertension, abnormal glucose tolerance, and nephrolithiasis, according to results published in Clinical Transplantation (2011;25:697-704).

In a study presented at this year's World Transplant Congress in San Francisco, Uday S. Nori, MD, and colleagues at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus found that hypertension, glucose intolerance, and high body mass index accounted for 60% of all medical deferrals.

At last year's American Transplant Congress in Seattle, Zoe A. Stewart, MD, PhD, of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, presented findings of a study involving 450 living kidney donor candidates, of whom 398 were rejected for donation and 52 were approved.

Rejected candidates had a mean BMI of 28.9 kg/m2, which was significantly higher than the mean 25.9 kg/m2 for the approved group. Of candidates approved for donation, only 11.5% were obese (BMI above 30) and 88.5% were non-obese (BMI below 30).

Living Kidney Donor Dilemma: Willing But Unable to Donate

[weltschmerz]

....and one more time.
Are you an organ donor,Virgil?

[Virgil Showlion]

Nov 27, 2018 13:37:45 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

....and one more time.
Are you an organ donor,Virgil?

No. It's long been one of those "I'll get around to it later" low-priority chores on my long term to-do list.

I will, eventually, get around to doing it. You guys (YMAM) convinced me some years ago that regularly donating blood was a worthy endeavour.

How big of a headache is it to qualify as an organ donor in Canada, incidentally? Is it as simple as checking a box when I renew my license, or do I have to go through a battery of tests somewhere?

[weltschmerz]

Nov 27, 2018 15:08:29 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Nov 27, 2018 13:37:45 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

....and one more time.
Are you an organ donor,Virgil?

No. It's long been one of those "I'll get around to it later" low-priority chores on my long term to-do list.

I will, eventually, get around to doing it. You guys (YMAM) convinced me some years ago that regularly donating blood was a worthy endeavour.

How big of a headache is it to qualify as an organ donor in Canada, incidentally? Is it as simple as checking a box when I renew my license, or do I have to go through a battery of tests somewhere?

It's simple.

I don't know if it's the same in Ontario, but when you renew your Medicare health card, it comes with a sticker you can affix to the back of your card, saying you consent to organ donation. No battery of tests.
It's not the drivers licence.

[weltschmerz]

It makes sense. Not everyone has a drivers licence but everyone has a health card.
There's even a space for parents to initial a minor's card if they want their child to be an organ donor.

[JustLurkin]

I'm registered for bone marrow donation, kinda surprised I've never been called up since it seems a big deal is always made about minority donors.  My license indicates I'm an organ donor.  My son is registered with an organization that would study his brain in the event anything were to happen to him.

[Tennesseer]

Nov 27, 2018 20:53:11 GMT -5 JustLurkin said:

I'm registered for bone marrow donation, kinda surprised I've never been called up since it seems a big deal is always made about minority donors.  My license indicates I'm an organ donor.  My son is registered with an organization that would study his brain in the event anything were to happen to him.

Not related to organ donations but something akin to your son and his registration to study his brain.

Not all that long ago years wise, there was a small order of Catholic nuns who all agreed to partake in a study about Alzheimer's disease (AD). All the nuns were tested for their memory skills over the years and to see which ones of them were showing signs of dementia/ AD. And at the time of all of their deaths, their brains were to be removed to study the differences in the brains in those who developed AD and those who did not.

I believe the program might still be going on so I have no results of the study to post.

[azucena]

There is a big drive at work today to add people to the bone marrow registry in the attempt to help a local teen with leukemia.  I'll probably go down and sign up and do the cheek swab.  The fact sheet said 75% of the time the type of donation needed is done like a blood donation.  I'm totally up for that.  The whole going under anesthesia and tapping my spine makes me way more nervous, so I'll need to ask some questions about what I'm signing up for.

[Lizard Queen]

Nov 27, 2018 9:12:55 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I've got no problem with being an organ donor after I die and my driver's license indicates that.  I've also been donating platelets, plasma and whole blood (they usually take 2 out of the 3 at each visit) monthly and am looking forward to being able to start up again next year; right now I'm still deferred after my visit to India in March.  Blood products are "renewable", though.  I'd be a little more reluctant to donate a kidney while still alive although I'd do it for a relative.  That's a remarkable gift to donate to a stranger.

  I wouldn't do it for a stranger.  There was a husband/wife couple who did it in my town some years ago.  The donor ended up dying after complications (I think it was the wife).  Plus, there have been enough kidney issues with my parents that I feel I should hold onto a spare.

[chapeau]

I’m in the bone marrow registry after a friend needed a bone marrow transplant several years ago. I wasn’t a match for her, but it was the principal of the thing. She ended up doing a self donation, I think, at least the first time. Pretty sure she had to have 2 transplants, but it’s been 10 years now, so I don’t remember the details.
One of the reasons my DH does not have my medical POA is because he would not donate my organs as I have requested. Even though it’s on my DL, as next of kin he still has to sign off on it. (Or he did several years ago when I did my paperwork. The rules may have changed since then.) He would also keep me alive hooked up to a billion machines, which is another reason he doesn’t get to make those choices for me.

[Deleted]

Nov 28, 2018 9:22:22 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I wouldn't do it for a stranger. There was a husband/wife couple who did it in my town some years ago. The donor ended up dying after complications (I think it was the wife). Plus, there have been enough kidney issues with my parents that I feel I should hold onto a spare.

Wow- that's scary. I know a husband/wife couple for which it worked, and also a woman who successfully donated to her sister.

I have TWO spares- when I was 11 they found that I had 3 kidneys. Not sure of how they're configured. In our own way, we're all mutations!

When DH had acute myeloid leukemia and I saw from the FB group how important bone marrow transplants were, I wanted to get on the bone marrow registry- but I'm over their age limit.

[Lizard Queen]

Yeah, a lady that I worked with was acquainted with them. The story made the front page of the newspaper a couple times as the donor struggled and then died, but I doubt I could find it on the news website now.