A Kidney For Bethanne

WHY DOES BETHANNE NEED YOUR HELP?

In 1998, Bethanne was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD).

This is a genetic condition that also affects several members of Bethanne's family which precludes them from being donors.

This year, Bethanne’s Mom, Gerrie, passed away as a result of this kidney disease. This was after years of undergoing dialysis to help stop the progression.

Normally, the kidneys filter out excess toxic and waste substances and fluid from the blood. In people with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), the kidneys become enlarged with cysts that impair normal kidney function. This can sometimes lead to kidney failure and the need for dialysis or kidney transplantation.

On average, people with PKD have kidney failure by the age of 60.

Now, at 56, Bethanne is waiting on the kidney transplant list at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Unfortunately, Bethanne's immediate family do not qualify as donors.

Please help us find a living donor who will help save Bethanne from this kidney disease. Her family needs her!

Bethanne and her mother, Gerrie

Meet Bethanne and Her Family

Bethanne grew up in Norwell MA, with her mom and dad and brothers Peter, David, and sister Karen. They were a house full of laughter, sports, music, and fun.

Bethanne graduated from Norwell High School in 1984, and from there went on to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall of that same year.

At Umass, Bethanne met her husband, John Hennessey (Braintree), and in 1992 they were married in Plymouth MA.

Today, 30 years later, John and Bethanne remain as close as ever and are each other’s best friends.

In 1997, they welcomed their first baby, Jack, an amazing boy who today, at 25 years old, is a successful engineer. Jack recently got engaged to Emily, also of Plymouth!

In May of 2000, John and Bethanne welcomed their second son, Andrew, who is an incredible person with many talents. He is a recent graduate of UMASS Amherst as well and is pursuing a career in mathematics. He is sure to excel at anything he chooses. Andrew is often back at Umass, visiting his girlfriend, Natalie.

They are a huge UMASS Family with all 6 of them graduating from the University. Go UMASS!

Bethanne's family is extremely close, and she counts herself very lucky to have both her boys and their significant others vacation with her and John.

Bethanne's family has shared some unforgettable vacations: yearly trips to Ogunquit Maine, along with trips over the years to Cape Cod, North Conway NH, NYC, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Florida.

Today, John and Bethanne are empty nesters and are looking forward to the next phase of their life-long journey together.

Please take the Beth Israel initial screening test if you are interested in being a potential kidney donor for Bethanne. There is no obligation, and the screening survey is 100% confidential.

Also, please share this website with all your friends and family and contacts.

With your help, we will surely find Bethanne the kidney she needs to live a healthy and happy life for many years ahead.

Become a Donor

By clicking the button below, you will start the process by taking an initial screening survey that is administered by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

Be sure to enter Bethanne Hennessey as the intended recipient.

Your participation in this survey is 100% confidential

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN THE SCREENING PROCESS TO DONATE A KIDNEY FOR BETHANNE

How Can Bethanne Get a New Kidney?

Living Donation

A living donor kidney transplant is a transplant in which a healthy kidney is given to a recipient by another living person.

These living kidney donors can be blood relatives, non-blood relatives, friends, or altruistic donors.

While many living kidney donor surgeries involve an individual donor giving to an individual recipient, kidney "swaps" and "chains" are also common.

Do I Need to Have the Same Blood Type as Bethanne?

Kidney Paired Exchanges involve more than one donor and recipient and can be good options when a living kidney donor is medically capable of donation but is not a suitable match for the intended recipient.

There are internal paired exchange programs within transplant centers and national paired exchange programs that allow an incompatible pair to match up with another incompatible pair; allowing the two donors to switch recipients.

Why living Kidney Donation?

Studies show that the quality of a kidney from a living donor, related or unrelated, tends to be superior to that of a kidney from a deceased donor.
There is no waiting time, whereas waiting for a deceased donor match can often take many months or several years.
The transplant can be performed at a time that is ideal for both the donor and the recipient.

Who Can Be a Living Donor?

There are many different types of living donors. A living donor can be a brother or sister, a spouse, other family member or relative, friend, co-worker and even a Good Samaritan (a compassionate stranger).

Ideally, a living donor will be a healthy person over age 18, that is in good overall physical, emotional and mental health and free from uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), hepatitis, and organ diseases.

Beth Israel's Transplant Institute now has the ability to perform transplants safely even if the blood types are not compatible using special treatments and medications.

And there is no upper age limit to being a living donor at Beth Israel. Many people assume that they are too old, but they have considered some potential donors over age 70.

Since some donor health conditions can prevent the donation and transplant from being successful, it is important that you share all information about your physical and mental health. You must be fully informed of the risks involved and complete a full medical and psychosocial evaluation.

Your decision to serve as a donor should be completely voluntary and free of pressure or guilt.

How Do I Donate a Kidney to Bethanne?

1. Decide to Donate

2. Take the Initial Screening Survey

It takes a remarkably generous person to consider becoming a donor.

Your decision to serve as a donor should be completely voluntary and free of pressure or guilt.

2. Take the Initial Screening Survey

If you are ready to see if you qualify to become a kidney donor, click on the button to be brought to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) initial screening survey.

This survey is handled by Beth Israel and is completely confidential. Bethanne will never know who may have applied.

Be sure to enter Bethanne Hennessey as the intended recipient.

2. Take the Initial Screening Survey

3. Undergo an Evaluation

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN THE SCREENING PROCESS TO DONATE A KIDNEY FOR BETHANNE

3. Undergo an Evaluation

5. Recovery and Follow-Up

3. Undergo an Evaluation

Living donors are carefully evaluated by a multidisciplinary team at the BIDMC Transplant Institute.

The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that potential donors are suitable from a medical, surgical and psychosocial standpoint.

The donor evaluation is a comprehensive assessment to determine if it is safe for a presumably healthy potential living donor to undergo elective major surgery which offers them no clinical benefit.

All donor decisions are made in their best interests, even if declining a donor results in the intended recipient not being able to benefit from living donor kidney transplant.

All charges for the donor evaluation are billed to the recipient’s insurance.

The outpatient evaluation process includes a number of different tests and consults, including:

Blood and urine tests (CBC, PT/PTT, comprehensive blood chemistry panel, cholesterol, serologies (hepatitis, HIV, etc), blood type, cross match, additional tests as required)
A 24 hour urine collection to evaluate kidney function
Consult with the nephrologist (kidney doctor)
Meeting with the transplant nurse coordinator
Consult with the living donor social worker
A chest X-ray to evaluate the lungs
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to evaluate the heart
Spiral Computed Tomography (CT) scan to determine any abnormalities in the kidneys or the blood vessels that lead to them
A possible glucose tolerance test if you are overweight or have a family history of diabetes
Consult with the transplant surgeon
Meeting with the Independent Living Donor Advocate (ILDA)

All personal and health information concerning the donor is kept in strict confidence and will not be given to the potential recipient or any third parties.

4. Have the Surgery

5. Recovery and Follow-Up

Surgery to remove a kidney is a major operation but new minimally invasive techniques and therapies have made the experience much easier to tolerate.

Surgeons typically remove the kidney using smaller incisions and instruments, in a procedure that is called a laparoscopic nephrectomy.

Performed under general anesthesia, this minimally invasive approach offers many benefits compared to traditional open surgery. With smaller incisions, patients experience less pain, recover more quickly, return sooner to their normal activities, and have less visible scarring.

In a laparoscopic nephrectomy, the surgeon:

Inserts a little tube connected to a camera through a 1/2-inch incision in the middle of the abdomen
Makes two more 1/2-inch incisions — usually on the same side as the donor kidney — and passes through additional instruments to prepare to remove the kidney
Makes a 2 to 3-inch abdominal incision to actually remove the kidney

Once the surgeon removes the kidney, it is taken to a nearby operating room and transplanted into the recipient. The donor's remaining kidney begins to take over the functioning of what was previously done by both kidneys.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center transplant surgeons are particularly skilled in laparoscopic technique. They perform laparoscopic nephrectomies in one of the medical center's advanced Endo suites for minimally invasive surgery.

Rarely, the laparoscopic removal of the kidney must be converted to an "open" procedure where the surgeon has to make a larger midline incision to remove the kidney. This may be due to bleeding, difficult anatomy or safety concerns.

On other occasions the surgeon may decide before surgery that a laparoscopic approach is not possible, usually because of unusual donor anatomy, and the surgeon must do an "open" nephrectomy through a "flank" incision.

5. Recovery and Follow-Up

The average inpatient hospital stay for the donor is 2-3 days.
You will recover on Farr 10, the inpatient Transplant Unit. The nurses and staff there will encourage you to get out of bed to walk and move around as much as possible.
You will experience pain at your incision site; the degree of discomfort varies from one person to the next and is managed with medications.
During your hospital stay (and at your follow up visits) you will have blood and urine tests to monitor your remaining kidney’s function.
Every person recovers from surgery at a different pace but typically recovery can take from 4-6 weeks.
You may not lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for the first 6 weeks after your surgery.
You should not drive until you have stopped your narcotic pain medication. For many donors this is usually about two weeks after surgery.
You may find that you tire easily for the first few weeks.
Avoid abdominal exercises for the first 6 weeks and until cleared by your surgeon.
Female patients should avoid pregnancy for the first year after donation.
You will have regular follow up appointments at the following intervals after donation:
- 1 week
- 6 weeks
- 6 months
- 1 year
- 2 years

Three Ways You Can Help Bethanne

1. BECOME BETHANNE'S DONOR

It takes a remarkably generous person to consider becoming a donor.

If you are ready to start the process by taking a confidential survey administered by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), then please click the button below

Be sure to enter Bethanne Hennessey as the intended recipient.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN THE SCREENING PROCESS TO DONATE A KIDNEY FOR BETHANNE

2. SHARE BETHANNE'S MESSAGE

Sharing Bethanne's story will help bring awareness, and greatly improve her chances of finding a living donor.

Please share a link to this website with all of your friends and family and other contacts through all of your social media platforms.

3. PRAY FOR BETHANNE AND HER FAMILY

We believe in the power of prayer and humbly ask that you pray for Bethanne's good health and continued well-being and pray that we are successful in finding her a kidney to prolong her life for many years to come.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!