The gift of a kidney from one sibling to another
The Almanac | Terri Johnson
Photo: Sisters Geri Whalen, Jennifer LaBella, Dana Christner, Sondra Hathaway, with their mom, Susan Rump. Sisters Geri Whalen, Jennifer LaBella, Dana Christner, Sondra Hathaway, with their mom, Susan Rump.
Growing up, the four Lewis sisters were always close, but it wasn’t until the youngest, Geri Whalen, now 33, of Venetia, developed kidney disease, did the four woman form a bond so tight that included one sister, Dana Christner, seven years older than Whalen,
Growing up, the four Lewis sisters were always close, but it wasn’t until the youngest, Geri Whalen, now 33, of Venetia, developed kidney disease, did the four woman form a bond so tight that included one sister, Dana Christner, seven years older than Whalen,
donating one of her kidneys to Whalen.
Whalen has battled diabetes since she was 9 years old, and following the birth of her third child in 2007, she developed kidney disease.
“When her kidneys began to fail, I told her, whenever you’re ready, let me know. I believe God gave us two kidneys and we only need one and the other is to share with somebody,†Christner said.
Oldest sister Sondra Hathaway, 41, of McMurray, said she was unable to donate a kidney and called Christner’s match a “Christmas miracle.â€
“We just found out a few days before Christmas that Dana was a match,†Hathaway said.
Christner, of Salisbury, N. Ca., arrived in Pittsburgh two days before the scheduled transplant surgery Jan. 16. The dual surgery was scheduled at UPMC-Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. Whalen needs a pancreas as well as a kidney, but as a living donor, Christner is only able to donate one of her kidneys. Once Whalen heals from the kidney transplant, she will be placed on the active wait list for a pancreas. The kidney disease is destroying her organs, but she was not on dialysis before the transplant.
Whalen has battled diabetes since she was 9 years old, and following the birth of her third child in 2007, she developed kidney disease.
“When her kidneys began to fail, I told her, whenever you’re ready, let me know. I believe God gave us two kidneys and we only need one and the other is to share with somebody,†Christner said.
Oldest sister Sondra Hathaway, 41, of McMurray, said she was unable to donate a kidney and called Christner’s match a “Christmas miracle.â€
“We just found out a few days before Christmas that Dana was a match,†Hathaway said.
Christner, of Salisbury, N. Ca., arrived in Pittsburgh two days before the scheduled transplant surgery Jan. 16. The dual surgery was scheduled at UPMC-Presbyterian in Pittsburgh. Whalen needs a pancreas as well as a kidney, but as a living donor, Christner is only able to donate one of her kidneys. Once Whalen heals from the kidney transplant, she will be placed on the active wait list for a pancreas. The kidney disease is destroying her organs, but she was not on dialysis before the transplant.
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