SOME people living with kidney disease are forced to wait five or six years before a compatible organ is found but, luckily for Mark Manwar, his sister’s was a perfect match.
Patti Bartlett, of Manyana, couldn’t sit by and watch her younger brother’s life slip away, particularly after she had already lost two brothers tragically in their teens.
For more than four years Mark, a 45-year-old mechanic from Telopea in Sydney, had been ill – suffering severe headaches as a result of high blood pressure.
But, Patti said, he kept working hard and taking pain killers to manage the headaches.
“It was the pain killers that gradually destroyed his kidneys,” she said.
“He’s married with two kids, ran his own business and was too busy to ever get proper treatment - by the time he did, it was too late.”
Patti said her brother’s busy, stressful lifestyle soon landed him in the dialysis chair and on the waiting list for a donor kidney.
“He was receiving treatment three days a week for five hours a day.
“It was taking its toll on Mark and his family, he was depressed and you could see how destructive it was.
“I couldn’t just sit back and see him live like that,” she said.
With patients forced to wait up to six years for a donor kidney – usually from a deceased person – Patti and her sister Lyn decided to take a test to see if they were compatible.
“Lyn received a two out of six result and I was a six out of six – a perfect match,” she said.
“At first I was shocked and the thought of being opened up scared me and worried my family, but it was something that I decided I had to do.”
Patti and her husband Geoff and their three sons have always lived a healthy, active lifestyle on the beach at Manyana.
At the age of 55, Patti runs and works out regularly and looks after her body.
As a result, a series of gruelling and often invasive tests and scans deemed her fit and in perfect health – the ideal organ donor.
“I didn’t think about it too much really,” she said.
“We’d already lost two brothers and I didn’t want to lose another.”
Patti and her brother are close – the whole family is – but she said they’re not the mushy, emotional types.
“I knew it would be hard for Mark to accept, so we just got on with it”
The transplant took place at Westmead Hospital on August 26.
Patti’s side of the operation went well, she was out in two days, but Mark struggled through the first few days.
“For the first 48 hours the doctors were concerned the kidney might not survive.
“Mark was asking for me, so I went to see him the day after the transplant and I could see how thankful he was.
“After another operation, the kidney started working and he’s now home and on the road to recovery.”
Patti said her brother has been given a second chance and he is receiving daily immuno-suppressant treatment to ensure her kidney is not rejected by his body.
She said the whole process was amazing and overwhelming.
“It was a real learning experience.
“There’s not a lot of information out there about becoming an organ donor, the processes involved and the recovery.
“Anyone wanting to donate an organ probably won’t be able to find out much about how to go about it.”
Following her journey, Patti has written a book aimed at informing potential donors about the process.
“It’s not an easy process emotionally or financially,” she said.
“There’s a lot of cost involved and time required off work.
“It would be hard for a partner to donate an organ because that would mean both missing time oFf work.”
She said it was important for people to consider donating an organ because only about one per cent of people die in a way that their organs can be used.
“It’s a very personal decision, but one that can save a life.”
While Patti has not felt the effect of losing a kidney, she is concentrating on eating healthy, drinking water and keeping fit.
She said a healthy lifestyle is what allowed her to save her brother’s life and his high stress, busy lifestyle is what caused his illness.
Patti said she hopes her story will encourage others to think about donating and also remind people of the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
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