Living Kidney Donor Gives Extraordinary Gift of Life

Some might say theirs was a match made in heaven.

That's what kidney transplant recipient David Seldner believes, as does his living kidney donor, Ellen Murphy. David, 58, received Ellen's "extraordinary gift of life" at The University of Kansas Health System's Center for Transplantation.

Ellen, 42, had been the Seldners' personal trainer for several years. She knew David's wife, Jeanne, was not a match for David and that he had no other living relatives. She eagerly volunteered with the blessing of her husband and sons. Ellen then called the Seldners and said, "I want you to pray I'm a match."

From that moment, until the day of her testing, Ellen prayed. "Before the blood test, I told the technician, 'Don't draw blood until you pray I'm a match,'" she says.

David was one of 20 transplant patients to receive a living donor organ that year through the Center for Transplantation. Transplant surgeons, who perform more than 100 kidney transplants each year, want to increase the number of living kidney donors.

"We would like to see 50% of our kidney transplants coming from living donors," says Sean Kumer, MD, PhD, transplant surgeon. "Living donors increase the availability of the donor pool, meaning more deceased donor kidneys are available to others."

Among other benefits, living donor kidneys last 3-5 years longer than those from deceased donors. The surgery can be performed sooner than the average 2- to 3-year wait for a deceased donor kidney.

David and Ellen credited the hospital and their surgeons, Timothy Schmitt, MD, and Dr. Kumer, for their “positive life-affirming experience” with living donation and delivering “stellar care."

“The quality of care at The University of Kansas Hospital is superior,” said David, who also had quintuple bypass surgery at the hospital’s Center for Advanced Heart Care. “When a collaborative environment is so innate – the rule, not the exception – patients benefit.”

David and Ellen are passionate about sharing their story with others who may be considering living kidney donation.

“We are remarkably fortunate,” David said of the quality of life he and Jeanne now experience. “This is an extraordinary gift that keeps on giving. We want to help more people understand there is something they can do by becoming a living donor.”

Patient testimonial: As with all treatments, individual patient results vary. It is important to discuss your treatment options with your healthcare provider.