Clarkston local donates kidney to help neighbor

By Steve Heuer
Contributor to the Clarkston News
We all have great capacity for charity and compassion, to be a hero. Children possess these at their fingertips, helping and hugging at a moment’s notice. But, over time, we have been trained against this innate goodness, easier to see others as “the other.” It takes introspection and work to reclaim the better parts of our nature. And it takes courage and a strength of will to act on it.
There is nothing like seeing your child in pain or peril to strike at one’s very core, the drive to help, to rescue, to protect.
When my wife and I learned 15 years ago that our two boys had a genetic condition called Alport, that would inevitably lead to their kidneys failing and the need for dialysis and a kidney transplant, we felt helpless. We did our best to keep both kids healthy, but there is no outrunning your genetic code.
Last summer, my first-born, Zain, lost most of his kidney function. He has been on hemodialysis ever since. Neither my wife or myself are acceptable matches to donate a kidney. A few friends and family members took the brave path to see if they could donate one of their kidneys to Zain. One by one they were all disqualified. Then came Evan Schuetz.
Evan and his wife Christina suffered an enormous loss in the protracted health-crisis and death of their infant, Sylvia, who was born with a heart defect. They know loss and the wrenching angst of such helplessness.
Nearly every one of us has two kidneys. We only really need just one to be healthy. But giving up a physical part of you is not easy. In some instances, when we know and have a personal connection to the person in need, we may be willing to donate. But it’s much harder to donate to a stranger. Evan was not a match to directly donate a kidney to Zain, they did not have the same blood type. Yet, as there are so many who need a kidney, it didn’t take long to find a perfect recipient for Evan’s kidney. And he gave.
By saving this stranger’s life, Evan also saves Zain. The National Kidney Registry operates a voucher program that incentivizes donation. If you donate in the name of someone (who you may not be a good match for) you elevate them to the top of the list for the next living-doner good match. As such, Zain moves from the years-long waiting list for a deceased-donor kidney to the top of the living-donor list. He will still have to wait, perhaps a few months until there is a donor who matches him ready to give. But we are talking months now, maybe less.
I will, forever, be profoundly grateful for Evan and his gift.
We all have great capacity for charity and compassion, to be a hero. It takes introspection and work to cultivate, and courage and a strength of will to act on it. Evan Schuetz and his wife, Christina, are such individuals.