HELP! SAVE A LIFE!
Local Jewish father seeking a kidney
I am writing on behalf of a member of our local Jewish community, Mark Kauffman, a 49-year-old loving husband and father of two who is desperately seeking a kidney.
Incredibly, we have more than enough healthy kidney function with only one kidney. Dr. Stuart Greenstein, a Jewish transplant surgeon in New York, reflects: "Why did G-d give us two kidneys? Perhaps it is so you would have an extra one to donate and save a life." It is a sentiment that resonates with numerous kidney donors.
Over five years ago I gave a kidney to a fellow Jew I did not know prior. Among Jews there are in essence no strangers -we are all family, responsible for one another- and giving life in this miraculous manner remains one of the greatest experiences of my life. The procedure is nowadays performed laparoscopically, with donors typically spending two nights in the hospital followed by a few weeks thereafter of convalescence, a small price to pay for someone else to have a second lease on life.
I am now pleading on Mark's behalf to our local Jewish community, and beyond.
Mark is increasingly feeling the effects of his disease, including constant severe fatigue. Without getting a kidney it is only a matter of time before Mark will begin dialysis, itself a grueling and draining procedure throughout the week. A patient who receives a kidney transplant generally lives many years longer than one who remains on dialysis, and Mark specifically seeks a kidney from a living donor because it lasts longer than one from a deceased donor. Moreover, the wait for a deceased donor's kidney is often simply too long.
If you are blood type O or B, and in general good health, please consider being Mark's angel by calling Rosalie Otto, RN, transplant coordinator at St. Luke's Hospital, at 720-754-2166 to begin the testing process. There are no commitments; one is free to back out at any time.
Rabbi Avraham Mintz of Chabad Jewish Center of South Metro Denver is Mark's spiritual guide, and he can be reached at 303-946-8212. Rabbi Mintz, too, welcomes your calls about Mark and his plight.
A valuable book for prospective donors is The Kidney Donor's Journey: 100 Questions I Asked Before Donating My Kidney, by Rabbi Ari Sytner, available on Amazon.
Please keep Mark in your prayers, Mordechai Aharon ben Chana Tzivia, for a complete and speedy healing among the sick of our people Israel.
Thank you immensely for reading and caring.
Anonymous Jewish Donor
Denver
