An Ohio sheriff’s kidney donation sparked a life-saving chain, leading to five successful transplants.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Five people received new kidneys this month thanks to a donation chain that began with an Ohio sheriff.
Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman and Joy Wagner were strangers before Wagner received Timmerman’s kidney.
“It’s the biggest gift I’ve ever gotten. And the best gift I’ve ever gotten,” Wagner said.
Wagner said she was placed on the transplant list this summer. Her husband was willing to donate but wasn’t a match.
“Basically, for me it was just normal bloodwork through my regular doctor. We started seeing my kidney function go down probably in the last 15 years. We just steadily watched it go down,” Wagner said.
Timmerman said he started researching kidney donation when his father became sick with kidney disease.
“So last December, I started looking into it as far as trying to do some testing,” Timmerman said.
Timmerman wasn’t able to donate to his father, but still wanted to help someone.
“This time it was like, well, if this is what I can do, then hopefully it helps somebody else have a better life, so that didn’t make the decision that hard,” he said.
Timmerman’s kidney went to Wagner. Wagner’s husband then donated a kidney to another recipient, whose loved one donated to someone else. The chain continued until five people received new organs.
“Which is a lot of work to, as you see, put the puzzle together, fit every step, fit every piece where it’s supposed to go, and the end was marvelous,” Dr. Amer Rajab, transplant surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), nearly 90,000 people across the country are waiting for a kidney transplant at any given time.
“The need is enormous. The organ procurement agency or transplant center, we are doing as much as we can with the deceased donors, we don’t have enough. The living donors really add to the number,” Dr. Rajab said.
Wagner and Timmerman first met when he was discharged after surgery.
“I think the first text I sent her was I always wanted it to go to a good person and obviously she’s that,” Timmerman said.
Less than two weeks later, they met again at the hospital.
“He said to me at the very beginning, ‘I don’t want to intrude on your life.’ I’m like ‘Dude, you’re family now, there’s no way around it,'” Wagner said.
Both Wagner and Timmerman said they are doing well, and their families plan to stay in touch.
