By Talia Schmidt, other
Katie Edelstein says her life hasn’t changed much since she donated her kidney. It’s only gotten better.
At a national Hadassah board meeting in January of 2004, President June Walker informed the audience that a Hadassah member, Belle Simon of Port Chester, New York was quite ill and in dire need of a kidney. Right away, Katie Edelstein knew this was something she wanted to learn more about.
Edelstein 55, immediately approached Simon to say she was interested in helping. The two had worked together before, but that was the extent of their relationship. Edelstein, a former president of Hadassah’s Northwest region, remembers her friend was speechless, in awe that someone could make such a huge decision so fast.
“There are so few times in life when you really have the opportunity to impact someone’s life like this,” Edelstein said, adding that fear should not hold people back from doing the right thing.
“People can spend their whole lives asking, ‘What if?’ – and I decided I just didn’t want to do that,” she said. “It was a split- second decision, no laboring over it.” With this, Edelstein began the medical process of donating one of her kidneys.
Simon provided her with the appropriate contact information and, within days, Edelstein was in touch with the transplant coordinator at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York to begin the process. Her family was reluctant to let her go through with such a major procedure, but they understood how important it was to her. Edelstein doesn’t like to waste her time worrying. She kept repeating that if the doctors were even a bit worried that something would go wrong, they wouldn’t allow the procedure to take place. Edelstein said she wasn’t nervous in the least.
The first step was a series of eight or nine tests, including a compatibility test between the two women, and a meeting with a social worker to ensure she was of sound mind and ready to donate an organ. With all systems go, surgery was scheduled for May 11. Edelstein flew to New York from her home in Bellingham for a trip combining a Hadassah meeting and her surgery.
Edelstein awoke in the recovery room after a successful surgery to lots of activity. She was told the doctor had walked across the hall and transplanted the kidney into Simon, but Edelstein had to see for herself. She heard the doctors exclaiming, “It’s working, it’s working!” referring to the new kidney. To which Edelstein retorted, “Of course it’s working, it’s a Hadassah kidney!”
Edelstein recovered at her mother-in-law’s house in New York where she said she was thoroughly taken care of. She recalls the kindness and support Hadassah members gave her. They were also, indeed, rather shocked at Edelstein’s nonchalance but gave her credit for doing such a mitzvah.
Simon, 66, is still on medication, and will likely remain on some for life. But her condition has improved immensely. She no longer needs dialysis three times a week, which Edelstein considers the best part of the donation.
“I can’t imagine being tied to a machine, unable to go anywhere, on dialysis constantly,” said Edelstein of her friend. “Knowing she doesn’t have to do this anymore makes me feel really good. I feel like I impacted someone’s life tremendously and watching her and her family’s happiness has been the best part for me.”
The two women now share a bond so strong they almost consider each other family. The two talk on the phone nearly every day. Edelstein said, “I feel like she’s a real sister now.”
A month after the surgery, Simon presented her “angel” with a necklace of a pinky ring with diamonds on the circle. A note was attached that read, “You have given me the gift of life and in return I now give you the circle of life.” Edelstein hasn’t taken it off since.
Edelstein, who is still very involved with Hadassah, said this was something she always wanted to do but was never quite sure how to go about it. She was involved with the Pikuah Nefesh program, to save a life, (dedicated to educating on the importance of living donors) even before she decided to become one.
“I had no idea I’d be directly involved with it a year later,” she laughed. “I signed up to be an organ donor on my driver’s license, but I didn’t think much else of it,” she recalled. “Most people don’t realize that they can donate while they’re still alive.”
Thousands die each year as a result of organ failure. Simon was on a 5-year waiting list to receive a healthy kidney at New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital and an 18-24 month list at a hospital in Florida. Very few people in Washington this year made living donations.
“People are just not aware that it is something you can do,” Edelstein said. “If I can donate an organ while I’m alive, you should at least consider doing it once you die.” That is the reason why she is trying to publicize her story as much as she can.
Edelstein is proud to report she hasn’t experienced any health limitations from this operation and is said she is not too worried about her remaining kidney. If something should go wrong her name immediately goes to the top of the waiting list. She will also be happy to prove a little fact someone told her: kidney donors live longer lives.
For Edelstein it was not about deciding whether or not she should give her kidney to Simon or anyone else; for her, the matter was simple.
“Hadassah is an organization of sisters, everyone is there for everyone else. When I found out she needed something, I decided to step forward and do something about it.”