Why I gave a stranger a kidney

S P E C I A L REPORT

In the second in a two-part series on organ transplants, reporter Cathy Gulli talks to Trent Fenwick of Kelowna, B. C., who gave one of his kidneys to a Chicago father after reading about his plight on the Web. When

Trent Fenwick donated

one of his kidneys to a dying Chicago father he met online — the first international kidney transplant arranged through a commercial Web site — the biggest question people asked was “why?”

“If you’ve ever had a sick family member, you would do anything. And people say, ‘ How come for a stranger?’ I don’t have a family member in need. Everyone is reasonably fine,” said Mr. Fenwick, quipping that his arthritic mother has jokingly asked for his hands.

“Your heart’s desire is to give, so give in whatever way you are at peace about,” said the 37-year-old from his home in Kelowna, B. C., where he is recovering from the July 22 surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

His decision to give a kidney to Bill Lundborg came this spring, after reading an article online about a dying Montreal man who had found a kidney donor through matchingdonors.com, a Web site which hosts listings written by people in need of organs.

Mr. Fenwick registered as a donor and began to scroll through the personal profiles of potential recipients when one caught his eye. “ I am 46 years old ... My son is two years old and my daughter is three months old. My children and my wife are my life ... all I want is to be there as they grow up ... to have the quality of life they deserve,” wrote Mr. Lundborg, who faced dialysis to treat polycystic kidney disease. He inherited the disease from his father, who died at 43.

“It really struck me because he’s a family man. He just touched something deep inside of me,” said Mr. Fenwick, who has two step- sons.

After dozens of conversations with his family, his doctor, the provincial transplant society and kidney foundation, and several people who underwent similar surgery, Mr. Fenwick sent an anonymous e-mail to Mr. Lundborg through the Web site.