Nebraska Medicine Completes One of the Largest Internal Living-Donor Kidney Transplant Chains in the United States

Nine Donors and Nine Recipients Meet Face-to-Face for the First Time

Fourteen weeks after being part of the largest internal living-donor kidney transplant chain in Nebraska history, 18 people from different cities, states and backgrounds met face-to-face for the first time. The week of Feb. 27, nine patients received kidneys at Nebraska Medicine from nine living donors. Previously, the largest internal living-donor kidney transplant chain at Nebraska Medicine was a three-way exchange in July 2016.

This 18-person chain marks one of the largest single center kidney transplant chains involving a pediatric recipient in the United States. It’s also one of the largest single center kidney transplant chains performed in the U.S. in which none of the recipients were on hemodialysis (where a machine filters the patient’s blood outside their body). A 52-year-old Omaha woman, who wanted to donate her kidney in memory of a friend, started the chain.

“Without her, this never would have happened,” explains Arika Hoffman, MD, transplant surgeon at Nebraska Medicine. “One selfless act of an anonymous donor impacted the lives of 18 people.”

 

 

Sue Venteicher, a wife, mother and grandmother, worked as a phlebotomist at Nebraska Medicine in 1988, before making the switch to Children’s Hospital & Medical Center.

“We can always do something for somebody else. It’s not the things you have – it’s the things you do for other people. Donating my kidney has been a wonderful experience,” says Venteicher. “When I worked at Nebraska Medicine, I always thought, ‘I could give my kidney to somebody.’ But at the time, I was busy having babies, so the idea went on the back burner.”

After raising her seven children, the opportunity to donate a kidney presented itself. Michael Peters was a former patient that Venteicher cared for at Children’s. He received a heart transplant as an infant and now needed a kidney transplant. Venteicher was tested – but unfortunately, wasn’t a good match. Peters received a kidney from a different donor in the summer of 2016. Shortly after, the transplant failed and his health problems worsened. Peters died in January at the age of 20. One month later, Venteicher donated her kidney to an anonymous recipient at Nebraska Medicine in honor of Peters.

Once the transplant team knew Venteicher was willing to start a kidney transplant chain, the planning process began in October 2016 and took about five months. Patient names were matched and rearranged several times on a large board in the transplant offices. The transplant team referred to this board as the Board of Hope – as it gave people a chance to receive living-donor transplants that otherwise would not.

A kidney chain is an approach to living-donor transplantation in which an anonymous donor comes forward to donate a kidney to someone they do not know, starting a chain of events where patients with incompatible donors swap kidneys for a compatible one. Kidney transplants from living donors last much longer and tend to do better postoperatively. If individuals are open to doing a chain, the transplant team actively looks for exchanges.

“We have an obligation to get as many people transplanted as possible – especially with the scarce resource of deceased kidney donors. Exchanges and chains are the way to do that,” explains Dr. Hoffman. “The most exciting part about this chain was that it included recipients who were very difficult to match.”

“Many hours were spent at the Board of Hope, plotting, planning and finding potential matches,” says Vicki Hunter, Kidney/Pancreas Transplant manager at Nebraska Medicine. “We had to make sure everyone was healthy enough to participate. If a single person dropped out, the entire chain would fall apart.”

The morning of Feb. 27, Venteicher walked into Nebraska Medicine to start the chain. Two transplants were performed each day on Feb. 27 and 28, March 1 and 2, with the final transplant happening on March 3. Transplant surgeon Alexander Maskin, MD, performed the donor surgeries (known as a donor nephrectomy) and Dr. Hoffman transplanted them into the recipients. The chain included five patients who had not yet started dialysis, four who had a difficult time finding a match, and one person who was transplanted off the waitlist. None of the recipients knew who gave them a kidney – until now.   

On June 8, the 18 people involved in the chain finally met at Nebraska Medicine.

“This is our labor of love,” says Hunter. “It wouldn’t be possible without the living donors putting complete trust in the transplant team and saying ‘yes’ to the option of a chain. The donors didn’t know who they would ultimately give a kidney to, but they knew the end result was their intended recipient being transplanted.”

Nebraska Medicine is home to one of the most reputable and well-known organ transplant programs in the country. Since 1970, the organization has performed more than 1,000 living-donor kidney transplants. Nebraska Medicine transplants more patients on peritoneal dialysis (where the lining of the abdomen filters blood inside the body) than any other program in the world. It also performs more deceased donor kidney transplants on individuals who are nearing – but not yet started on dialysis – than any other program in the country.

Each year, the number of patients needing kidney transplantation increases while the number of deceased donors has remained about the same. If you’d like more information about becoming a living kidney donor, visit www.nebraskamed.com/kidneydonor.  

Donor Information

Sue Venteicher – Omaha, Nebraska – DONOR

Wife, mother of seven, grandmother, works as a phlebotomist, donated in memory of a friend.

 

David Hansen – Lincoln, Nebraska – DONOR

Husband, father, professor of psychology at University of Nebraska–Lincoln, exchange donor to help his friend and co-worker.

 

Nikki Quakenbush – Omaha, Nebraska – DONOR

Wife, mother, works full time at a local business, loves traveling, attending concerts and watching scary movies, exchange donor to help her sister-in-law.

 

Jennifer Baer – Scottsbluff, Nebraska – DONOR

Mother, works full time as a nurse practitioner, enjoys going to water parks with her kids, riding bikes and gardening, exchange donor to help her aunt.

 

Ben Little – Omaha, Nebraska – DONOR

Husband, father, works full time at a local business, exchange donor to help his sister-in-law.

 

Jonathon Sands – Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DONOR

Aircrew Avionics Second Class in the U.S. Navy, exchange donor to help his mother.

 

Derek Beisner – Waverly, Nebraska – DONOR

Engaged to be married, works as a respiratory therapist, exchange donor to help his mother.

 

Kelly Mogler – Elkhorn, Nebraska – DONOR

Mother, grandmother, works full time at PayPal, exchange donor to help a neighbor and friend.

 

Tyler Sturgeon – Cozad, Nebraska – DONOR

Husband, father, 2013 graduate from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, works full time as a pharmacist, exchange donor to help a family friend.

 

Recipient Information

 

Dennis Molfese – Bennet, Nebraska – RECIPIENT

Husband, father, grandfather, neuropsychologist at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Enjoys camping and hiking in the mountains. His intended donor was David Hansen, who is a friend.

 

Krystle Miller – Council Bluffs, Iowa – RECIPIENT

Wife, dental assistant, loves being outdoors. Her intended donor was Nikki Quakenbush, who is her sister-in-law.

 

Peggy Gade – Lewellen, Nebraska – RECIPIENT

Wife, mother, grandmother. Sells crop insurance and loves to fish. Her intended donor was her niece, Jennifer Baer.

 

Amy Dorton – Omaha, Nebraska – RECIPIENT

Medical social worker at Nebraska Medicine, proud aunt and cofounder of 100 Women Who Care Omaha. Her intended donor was her brother-in-law, Ben Little.

 

Deborah Sands – Red Oak, Iowa – RECIPIENT

Mother to five grown children, grandmother. Works at NGL Energy Partners in Omaha. Loves to travel. Her intended donor was her son, Jonathon Sands.

 

Donna Beisner – Waverly, Nebraska – RECIPIENT

Wife, mother, grandmother, works as a nurse. Enjoys watching her grandkids, gardening and playing with her dogs. Her intended donor was her son, Derek Beisner.

 

Mark Kitzelman – Elkhorn, Nebraska – RECIPIENT

Husband, father, grandfather, sales manager for Woodhouse Nissan. His intended donor was his friend and neighbor, Kelly Mogler.

 

Ricky Love – Cozad, Nebraska – RECIPIENT

Husband, father, grandfather. Works as a transition specialist for Educational Service Unit 10 in Kearney, where he helps transition resource students into adult life. His intended donor was family friend, Tyler Sturgeon. He was compatible with his intended recipient but wanted to proceed with a chain as his blood type was the universal donor and he wanted to help more people through an exchange or chain.

 

Andy Aranda – Omaha, Nebraska – 5 years old – RECIPIENT

Loves horses, superheroes, riding bikes and playing with his three sisters and two brothers. Andy didn’t have any living donor options and was able to receive a living kidney through the selfless acts of the previous nine living-donors. This all started with the action of one anonymous donor, Sue Venteicher.