There are over 100,000 people in the US in need of a kidney transplant*. Unfortunately, only about 17% receive a transplant annually. This is a story about two King County employees who decided to share one of theirs, and as a result, helping to dramatically change the lives of people in need of a working kidney.

When Lynda Kamrath, IT Manager for the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), found out that her partner, Gary, was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney disease, she decided she would get tested to be a donor as a way to “pay it forward” for another person who might need a transplant. They were shocked to find out that their kidneys were a match.

“We don’t even have the same blood type,” Lynda said. “They put your blood samples into a petri dish to see if they played well together.”

Benevolent donation

Tim Meyer, Captain of the Shoreline Police Department (a KCSO contracted city), decided to become an organ donor about 10 years ago. After reading about Dr. Alvin Roth, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics based on his work in matching theory and its practical application — which led to improvements in the design of a program to match kidney donors with compatible kidney recipients — Tim committed to making himself available as a kidney donor.

“After reading Lynda’s donation story in the Sheriff’s Newsletter last year, I was motivated even more,” Tim said. “Donating is just something within my values. At the end of the day, I can say I did something that truly helped with someone’s life.”

A few weeks ago, Tim’s opportunity came up to donate a kidney to a recipient who had a donor that did not match. How the program works is that the person who was willing to donate that didn’t match will now commit to donating to someone at a later time that does match. Tim’s donation ‘unlocked a chain’ that completed three kidney transplants, with all recipients doing well.

“This is the result of Dr. Roth’s advanced work in paired donations,” Tim said. “I’m glad to have been part of this process and a three-person donation chain.”

Swipe right?

The ability to donate to a recipient is based on several factors, including blood type, tissue typing, and crossmatching. Common genetics does not necessarily guarantee or prevent a match. (For more information go to organdonor.gov.)

However, being a physical match is not the only requirement. Both Lynda and Tim were also evaluated by psychologists, social workers, and doctors. It’s important that donors are doing this for the right reason, and that they will be able to manage this emotionally.

“I liken it to a dating app,” Lynda said. “They’re trying to match you with someone who is going to stay with you for the long term.”

Support from King County

Tim and Lynda both stated how fortunate they feel to live in this region and to work for King County. The University of Washington and Swedish hospital are renowned for their work in this field, with patients coming from far and wide for their services.

“I had a lot of support from the County and the Sheriff’s Office,” Lynda added. King County offers an Organ Donor Leave program in addition to the family and medical leave programs. “That was another reason why it was easy to make this decision,” she continued, “I didn’t have to stress about it.”

“This just gives a glimpse of the kind of programs and people we have here at King County,” Tim added. “This is one of the most important things I will do in my life.”

*National Kidney Foundation