Late last year, Johnny Carter needed a kidney, but he bristled at the thought of his daughter giving him one of hers.
One of Carter’s dialysis nurses changed his outlook.
“I really hated the idea of taking a kidney from someone, especially from my daughter,” said Carter of Jackson, Ga. “But then, one day, my dialysis nurse told me, ‘You’re not taking it, Mr. Carter. You’re receiving it.’ … Now, I like to think the Lord had a plan all along in bringing us together.”
Alison Carter, who lives about a mile away from her parents, was insistent all along. But would she be a match?
Carter and his wife, Elizabeth, adopted Alison when she was 3 weeks old. And although the family knew Carter and Alison, now 27, shared the same “O” blood type, they had no idea whether she would be a good match for an organ donation.
Sharing the same blood type is just the first step in a series of tests required to determine compatibility. Other tests include analyzing blood and tissue samples to make sure the recipient will not reject the donor’s kidney.
In November, Carter, who had no history of kidney problems, suddenly developed Goodpasture syndrome — a rare disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue such as the kidneys. The disease sent him into kidney failure almost overnight. It is estimated that the syndrome strikes only about one in every 1 million people.
“I had the same reservations as Johnny initially, and we didn’t want to put Alison in harm’s way,” Elizabeth Carter said.“But she’s always been an exceptional, giving child, and it didn’t surprise us that she wanted to be the donor. And she always managed to stay one step ahead of everyone else considering the process, so we finally gave it over to her.”
In early May, Alison learned she was indeed a good match. Just a few weeks later, on May 31, the two underwent surgery at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. The next morning, around 3:30 a.m., her father walked into Alison’s hospital room to make sure she was doing OK.
“If I could do it 10 times again for him, I would,” Alison said. “Donating a kidney changes so much more than one life — it changes a whole family and sometimes an entire community.”
Alison and her father have always been close. Growing up, she and her father, who has a Cessna plane, often traveled together to the mountains, the beach, Disney World. She said it was hard to watch her dad’s health decline.
Kidneys are the most common organs donated by living donors. Of the kidneys transplanted at Piedmont Atlanta, about half come from living donors such as Alison. Currently, there are nearly 3,500 people in the state of Georgia waiting for a kidney.
Piedmont doctors said the surgery was successful. In a recent interview, father and daughter said they feel good.
They are also looking forward to another major life event. Alison is getting married in August.
Johnny Carter said he feels more energetic and he can’t wait to walk his little girl down the aisle.
“Whatever Alison wants, Alison gets. There are no limits to her wedding,” Carter said, laughing. “When Alison is walking down that aisle, I’ll be thinking about the gift she’s given me, and I know everyone else in the church will be, too.”
Learn more
Get information, links and resources about organ donations and transplants from OrganDonor.gov, a web site from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
About the Author
