LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) - Meredith McAllister always knew she would have to give up her kidney.
When she was 11, her twin brother Preston was diagnosed with an immune disorder that causes protein to build up in his kidneys. She assumed he would need a kidney one day, and she assumed that kidney would be hers.
Meredith was right - the 23-year-old from Charlottesville finally donated her kidney to her twin brother in a five-hour surgery April 2. Now, the twins are recovering, and they plan to go back to school and work soon.
Preston’s diagnosis with IgA nephropathy came as a shock to his family, said his mother, Katie McAllister. The Lexington family didn’t have a history of kidney issues on either side and there were no symptoms until Preston found a substantial amount of blood in his urine one morning.
IgA nephropathy occurs when an antibody called immunoglobulin A builds up in the kidney. This buildup gradually starts to slow down the kidney’s ability to filter toxins out of the blood and can eventually cause kidney failure.
Preston said he didn’t have many symptoms after he was first diagnosed. He visited a nephrologist twice a year and made sure to watch his blood pressure, which can cause further damage if it gets too high.
Researchers still don’t know the exact cause of the disease, and it’s unknown how many people have it. Some people can go years without having any severe symptoms, and many cases go undiagnosed.
“I always thought his would end up like that,” his mother said. “But his went haywire.”
In August, Preston went to the hospital with severe pain in his left kidney. Doctors found a large mass that was putting pressure on the organ, but it was unrelated to the disease. Through testing, however, they quickly saw how far the IgA nephropathy had progressed - he had entered into stage 4 renal failure.
Preston was put on a strict diet, which didn’t allow nuts, salt, dairy, spinach, melons, avocados, beans, chocolate or oranges. He said he could have fish, but not much beyond that.
Despite the news, Preston attended his first semester at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage in September. He is studying snow science and hopes to be an avalanche predictor after graduation.
But at school, Preston was constantly exhausted. He went from sleeping six hours a day to 16, and the diet was difficult. When he came home to Lexington for Christmas break in December, the doctors advised him not to return to Alaska. He would need to start dialysis and be put on the kidney transplant list.
Preston underwent numerous tests - heart tests, blood tests, chest X-rays and an echocardiogram - to make sure he was healthy enough to receive a donated kidney. Once he was on the list, doctors at the transplant center said it could take up to six years to get a kidney from a deceased donor.
But luckily for Preston, he had a flood of people who were willing to donate their kidney: his older brother Shep, his roommates from his first semester at Alaska Pacific University, friends from high school, extended family and even strangers.
Both Shep and Meredith were blood type matches and went through a series of preliminary tests before the doctors determined Meredith was a better match. She continued on with intense testing for 13 weeks before she received the final approval to donate.
“By the time we got to the end, I was so ready for it to be over and to hopefully donate,” she said. “I was really glad when all of the last testing came back normal. At that point, I was just really ready to do it.”
On April 2, surgeons at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville successfully transplanted Meredith’s kidney. Two days later, she was released from the hospital and on Sunday she went to see a movie.
“I’ll live a very normal life,” Meredith said. “I need to be careful that I don’t injure my other kidney, but unless I like decided to take up wrestling in my later life, it’s not something I would anticipate.”
Preston is at home in Lexington recovering. He is taking about a dozen different medications amounting to 40 to 50 pills per day. Over time the number of medications will decrease, but he will be on anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life.
On April 9, he was resting on the couch and wearing a T-shirt from his mom that reads, “I contain recycled parts.” She bought it when he went on the transplant list and knew he would be able to wear it one day.
“I think your skin looks better,” Katie told him in their living room that day. “I don’t know, you just look different.”
“I haven’t noticed that,” Preston said. “Do I have a youthful glow about me?”
“My kidney gave you a youthful glow,” Meredith said.
Katie laughed. “Well, you are one minute younger.”
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com
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