That was the saying of 54-year-old Paul Bannan, whose
generosity made possible Australia’s largest ever paired kidney exchange, which
involved six hospitals across two states.
Mr Bannan was originally going to donate his kidney to a
friend, but once that was not necessary, he decided to donate it to strangers
who needed it.
The humble maintenance fitter from regional Victoria said he
wanted to help others.
Usually a kidney
donation occurs between two people who know each other.
But in the case of a paired kidney exchange, patients with
willing donors who are incompatible swap donor kidneys.
Renal transplant surgeon Tim Furlong from the Royal
Melbourne Hospital said the surgery was standard but the number of operations
made it special.
Mr Bannan's decision to donate began in 2011 when his friend
Rob Cairns discovered his kidneys were failing.
But before Mr Bannan was ready to donate, Mr Cairns received
a kidney from a deceased donor.
Doctors told Mr Bannan he could walk away from the program
because his friend no longer needed help, but he decided he was going to stay on the program.
Before he was allowed to donate, Mr Bannan had to undergo a
complete lifestyle transformation.
He lost 15 kilograms, gave up his pack-a-day smoking habit
and started to exercise.
Professor Steve Holt, the director of nephrology at the
Royal Melbourne Hospital, said Mr Banan's donation was important.
"Paul is unique, he is a fantastic hero really,"
he said.
"With the paired kidney exchange we often facilitate
two transplants, or perhaps three transplants but seven is the biggest
transplant chain we've managed to date in Australia."
Source: abc.net.au
Wow! What a strong determination to help!
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