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BOUNTIFUL — A Bountiful woman who was scheduled to undergo kidney transplant surgery Tuesday had her hopes dashed when she found out her donor was no longer a match.
"My heart just dropped. I froze. I was in kind of a state of shock," said Kalynn Olsen, who has Type 1 Diabetes.
My heart just dropped. I froze. I was in kind of a state of shock.
–Kalynn Olsen
She says she and her husband both sat and cried after receiving the phone call from the University of Utah Medical Center. "You just try and soak it in and move on," she said.
The Bountiful woman who came forward to donate her kidney to Olsen barely knew her. But she sees this situation as a new blessing.
"The great news is there is always a solution," Heather Hansen said. "I will still give my kidney, and we'll cross match with somebody who's the perfect match for me. In turn, they will swap and be the perfect match for her."
Dr. John Sorensen, chief of transplant surgery at the University of Utah, says finding matching donor pairs has been successful in the past in situations where one donor is incompatible to a recipient.
"The paired exchange program allows them to put their names on a national registry. They are then tested against any donor recipient pairs across the country," Sorensen explained.
I would say it happens less than 5 percent of the time. But it happens enough that we repeat the test right before the transplant so we can prevent that organ from being rejected.
–Dr. John Sorenson, University Hospital
He says in this particular case a final blood test showed Olsen's blood would have rejected Heather's tissue. "I would say it happens less than 5 percent of the time. But it happens enough that we repeat the test right before the transplant so we can prevent that organ from being rejected."
"Things can change," Sorensen added. "People can get exposed to an antigen, like a cold."
Because of the paired exchange program, Hansen believes that her donation could have a far-reaching effect. Rather than simply helping one person, she can now help two. That is, someone who previously was not a match to their donor.
"There's going to be somebody sitting at home and the phone is going to ring and they're going to say, 'Guess what? We've got a kidney for you.' It's an absolute double blessing," Hansen said.
For Olsen, though, Hansen is her blessing, considering the two barely knew one another. "She's so amazing," Olsen said.
Email: lprichard@ksl.com
