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Boyceville teacher Janine Klaustermeier donated a kidney to help save the life of friend and co-worker Lisa McDonald.
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Klaustermeier |
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McDonald |
Klaustermeier is a 1st-grade teacher, and McDonald, who suffers from genetic kidney disease, is an early childhood aide and also works in the health office. Both work at Tiffany Creek Elementary School in Boyceville.
They underwent successful surgery on Friday (July 25, 2008) in the Twin Cities.
West Central Education Association UniServ Director Steve Holzhausen said Klaustermeier volunteered to be tested to see whether she would make a good match for McDonald and, against great odds, she turned up to be an excellent match.
"It's almost like a match made in heaven," Holzhausen said. "This is the type of gift that people are rarely willing to make."
He said Klaustermeier was very modest about her decision and was focused primarily on the need to restore the health of McDonald, who has been on dialysis.
Klaustermeier's donation is especially important in light of the difficulty in finding kidneys for transplantation, and finding a correct match. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of people with renal failure far outstrips the number of kidneys available for donation. More than 5,000 people will die this year because of a lack of suitable donated kidneys, according to the Johns Hopkins International Physicians Update.
"This is truly an incredible gift from one educator to another," Holzhausen said. Boyceville teachers and education support professionals belong to WCEA units.
Posted July 25, 2008; Updated July 28, 2008