USD president back on the job after transplant
Donated kidney to fellow USD official
By Dolly A. Butz Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, June 22, 2007
{M3Just weeks after donating his right kidney to a colleague, University of South Dakota President Jim Abbott said he is back at work full time and "feeling fine."
The former state lawmaker and Democratic gubernatorial candidate underwent the procedure June 4 on behalf of Bruce King, assistant vice president of academic affairs and chief diversity officer at USD. The operation was done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
King has suffered from kidney failure for two years.
Abbott, who has been tight-lipped about the operation, told the Journal in a phone interview Thursday that King is doing well and that his own donation was "well worth it."
"I'm most pleased when I see (King's) three children," he said. "I think, 'You know, that was a good thing to do.'"
Abbott said his father-in-law and brother-in-law both had kidney cancer, and his closest friend in college had a kidney removed. However, Abbott said he never planned on someday donating one of his own.
"It certainly wasn't any goal of mine or anything, but I wasn't particularly afraid of doing it," he said.
When Abbott learned by e-mail that King had been diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, he checked to see if they shared the same blood type. Both are O-positive. Abbott said he then spent several months weighing his decision. He also used the time to lose some weight and get his blood pressure down.
"I wanted to think about it to make sure that it was right," he said. "Mayo told me that the best chance for success is a relative, for genetic reasons I assume, so I waited to see if he found a match from a relative. That didn't happen."
King's condition was deteriorating. He moved from home dialysis to treatment in Sioux City three days a week. Abbott said he knew it was time to take the next step in the donation process.
Abbott's blood was drawn in Vermillion, S.D., and sent to Rochester. He traveled to the Mayo Clinic twice for more testing. There, he met with a psychologist, urologist and internist on the transplant team.
"I have to say that it's a very thorough and very fascinating process," Abbott said. "Both the donee and donor have their own transplant team. I was also very impressed by the ethics of the process. They made it clear that if I had any problems at any time, I should let them know and that we would just not proceed."
After two days of rigorous testing, Abbott said he learned he was a good candidate. He immediately called King and told him the news.
"He just simply thanked me," he said. "I knew he was appreciative. Nothing more needed to be said."
During the early hours of June 4, Abbott met with a chaplain before being prepped for surgery.
Going into the operation, Abbott said he didn't have any concerns. He said he was "very sure" of the transplant team.
"I just felt very good about it, and I still do," he said.
At 10 a.m., Abbott's right kidney was removed laparoscopically. Incisions were made below his navel and on his right side. A scope was inserted into one incision. The surgeon used the other incision to remove Abbott's kidney with his hand. The procedure was over before Abbott knew it.
"Bruce was in the bed next to me," he said. "We both got a minor shot to relax us, and then the next thing I knew I was in a bed in the recovery room."
Abbott returned to his room from surgery around 2 p.m. He was walking by 6 p.m. The next day he was up walking every hour. Abbott was released from the hospital Thursday morning.
"Somehow I had sort of steeled myself to the thought that it might be significantly more painful," he said. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
Abbott said he would have liked to keep the procedure private, but in retrospect, he said he is happy if his story inspires others to make a difference in someone else's life.
"There are 70,000 people who need a kidney each year and only 16,000 donors, so if somebody comes forward because of the publicity that surrounded this, I'm real happy."
The former state lawmaker and Democratic gubernatorial candidate underwent the procedure June 4 on behalf of Bruce King, assistant vice president of academic affairs and chief diversity officer at USD. The operation was done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
King has suffered from kidney failure for two years.
Abbott, who has been tight-lipped about the operation, told the Journal in a phone interview Thursday that King is doing well and that his own donation was "well worth it."
"I'm most pleased when I see (King's) three children," he said. "I think, 'You know, that was a good thing to do.'"
Abbott said his father-in-law and brother-in-law both had kidney cancer, and his closest friend in college had a kidney removed. However, Abbott said he never planned on someday donating one of his own.
"It certainly wasn't any goal of mine or anything, but I wasn't particularly afraid of doing it," he said.
When Abbott learned by e-mail that King had been diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, he checked to see if they shared the same blood type. Both are O-positive. Abbott said he then spent several months weighing his decision. He also used the time to lose some weight and get his blood pressure down.
"I wanted to think about it to make sure that it was right," he said. "Mayo told me that the best chance for success is a relative, for genetic reasons I assume, so I waited to see if he found a match from a relative. That didn't happen."
King's condition was deteriorating. He moved from home dialysis to treatment in Sioux City three days a week. Abbott said he knew it was time to take the next step in the donation process.
Abbott's blood was drawn in Vermillion, S.D., and sent to Rochester. He traveled to the Mayo Clinic twice for more testing. There, he met with a psychologist, urologist and internist on the transplant team.
"I have to say that it's a very thorough and very fascinating process," Abbott said. "Both the donee and donor have their own transplant team. I was also very impressed by the ethics of the process. They made it clear that if I had any problems at any time, I should let them know and that we would just not proceed."
After two days of rigorous testing, Abbott said he learned he was a good candidate. He immediately called King and told him the news.
"He just simply thanked me," he said. "I knew he was appreciative. Nothing more needed to be said."
During the early hours of June 4, Abbott met with a chaplain before being prepped for surgery.
Going into the operation, Abbott said he didn't have any concerns. He said he was "very sure" of the transplant team.
"I just felt very good about it, and I still do," he said.
At 10 a.m., Abbott's right kidney was removed laparoscopically. Incisions were made below his navel and on his right side. A scope was inserted into one incision. The surgeon used the other incision to remove Abbott's kidney with his hand. The procedure was over before Abbott knew it.
"Bruce was in the bed next to me," he said. "We both got a minor shot to relax us, and then the next thing I knew I was in a bed in the recovery room."
Abbott returned to his room from surgery around 2 p.m. He was walking by 6 p.m. The next day he was up walking every hour. Abbott was released from the hospital Thursday morning.
"Somehow I had sort of steeled myself to the thought that it might be significantly more painful," he said. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
Abbott said he would have liked to keep the procedure private, but in retrospect, he said he is happy if his story inspires others to make a difference in someone else's life.
"There are 70,000 people who need a kidney each year and only 16,000 donors, so if somebody comes forward because of the publicity that surrounded this, I'm real happy."
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