Jeff and Lynn Bakiares never approach any challenge without fully examining all their options. So, when they learned Jeff needed a kidney transplant, the Chicago couple thoroughly researched all available options to find a transplant program with which they felt comfortable.
While Chicago is a city with several transplant centers, the Bakiareses couldn’t find one that was right for them. Instead, they went north — to the UW Health Transplant Center in Madison, Wis.
“It’s the best transplant program in the Midwest,” said Jeff.
Thus began a journey for them that has continued to bear fruit, as they have become major philanthropic supporters of UW Health Transplant Center’s new Living Donor Initiative and other programs.
The gift of life
Jeff’s health problems started in 2012, when he came home from his job at the Chicago Board of Trade not feeling well. He continued to feel worse until Lynn had to take him to the emergency room because he was non-responsive. At the ER, doctors diagnosed him with end-stage renal failure and started him on emergency dialysis.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘What?’ ” said Lynn. “We were stunned.”
The couple began looking at the transplant centers in Chicago, but felt those centers were too impersonal for what they were seeking. Then, their family doctor suggested UW Health. They made an appointment and were thrilled with what they found.
“From Day 1, the response was incredible,” said Jeff. “It was one of the most positive experiences we have ever had.”
Living kidney donation is always the preferred option for people who need a kidney transplant — both because they can get a transplant quicker than if they go on the wait list, and because living donor kidneys typically last longer than deceased donor kidneys.
Jeff’s sister, Lisa, and Lynn were both approved to donate a kidney to him, and ultimately, they decided Lynn would be the kidney donor. Both of their surgeries were on July 9, 2014.
“After 19 months of dialysis, my transplant day was liberation day for me,” said Jeff. “You should have seen the smile on my face.”
Lynn had made a bet with Jeff’s transplant surgeon that she would be on her feet before her husband — the surgeon had mentioned that he had never seen a living donor walk before their recipient.
“I’m from Jersey, and we pick gauntlets up,” said Lynn.
Right after she woke up from her surgery, Lynn — still hooked up to her IV pole — insisted on shuffling her way down to Jeff’s room. As she approached his room, she found him sitting up, laughing and having a great time with his care team. In the meantime, she said, “I looked like something the cat dragged in.”
Still, she won the bet.
Living Donor Initiative
Because the Bakiareses are so grateful for the care they received at the UW Health Transplant Center, they have continued to make philanthropic gifts to a number of initiatives.
One of their gifts was to create a professorship for Dr. Didier Mandelbrot, a transplant nephrologist who has been treating Jeff since he received the gift of life.
“We hit it off from Day 1,” Jeff said. “He and the other phenomenal people we have met there are the reason why we drive 140 miles for my transplant appointments.”
Their most recent funding effort is the Living Donor Initiative, a plan to increase the number of living kidney donors at UW Health from 100 annually to 120 per year — a 20% jump. The program plans to do this through three approaches:
Community outreach and education: The transplant center is hiring a Living Donation Outreach Coordinator who will accompany UW Organ & Tissue Donation representatives at events such as health fairs to talk specifically about living donation. “Talking to them in person makes people much more likely to be a living donor,” said Melissa Roberts, MSN, RN, senior director of the Transplant Center.
Living Donor Coordinator: This new staff member will talk to transplant candidates about living donation and help them identify ways (such as social media and faith organizations) to find a donor.
Research: Dr. Mandelbrot plans to perform research on the long-term health of living donors, determining whether their gift affects other aspects of their health.
“It was a no-brainer for us to support this project and to support Dr. Mandelbrot,” said Jeff.
The initiative will also focus on educating providers about aftercare for living donors, about which Lynn is particularly enthusiastic.
“Frequently, donors do not receive proper care from various health care professionals because of a lack of understanding about the particular needs of donors,” she said.
The Bakiareses have high hopes that the Living Donor Initiative will increase the number of living donors and, subsequently, save lives.
“It is one of the scariest things in your life when someone tells you that you should be dead,” said Jeff. “At the beginning of this process, we were totally ignorant, but we got a crash course on how much need is out there. When you sit in a dialysis room, you see how scared people are. They need to know that living kidney donation is a good option.”
If you are interested in learning more about living kidney donation, visit our Can I Be a Donor? page. If you want to financially support the Living Donor Initiative or other transplant efforts, you can also make a gift.