Grandpa goes to beautiful lengths to save his grandson’s life
A grandfather in the US has come up with an ingenious idea to save his grandson, who was born with just one kidney which doesn’t function properly. Unfortunately, Howard Broadman will be too old to donate a kidney by the time grandson Quinn needs a transplant, so he’s done the next best thing – a “kidney voucher”.
This would involve Broadman donating a kidney to a stranger now, while he is able, in exchange for a “kidney voucher”. This credit could then be used by Quinn when the time comes that would place him at the top of the waitlist.
Together with Dr Jeffrey Veale, the loving grandfather set up the UCLA Kidney Transplantation Exchange program, which he kicked off by donating one of his kidneys to a patient on the waitlist.
“This is groundbreaking and could completely change the field of transplantation,” Dr Veale said. “The demand for a kidney transplant is tremendous, but with this program, I would argue that, for the first time in history, we can actually start reducing the number of people who are on the waitlist.”
What an incredible and selfless idea. Do you think a program like this should be introduced in New Zealand? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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