Earlier this month, Shawna Sheppard was at the hospital where she works, but this time it was not as a respiratory therapist but as a patient. She was admitted because she was donating one of her kidneys to her 62-year-old father, Dwayne Sheppard.
ALSO READ : California Dad Meets Dead Son's Cornea Recipient
Dad Receives Daughter's Kidney
For the past four years, Dwayne has been going through dialysis. While doing so, he was also waiting for a donor so his transplant could take place. And for the last four years, the surgery has been postponed several times. According to a report from KSTP, the dad had health complications, which is the reason he could receive his daughter's kidney.
Once, Dwayne had to cancel surgery because of cancer. The other time, he also had to postpone due to open-heart surgery.
However, after years of waiting, the dad receives a kidney from his daughter, who could not be anything but happy.
The surgery took place two days before Dwayne's birthday. That is why he is saying that this has been the best birthday gift he could ever receive.
ALSO READ : Missouri Teen Saves Mom by Donating His Kidney
Frontline Daughter
During the coronavirus pandemic, Shawna chose to continue serving her community. She is a respiratory therapist at the Hennepin County Medical Center.
Shawna believes that being one of the healthcare workers is a calling. Now that she is doing this for a person she loves, everything just seems easy for the frontline worker.
Shawna also says that donating her kidney to her father is like a calling. She said, "I knew I was the person who was supposed to give him this."
ALSO READ : Father Gives Piece of Liver to Daughter Suffering from Biliary Atresia [Surgery Was Successful]
Dad is Thankful for His Daughter's Sacrifice
For Shawna, donating her kidney to her dad is her part in thanking him. She said, "He brought me into this world, and now I'm going to do my part to keep him here longer."
On the other hand, the dad is exceptionally thankful for his daughter's sacrifice, "I'm really happy she is giving me a second chance at a better life."
As the dad receives a kidney from his daughter, he hopes that everything will be better. He said, "I certainly hope that I can resume my life the way it was before." Dwayne loves camping, and it is just one of the many things he hopes he could do again once the operation becomes successful.
Child-to-Parent Kidney Donation
In an article from the American Journal of Transplantation, it states that there is a "greater transplant and patient survival for CTP kidney transplants than cadaveric kidney transplants." This study observed 56,873 kidney transplants from 1988 to 1998.
As of last year, more than 90,000 people were on the waiting list for kidney transplants.
