Organ matchmaking’ leads to more life-saving transplants at Sutter Health

KCRA | Vicki Gonzalez

Vicki Gonzalez‏ @KCRAVicki.  "Say Kidney!" Talk about paying it forward. One organ donation leads to multiple life-saving gifts between strangers@SutterHealth @kcranews

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —Here’s a story that gives a new meaning to paying it forward. It involves patients getting kidney donations from complete strangers across Northern California.

The most recent transplant involved a Sacramento family.

Sutter Health has a program called MatchGrid, which finds compatibility among a network of donors and recipients.

"If you (had) a potential donor before (and) if you didn't match, it was just stopped and it didn't benefit anybody," Sutter Health outreach coordinator Sharon Dean said. "With this new software and the programming (comes) the ability to match other potential donors and recipients."

Jennifer Vang was the 100th transplant recipient as a result of the Kidney Pairing Program.

"It was just like a roller coaster. It feels like your life is over," Vang said. "But after the transplant, you feel like you have a new life again." Continue reading

from Donate Life Organ and Tissue Donation Blog℠ http://ift.tt/2hBMEZb