Searching for a complete stranger donor who is willing to donate a kidney to you seems like an impossible task. Yet it has not stopped kidney patients Dénis, Sandra and Patrick from giving it a try. The stories about their quests could be read years ago on the Omroep Brabant website. High time to see how they are doing now.
Denis van Vliet
Dénis van Vliet from Tilburg started his search for a donor kidney in 2014. He was previously diagnosed with the rare disease amyloidosis. Proteins produced by humans are folded into the wrong shape. The proteins then accumulate in organs such as kidneys, heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract and nerves. And that in turn leads to all kinds of symptoms that significantly affect the quality of life.
Dénis was advised by doctors to look for a donor himself. “A kidney from a living donor is better than one from a deceased person,” he says.
During his search, he also placed an appeal on Facebook several times. A plea for that one lottery ticket. Although he came close to a match three times, it always came to nothing.
“Marja is my saving angel.”
After his last call in 2017, the complete stranger Marja Slats from Noordhoek contacted him. She had read his question and wanted to help him. A year later she donated her kidney to the then critically ill Tilburger. The donor kidney worked well.
Five years later, 45-year-old Dénis is enjoying life again. “I was looking for a needle in a haystack. Marja turned out to be my saving angel and what she has meant to me is actually priceless. I am eternally grateful to her,” he says.
The two have built a strong friendship in recent years. Dénis: “We see each other a few times a year. Traditionally, on the day of the transplant, May 15, we go for a bite to eat and a drink. We see it as a birthday.”
To immortalize their special friendship, both had a tattoo. Dénis: “I had Marja’s name placed where my old kidney was. This way I show how grateful I am to her.”
Sandra van Alten
Sixteen years ago, Sandra van Alten from Waalwijk wanted to investigate whether she could give her mother a kidney. But not only was there a match missing, she also turned out to have cystic kidneys herself. A disease that is usually hereditary and in which blisters containing fluid can seriously hinder kidney function. Sandra was able to live with it well, until she suddenly ended up in hospital in 2020 with a kidney haemorrhage and needed a new kidney.
“It’s not a pack of butter you’re giving away.”
Because Sandra’s husband Rudi could not give her a kidney, he posted an emotional appeal on Facebook. “There were a few reactions to this, but it quickly came to a dead end,” says Sandra. Until she suddenly received a call from a man who had seen her call. He was touched by it and wanted to help her. “I said: think about it carefully, it’s not a pack of butter you’re giving away. But he was sure, that same evening he came for coffee.”
After the kidney transplant last June, 55-year-old Sandra is doing much better. “I couldn’t work before. With my new kidney I can work in my pedicure practice four days a week again. That means a lot to me.”
She is very grateful to her donor. Sandra: “He wanted to remain anonymous and didn’t want to get anything in return. The day before his operation I gave him a guardian angel.”
Sandra (53) wants to live again and is looking for someone who will give her a kidney
Patrick van der Linde
Patrick van der Linde from Breda has been a kidney patient since he was seventeen. For eleven years he was on dialysis twelve hours a week. Donor kidneys from his grandmother and mother only helped for a short time: they were rejected each time. In 2020, his partner Tamara made a poignant appeal on Facebook for a new donor kidney, because no one in their immediate circle could provide a match.
“Chances were 1 in 15 million of finding the right donor.”
Finding a new kidney proved to be very difficult. “The doctors at Erasmus MC said that there was a 1 in 15 million chance of finding the right donor. The chance of winning the lottery was twice as high,” says Patrick.
Ultimately, Patrick found his golden lottery ticket in 2021. A deceased person, Patrick doesn’t know who, donated a kidney he had dreamed about for years. To thank that anonymous donor, Patrick participated in the Kidney Foundation’s national donor thank you day. Patrick: “I am extremely grateful to the relatives of the person that I was given the opportunity to restart my life with a good kidney.”
“I have my freedom back,” says Patrick, now 43, relieved. “I feel good again and feel fit. I have even gained some weight again. I am enjoying myself again with my wife, with the children on the football field and with the dogs.”
No donor kidney for Patrick again: ‘We hope for a miracle’
