San Antonio woman donates kidney to save co-worker

SAN ANTONIO – Two San Antonio girls, who’re coworkers and finest pals, will each go below the knife Friday as one is donating a kidney to assist save the opposite.

Crystal Villarreal and Karen Crane, who each work at Pediatric Ear, Nostril & Throat Institute of South Texas, have been pals for eight years. Villarreal wore a bridesmaid’s costume throughout Crane’s wedding ceremony simply final month and now, Crane will put on a surgical robe for Villarreal.

Villarreal suffers from polycystic kidney illness and is ultimately stage of renal failure.

“Polycystic kidney illness is an inherited illness that got here from my dad’s facet of the household,” mentioned Villarreal. She defined that it makes her drained and fatigued and instructed KSAT that she has to “nap steadily all through the day and I can’t do plenty of my regular bodily actions that I used to do earlier than as a result of I simply get so drained.”

Villarreal, who was identified when she was 19-years-old, mentioned she went to a transplant middle in July so as to add herself to the listing for a transplant from a cadaver donor.

“I used to be out on trip in July and I had my appointment for the transplant middle inside that timeframe,” mentioned Villarreal.

When she arrived again at work, she mentioned Crane had “already carried out the preliminary screening with the transplant middle and was cleared and handed by that half, after which was scheduled to have her labs carried out that following week to start out the method.”

Villarreal gained’t truly be receiving her good friend’s kidney. The ladies are a part of a dwelling donor change program. Crane is donating one among her kidneys in order that Villarreal can get a kidney from another person. It’s a program often called a kidney swap or kidney donor practice.

“There shall be a complete of eight folks which are getting into for surgical procedure,” mentioned Villarreal. “She was a match however there was one tissue in her blood that wasn’t a 100% match for me, so she was paired up with me as a result of she is prepared to donate her kidney to another person and that individual’s pair will be capable of donate to me.”

Villarreal shall be in restoration for six to eight weeks she mentioned.

Crane instructed KSAT that Villarreal shall be “within the hospital for anyplace from three to seven days whereas I’ll probably be there, God prepared if all the things goes nicely, only one evening. In order that would be the distinction between our two stays.”