Sara, one of our Israel tour guides and owner of Jerusalem Tours, and her husband need our prayers. Her husband, David, is having a kidney transplant on September 3rd.
Would you please join me in praying for David, Sara, their family and the amazing stranger donating his kidney to David. Read more of this beautiful, selfless story below:
(read another post about Sara's mom {here})
A Kidney Transplant Made For Hollywood.
Movie Executive Will Risk His Life For A Complete Stranger He Met On The Internet.Site Endorsed by Various Health Officials, Ethicists and Doctors across the Country
Movie Executive Will Risk His Life For A Complete Stranger He Met On The Internet.Site Endorsed by Various Health Officials, Ethicists and Doctors across the Country
Canton- MA, News Release – (August 19, 2010) Nineteen people die everyday in the United States sometimes waiting 7-12 years for a kidney transplant; on the government's national organ transplant waiting list for an organ transplant that may never come; a new patient’s name is added to this list every 13 minutes. David Chay, a 60 year old Jewish, immigrant from Israel and owner of Jerusalem Tours International, from Columbus, Ohio knew these figures. He has been on that waiting list for a number of years and he prayed he would not be part of that statistic. David and his wife Sara’s three sons ages 28, 26 and 18 unfortunately were not compatible matches for him. David turned to the Internet web site MatchingDonors.com to greatly increase his chances of getting a kidney.
David’s wife Sara put David’s profile on MatchingDonors.com looking for an altruistic living organ donor that would match him. Within a few weeks she found a perfect match; David’s hero - Tom Cavanaugh – an Irish (by decent) Catholic movie executive from Los Angeles, California.
MatchingDonors.com has become the most successful nonprofit organization improving those odds by finding living altruistic organ donors for patients needing organ transplants. Patients on MatchingDonors.com are now contacted by a willing organ donor on an average within 7 days of signing up on MatchingDonors.com, and on receive their organ transplant in only a few months.
What did an Irish Catholic American from California have in common with a Jewish immigrant from Israel who now lived in Ohio? Nothing, except that they were both great people and as Sara said with tears in her eyes “God wants us to know we are all his children; no matter what our religion is. God sent us Tom our angel to be a perfect biological match to save my husband’s life. Tom is now like our son.”
Last week, Tom kiddingly asked Sara if she minded that David would be having a non-kosher organ implanted in him, and she joked that she would have it quickly converted before the transplant.
Now because of a complete stranger David met through MatchingDonors.com he will be receiving his lifesaving kidney transplant on Friday September 3, 2010, at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus Ohio.
Tom Cavanaugh, a 48 year old, Senior Vice President, at Twentieth Century Fox Music, also knew of the terrible odds that people waiting for organ transplants faced, and he knew that he could beat those odds and help save someone’s life by donating one of his kidneys to them through MatchingDonors.com.
Tom saw a need and was willing to risk his life to save another. Tom said “At first, my mother was concerned.” Her concern was not about donating to a stranger (she was completely supportive of that); her concern was that she saw how long it took his father to recover when he did the surgery in 1994, and she didn't want to see him go through that agony. But Tom was able to allay her fears by explaining how the surgery is less intrusive and much safer for the donor than it was 15 years ago.
Tom’s mother’s concern also turned to pride when he told her he was donating to save the life of a man in tribute to Tom’s own father. He told her he was blessed to witness his father (at age 72) donate one of his kidneys to his younger brother (age 68). “My dad has since passed, but my uncle is living a happy active life, and I get great comfort from knowing that part of my father is still very much alive.”
David’s wife Sara put David’s profile on MatchingDonors.com looking for an altruistic living organ donor that would match him. Within a few weeks she found a perfect match; David’s hero - Tom Cavanaugh – an Irish (by decent) Catholic movie executive from Los Angeles, California.
MatchingDonors.com has become the most successful nonprofit organization improving those odds by finding living altruistic organ donors for patients needing organ transplants. Patients on MatchingDonors.com are now contacted by a willing organ donor on an average within 7 days of signing up on MatchingDonors.com, and on receive their organ transplant in only a few months.
What did an Irish Catholic American from California have in common with a Jewish immigrant from Israel who now lived in Ohio? Nothing, except that they were both great people and as Sara said with tears in her eyes “God wants us to know we are all his children; no matter what our religion is. God sent us Tom our angel to be a perfect biological match to save my husband’s life. Tom is now like our son.”
Last week, Tom kiddingly asked Sara if she minded that David would be having a non-kosher organ implanted in him, and she joked that she would have it quickly converted before the transplant.
Now because of a complete stranger David met through MatchingDonors.com he will be receiving his lifesaving kidney transplant on Friday September 3, 2010, at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus Ohio.
Tom Cavanaugh, a 48 year old, Senior Vice President, at Twentieth Century Fox Music, also knew of the terrible odds that people waiting for organ transplants faced, and he knew that he could beat those odds and help save someone’s life by donating one of his kidneys to them through MatchingDonors.com.
Tom saw a need and was willing to risk his life to save another. Tom said “At first, my mother was concerned.” Her concern was not about donating to a stranger (she was completely supportive of that); her concern was that she saw how long it took his father to recover when he did the surgery in 1994, and she didn't want to see him go through that agony. But Tom was able to allay her fears by explaining how the surgery is less intrusive and much safer for the donor than it was 15 years ago.
Tom’s mother’s concern also turned to pride when he told her he was donating to save the life of a man in tribute to Tom’s own father. He told her he was blessed to witness his father (at age 72) donate one of his kidneys to his younger brother (age 68). “My dad has since passed, but my uncle is living a happy active life, and I get great comfort from knowing that part of my father is still very much alive.”
Sara wrote David’s profile on MatchingDonors.com: My name is Sara and I am desperately looking for a kidney for my husband David.
David, who is a mechanical engineer by profession, was recently diagnosed with kidney failure. His condition is very serious and he must have a kidney transplant soon. We have 3 sons, ages 28, 26 and 18. Unfortunately no one in our family is a compatible match for him. David and I look forward to watching our children grow into young gentlemen and someday get married. We want to spend time with our family and enjoy the company of our future grandkids. I have worked as a Social Worker for nearly all of my adult life, helping others in need and providing them with guidance, help and hope in whatever situation they may encounter. Over the last 15 years David and I have dedicated our lives to helping people make a religious pilgrimage to Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the surrounding areas.
I find it hard to ask for help for my family, especially with something on as great a scale as this. However we are in a very desperate situation. David is not getting better and I fear for his future health. I cannot imagine being in this world without the love of my life. Both my husband and I would love to volunteer and help others in whatever capacity we can, but in order to do so I need to make David healthy again. This is my plea for help. I am looking for a Good Samaritan to donate a kidney and Bless David with a new and healthy life. Please give my beloved husband the gift of life. Thank you so much for your consideration, you are all angels. God Bless. Within minutes after Tom signed up on MatchingDonors.com Tom read David’s profile and he quickly decided he would see if he was a match to David.
Tom wrote on his MatchingDonors.com profile: Hi. I'm a 47 year-old male who would like to donate a kidney to someone who needs it. I'm a non-smoker, non-drinker, non-drugger, and I'm in excellent health and physical condition.
I would like to help someone in dire need, as I was blessed to witness my father (at age 72) donate one of his kidneys to his younger brother (age 68). My dad has since passed, but my uncle is living a happy active life, and I get great comfort from knowing that part of my father is still very much alive.
My only requirement is that my kidney be removed laproscopically, as I have limited vacation time from work and would not be able to take the time off required for recovery from the traditional surgery.
This will be the 131st transplant surgery from a patient and altruistic donor that found each other on MatchingDonors.com.
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