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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-09-16, Page 4Page 4 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, September 16, 2009 SEP 18"'to SEP 20th COFFEE FRI, SAT, SUN 6-10""" 12 PACK NESTLE WATER 41. SEALTEST MILK BAGS* 2 LITRE COCA-COLA WONDER WHITE BREAD* 99C' PARK ST. ELGIN AVE E MQ9NSTE BRITANNIA R0. 87 Victoria St. S. Goderich *Offers available at this location only. See store for offer details. limited quantities, while supplies last. Photo contributed Ken Hughes celebrated 35 years since his kidney transplant operation on Sept. 13. He was joined by family and friends including his youngest sister, Winnipeg resident Laurelle Murdoch, also his kidney donor. Party celebrates longest surviving Canadian kidney transplant Dominique Milburn signal -star staff When Dr. Ken Hughes was being trans- ported to what was the Winnipeg General Hospital in 1974 to undergo a pioneering liver transplant, he was also travelling into the re- cord books. Hughes, who is now 72, has become the country's longest surviving Canadian proce- dure liver transplant patient. "There are people who have been living lon- ger than Ken, but their surgeries were done in Boston or the United States," said wife Nancy. "We can't find anybody who has survived so long after a Canadian procedure. It's very spe- cial." Ken, a retired associate professor of medical physiology and past president of the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFC), was diagnosed with Nephrotic synch= in the 1960s. The nonspecific disorder damaged his kidneys, causing them to leak large amounts of protein. In the later part of the decade,. Ken said he was an experimental patient for doctors in Canada and the -US studying kidney disease and treat- ments, and was even once treated with snake venom. "I was an experimental patient in what be- came dialyses later on," Ken said. "I was in di- alysis treatment that was very new at that time, and it was self-administered. I had great trouble putting that needle into my own vein." As Ken's kidney functions continued to drop leading up to his transplant, the search heated up for a donor match. After all three of his sisters endured testing to find an appropriate match, luck was on their side when the fami- ly's youngest, then 25 -year-old Laurelle Mur- doch, was found to be a "superior match." "Right up to the surgery taking place, I was uneasy at the thought of taking a kidney from any one of my sisters," Ken said. "In the hospi- tal, I recall her saying if I didn't use hers, she'd give it to the next best match, so I might as well." Ken had a lot in his favour. He never devel- oped diabetes, or high blood pressure— two of the most menacing conditions for organ recipi- ents. Now, joined by friends, neighbors and rep- resentatives from the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Nancy and Ken say the celebration is bittersweet. "He knows so many who have died," said Nancy. "He's been very lucky." On Sept. 13, the Hughes' hosted an open house celebration at their picturesque heritage home in Goderich's west end. More than 60 well-wishers attended the event. In the 1970s, kidney transplants Were a rela- tively new and experimental procedure. Suc- cessful kidney transplantations were under- taken in 1954 in Boston and Paris, but until the development of effective antirejection drugs, the procedure sometimes had a struggling suc- cess rate. Now, the KFC says overall, transplant success rates are very good. Transplants from deceased donors have an 85 to 90 per cent suc- cess rate for the first year.(That means that after one year, 85 to 90 out of every 100 transplanted kidneys are still functioning. Live donor trans- plants have a 90 to 95 per cent 'success rate. Long-term success is good for people of all ages.