“Why Wouldn’t I?” Lowcountry Mother of Five Becomes a Living Kidney Donor to Save a Stranger’s Life

Catherine Rea, a mother of five based in the Lowcountry, was attached to a 24-hour blood pressure monitor when South Carolina governor Henry McMaster announced that schools would be shutting down to stop the spread of COVID-19. "The first half of the day the blood pressure was perfect," she laughs. "But then as soon as the school email came through, it was going off every two minutes."

The monitor was in place as part of the testing involved for potential kidney donors. Though Rea now had homeschooling on her sufficiently full plate, she didn't back down from wanting to save someone's life. Nor did she ever hesitate to see if her kidney would be a match for a friend's father, whom she'd never met. Her friend's call for kidney donor volunteers on Facebook caught Rea's eye and that was it. Her mind was made up.

In June, the friend’s father found a match in someone else; however, Rea was still in and decided to become part of the MUSC Health Living Donor Program, starting a chain that would save three lives through three kidney transplants in one day the following October.

 

Rea found the process to becoming a donor straightforward, and having two of her kids go through neurosurgery at MUSC Health, she trusted the doctors and nurses to take equally good care of her. It's the honesty about what would happen — from the surgery itself to the exhaustion to follow — that she really appreciated. "Throughout the process, they had everyone from clergymen to a social worker talk to me," she says. "I had every statistic I could have needed and every excuse not to donate if I needed one. It never felt uncomfortable and I felt like I was really well-informed."

One thing she learned from a social worker is that grants covering wages are available for individuals who need financial support through the process of taking several weeks off of work to donate an organ. Because Rea and her husband own a small business, it worked out and they didn't take advantage—but it was nice to know what was available to those who would need help.

With five kids, from ages 16 to two, Rea's biggest concern was not being able to pick up her two-year-old due to the lifting restrictions. But her six, seven, and nine-year-olds stepped up and helped out, as did her mother. But she only needed assistance for two weeks. "After the first week, I was pretty independent," she says. "For the most part, it was a quick recovery."

 

Within only 24 hours of surgery, Rea got to meet the 21-year-old whose life she'd saved. "I almost didn't want to meet her, because I didn't want anyone to feel like they owed me anything," she admits. "But it was nice. It's something I'll never forget."

Her advice to others considering becoming a living donor and saving someone's life in the process? Do it. "Nobody's promised tomorrow. I'm not promised tomorrow; my kids aren't promised tomorrow," she says. "So if I'm healthy and pass all the tests, why wouldn't I?"

Living Donor Program

For more information about the Living Donor Program, call 843-792-5097.