When Helen Tran returned home from a night out with friends around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2006, the phone was ringing. It was the University of California, San Diego Medical Center calling to tell her they had a kidney for her. By Dec. 1, the four years she had spent dealing with life-threatening infections and dialysis were behind her. Tran was born with VACTERL syndrome, a condition that describes a group of birth defects that occur together. She always knew she would need a new kidney, but wasn’t listed for donation until her condition had deteriorated to the point where she needed dialysis three times a week. Even then, she became septic and had infections that landed her in the hospital. Two weeks after recovering from just such an infection that almost killed her, she got the call from UCSD. “I was calm. I didn’t want to get too excited,” she said. “I didn’t want to think about it too much — in case, for some reason, it didn’t happen.” Immediately after her surgery, Tran became active in Donate Life and National Kidney Foundation events. She even became the face of a kidney campaign targeted at Asians and Pacific Islanders and her picture was pasted on brochures, billboards and buses. On Saturday, May 14, she’ll participate in the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Walk at NTC Park at Liberty Station in Point Loma. Walkers are encouraged to raise $200 and Tran has already reached that goal. “It’s important to be involved,” she said. “There are so many misconceptions out there, and people really need to be re-educated. High blood pressure and diabetes are the first and second reasons for people needing a kidney, and the fact is that everyone can probably count five people they know who have one of those conditions. Kidneys have the longest waiting list of all organs, and the more people who are educated about it, the easier it is to get people on board to become donors.” Because of medical privacy laws, organ recipients are not allowed to know any details about their donors. All Tran knows about the person who gave her a kidney is that the donor was male, about 32 years old and from Palomar. “It’s very bittersweet to get a transplant,” she said. “There’s something called recipient’s guilt, which I felt a lot at first. I feel it less and less now, but you know that the person who gave you this gift has this whole other family out there dealing with this loss.” Three years after her surgery, Tran wrote a letter to the family of her donor. She never heard back from them, but she still hopes that someday, they’ll be able to get in touch with her. “I hope they’ll come forward at some point,” she said. “I want to be able to tell them that through this generous gift, I was able to make a difference. I was able to represent a minority group and encourage donation to save other lives.” Every year in November, Tran and her family have a celebration to honor her donor and his generosity. She feels very strongly about the loss his family must still feel, and knows that because they said “yes” to donation, she was given a second chance. She even named her kidney. In a post-surgery haze while coming off anesthesia, she became convinced that her nurse’s name was Ben (it was actually Alejandro). When she discovered there was actually no Ben around, she decided someone somewhere wanted something to be named Ben. Tran will lead Team Ben in the Kidney Walk on May 14, and encourages San Diegans to come support the cause. After all, she said, most of us could very likely be affected by kidney disease. “If you don’t know somebody yet, you will know someone who has to deal with organ failure,” she said. “And why wouldn’t you want to help someone? The fact is you’re the only person left who can help them. If it’s not going to be you, who will it be?” To register for the Kidney Walk or to donate to the National Kidney Foundation, visit www.donatelife.org or www.donevida.org.
