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>> Getting a new kidney isn't easy.
Even if a family member or friend offers to donate one of theirs,
you may be unable to receive the kidney due to incompatible tissue or blood types.
Thanks to an organ matching software program, developed by the University
of Michigan Paired Kidney Donation Program,
there is new hope for patients needing a kidney transplant.
>> Marilyn Hedberg: I had a first kidney transplant 14 years ago
from my brother, and it started failing.
And my husband wanted to donate to me, and he was unable to because we weren't a match.
>> Lyn McKiernan-Karsten: I was on peritoneal dialysis for 2 and a half years.
I did that every day, 4 times a day.
Obviously, you know, it takes a long time to get a kidney.
When they talked about the paired donation program, you know, we were real excited.
>> When a donor recipient pair with incompatible tissue types enters the paired kidney database,
the software attempts to identify a match with another pair in the same situation.
In the case of the Karstens and Hedbergs, after a possible match was identified by the software,
the UM Transplant Center team determined
that each husband could donate his kidneys to the other's wife.
>> David Hedberg: I was absolutely overjoyed that Lynn's doing so well.
Because, you know, living with this situation as we do,
when you see your significant other struggling on a daily basis, it's really --
it's just a great feeling to know that I could help a family, and they can help us.
>> Alan Leichtman: When these individuals received living donor transplants,
it means that there's two other people on the waiting list
who will receive a deceased donor transplant that might not be available to them.
So it doesn't just help the -- directly, you know, the individual recipients,
but it helps the entire kidney transplant waiting list.
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