As a criminal-malpractice lawyer, Penn alumna Joan Saltzman has seen everything that might go wrong in an operation.
Presenting her book, Mr. Right and My Left Kidney, at the Penn Bookstore last night, Saltzman described overcoming her doubts about donating a kidney to her husband.
In 1997 - only a week after her marriage to John Katz, then a Cinema Studies professor at Penn - Saltzman was asked by physician Robert Grossman if she would consider donating a kidney to her husband, who suffered from a chronic kidney disease.
Early on, she said she would never do it.
Grossman told her she "may feel differently" as she saw her husband get sicker.
"He was right," Saltzman said.
While Katz went through preliminary transplant evaluations, Saltzman thought she would "look altruistic" and cooperate by seeing if she would be an eligible living kidney donor.
Saltzman said she felt pushed along in the process at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and was hesitant because of her family history of diabetes.
It is standard procedure for physicians to educate potential organ donors about the donation process ahead of time. If the donor decides not to have the operation, the physicians will protect their private decision by declaring them ineligible, even if they are a healthy match.
Saltzman said her fears were assuaged by the impressive procedures for informed consent at HUP, and, in the end, she reconsidered her initial refusal.
"I struggled with it for a long time," Saltzman said, adding that she did not want to reject the man she now calls "Mr. Right" just because he was sick.
"I thought that would be a really bad character move," Saltzman said.
In 1999, Saltzman underwent a laparoscopic procedure, a less-invasive operation that had only recently been implemented at HUP.
She now lives healthily with only one kidney.
"All went perfectly," she said.
"When I had the operation, I was, for the first time, giving life to someone I already loved. It was the best thing I have ever done - no question about it," she added.
Asked if she misses her kidney, Saltzman pointed at her husband and said, cheerfully, "No - it's right there."
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.