A parish priest whose life has been extended for decades after being given a kidney by a parishioner has described it as a miracle.
Fr Michael Whyte arrived at St Catherine of Siena Parish in 2007 and has been parish priest there since 2008. A type 1 diabetic, he began experiencing extreme tiredness and nausea at about that time, signs of kidney failure as a result of diabetes.
Doctors gave him three choices: go on dialysis and live five or six more years; do nothing and die within six months; or get a kidney transplant and – if it’s from a live donor – live 20 to 25 years.
Two years ago, he announced at Mass that he was on the waiting list for a kidney.
More than one parishioner offered to be tested to see if they would be qualified donors, but Margaret Domashinski, a parishioner who lives in West Suffield, Massachusetts, already knew she would be the one.
“I knew I was a match,” she said during an interview at the parish rectory. “I know that’s kind of spooky, but it’s true. I knew.”
Asked what it was about Fr Whyte that prompted her to make the offer, Mrs Domashinski said, as if puzzled by the question: “He needed a transplant. He needed a kidney.”
Fr Whyte, looking fit as he sat beside his donor 10 weeks after transplant surgery, said, “I think it is very difficult when someone tells you that they’re considering getting tested or they would like to give you a body part. It is very hard to say – [a mere] thank you doesn’t seem to be appropriate.”
When Mrs Domashinski made the offer about a year ago, after a daily Mass, Fr Whyte was struck by her matter-of-fact attitude. She offered him her kidney “like it was a doughnut”, he said.
Of course, knowing instinctively that you are a match is not quite good enough for the medical profession, and Mrs Domashinski underwent many levels of testing to ensure that both she and Fr Whyte would have good chances of recovery. Their blood types had to match, and they do.
Despite having family members with diabetes, the risk at her age – mid-50s – is minimal that she would develop it. Her overall health is good.
Other, more subjective factors came into play also, Fr Whyte said. He said doctors asked Mrs Domashinski: “How are you going to feel if your other kidney has an issue or if your child needs one…Read More
Source and Original Content by Catholic Herald