Star Wars Fan saves fellow fan's life

[JediTricks]

Off topic, but it fits in an "internet geek" way. One of my friends from the Star Wars collecting site we both work for suffers from an inherited disease called PKD - Polycystic Kidney Disease. He even watched his father die of it when he was younger. A few years ago, his disease took a dramatic turn for the worse, putting him in a coma for a few months, and then a second downturn when he came out. He announced this in our forums, his doctor told him he only had 2 years to live without dramatic action.

Several of the regulars on our board saw this and posted that they wanted to donate a kidney, and one of them, Barry, did more than just say it. After 3 years in the works, tons of tests, and a major delay, a couple weeks ago Feb 3rd Barry flew in from Chicago and actually donated that kidney and saved a fellow fan's life, despite being mainly casual friends on the internet.

You can read more about it here from the site's editor in chief:
http://www.sirstevesguide.com/index.php ... cleid=1937

As an update, on Feb 10th, a week after the surgery, I drove down to San Diego to check up on Josh (the recipient), and shake Barry's hand and thank him for not just the generous donation of life, but also for making all Star Wars fans look good with such an exemplary act and being such a stand-up guy. We hung out for a few hours, and I took him and his wife for dinner as a small gesture. It was over 4 hours of driving, but it was so rewarding, I was really glad to do it.

Anyway, I wanted to get the word out there that fanboys can kick ass, that they can save lives just by their fan-thing (in this case, Star Wars) being their common thread. Usually, when there's a story of SW fans coming together, it's after someone has died, so I am thrilled that good news has brought fans together on this.

[Onslaught Six]

That's pretty awesome.

I gotta say, though, I like my kidneys. You guys aren't getting them. Not unless I get all your toys in return. Fwahaha.

[onslaught86]

Wow, JT, that's incredible. Just goes to show the real sense of community and friendship you can have through message boards. Great story, hope it gets more than local media attention too.

That's pretty awesome.

I gotta say, though, I like my kidneys. You guys aren't getting them. Not unless I get all your toys in return. Fwahaha.

Give me your bidney, bitch.

And some fava beans.

[andersonh1]

That's going above and beyond the call of duty there. Donating an organ is no small thing to do. Awesome.

[Dominic]

Donating a kidney is especially note-worthy.

If you do not drink much, and are healthy, you can part with large chunks of your liver. It grows back. But, kidneys are important, and fragile even under the best of conditions. And, the surgeries are risky for all parties.

Dom
-would not donate a kidney if only to avoid a product liability suit.

[JediTricks]

Just an update, the donor is doing well, and the recipient had surgery a week ago to remove his original, failing kidneys. They weighed around 20 pounds and were the size of footballs, pushing out his stomach and intestines (which they had to pull out of his body and put off to the side to get to the kidneys), and now he's recovering back at home, doing much better.

Barry, the donor, has received the first 501st Legion trooper of the year award alongside another 501st trooper that donated his kidney to a fellow 501ster soon after Barry & Josh's went through. Looks like Star Wars kidneys are all the rage! Go living donors!