It’s been 16 months since Kevin Kienlein had a heart and double lung transplant. It changed his life and now he’s doing everything he can to help ensure that others have the same chance.
“While 85 per cent of Canadians are in favour of organ donation and transplants, in B.C. only 17 per cent are registered organ donors,” he said. “Some people are afraid that doctors won’t provide as much care to keep them alive if they are organ donors. The medical staff doesn’t know who is a donor. It is only at the last moment that they can check the data base to see if a person is registered. It is all done very respectfully. Another reason people don’t register is because they think they are too old but most people of any age have some organs that are healthy. One person who donates can save up to eight lives and benefit as many as 60 people. I’ve seen lots of miracles in Edmonton and I hope those miracles will continue.”
Kienlein had a congenital heart condition and first considered a heart transplant in 2009 and was put on the waiting list in March 2010.
“It is unlikely that I would be here if I hadn’t got a transplant. I could feel myself losing strength and I wasn’t able to do music, which is my life,” he said.
He had the transplant in Edmonton in Decemer 2010 and things went well and even with a discouraging set-back that required additional surgery, he was able to complete the rehabilitation program ahead of schedule. He has to return to Edmonton for check ups and do physiotherapy regularly.
“They’re very pleased with my condition. I’m back playing. I’ve gained weight and people tell me I look better and that my singing has more body to the sound,” he said.
He has also been able to get back to his other interests, photography and Toastmasters, and has been doing inspirational speaking for schools, clubs and businesses. His next goal is to take part in the Canadian Transplant Games in Calgary in July. The games are for recipients of any type of transplant and are held in a different location in Canada every two years. The activities are broken down by age groups.
Kienlein is practising to take part in lawn bowling, bowling, ball throwing and golf, which he has played only once before. Other sports include cycling, tennis, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, swimming, track and field and a modified triathlon, for ages five to 85. The games are a way to showcase the return to vigour, health, and happiness for transplant recipients and their families.
“It would be nice to come back with a medal but the important thing is going to be to meet other transplant recipients and have a good time. I’m also helping with the photography. I want to experience it and then I want to find a way to go to the World Transplant Games in Durban, South Africa in 2013,” he said.
“I’m going to keep urging people to think about organ donation. We are lucky here in Canada that people can have the surgery that is very expensive in some other countries. I got the best of care from the hospital staff. It is a teaching hospital and people come from all over the world to study there.”
There are 4,500 Canadians waiting for organ donation and every 36 hours someone dies waiting for a transplant.
To register to be an organ donor or to check if you are registered, see www.transplant.bc.ca.
