CHARLESTON, W.Va. — National Donor Day is a special day for Brian and Pam King of Charleston and for thousands nationwide.
Celebrated every year on Valentine’s Day, the day is a national observance celebrated since 1998, focused on increasing awareness about organ donation, and the lives that can be saved through donation and transplantation.
The Kings, who have been married for over 40 years and are a kidney recipient/living kidney donor pair, celebrated the day at CAMC General Hospital by gifting heart-shaped donuts to the clinical staff at the hospital and anyone who registered to become a donor.
“We have a bit of a love story, married for over 40 years and wanted to be here to share with people that National Donor Day is a good place to begin when you are considering being someone who would be a good candidate for kidney donation,” Pam King said.
“We’re very grateful to be part of this family here at the General Division Transplant Center and we encourage everyone to consider a donation as part of their plan for life.”
Brian and Pam have a special story as in January of 2018, the couple was part of the first ever living donor “paired exchange” in West Virginia. The exchange ultimately saved Brian’s life.
“We were matched with another family,” Pam King said. “My husband needed a kidney, I was not a match. I was a match for someone else and that was very exciting.
“Not only did it help us as a family and them as a family, but it also helped the next group of folks that were on the waiting list. Everybody gets a chance to move up on the waiting list when they are waiting for a solid organ donation.”
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education hosted a table in the hospital lobby where people could gather more information about organ donation and even register. Any individuals that registered or presented their driver’s license indicating that they are already a designated donor received a special heart-shaped donut.
CAMC General Hospital is the only transplant center in West Virginia as the King’s transplant was one of 66 kidney transplants performed there in 2018, per CAMC.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are over 121,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant as over 100,000 are waiting on a kidney.
“I would like to encourage everyone to become a donor,” Pam King said.
“There are several steps to becoming a donor but the initial step is a blood test. It’s as simple as that. Most people don’t know they can be a living donor. I would really like everyone to consider that as an option. Helping someone like a family member or a donation where someone who feels compelled to share their gift of life to someone they don’t even know.”